Reason First: The Route 40 Killer Part V- Steven Brian Pennell Sees Justice

Route 40 killer Steven Brian Pennell knew he would be caught eventually. After weeks of being surveilled by police, he just sort of slumped and allowed them to take him into custody.

Despite ups and downs, and plenty of dead-ends, the dedicated law enforcement officers kept digging. Pennell knew they were onto him because he found listening equipment they'd planted in his infamous blue van. He even removed it and handed it to an officer personally. What he didn't realize was, while they were installing the mics, they'd found the same duct tape in the van they'd found in Ellis' hair and attached to DiMauro.

Tragically, before they had enough evidence to arrest him, Pennell had taken at least three more lives. Margaret Lynn Finner's terribly decomposed body surfaced in the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal where it was discovered by a local hunter. The body was so putrified investigators couldn't determine the cause of death, but they had strong suspicions Pennell was responsible. Michelle Gordon’s body also turned up in the same canal, only not as deteriorated, so forensic investigators were able to link her to Pennell’s van more easily. Finally, a fifth victim, Kathleen Meyer, vanished without a trace, but under such similar circumstances as the other women, authorities developed the working theory she was another of Pennell’s victims.

When the officers surrounded Pennell's home, he knew his reign of evil had finally come to a close. Once they had him in custody, authorities were able to use DNA to tie Pennell to the murders. Though not yet widely used, the particulars of these murders spurred the judge to admit it into the courtroom. The blue fibers Lano collected from the van corresponded with those found on DiMauro.

Prosecuting attorney Kathleen Jennings was the person who shed the most light on how Pennell committed his crimes. Specialists constructed a mock section of the back of the van. Jennings entered this section of the exhibit, and simulated the last moments of the victims’ lives. Though this may seem unusual, even bizarre, the lawyer wanted the jury to see what it was like to be boxed in that vehicle. The jury found the demonstration compelling, and found Pennell guilty of two of the five slayings. The judge sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences. However after further consideration, the state of Delaware sentenced him to death, and executed Pennell via lethal injection.

In his wake of ugliness, terror, and fear, the heroes and heroines of this story glowed the most. Detectives Joe Swiski and Jim Hedrick and officer Renee Lano and prosecutor Kathleen Jennings far surpassed their roles in finding, capturing, and dispatching this brute. For their efforts, they had ensured the safety and well-being of Delawareans not just on the Route 40/13 corridor, but statewide.

The detectives who worked tirelessly to stay right on the heels of Pennell and the officer who faced him with just a gun in her purse in case things had gotten dicey. She had to put together the whole scene in order to grab those blue fibers and smoothly put them in her pocket. The prosecutor who made a mistake during the trial by injecting her opinion cleaned up despite this bit of emotion. She allowed herself to recover and be able to gaze into his dead, shark like eyes, according to his own defense lawyer, Eugene Maurer. Detectives Swisky and Hedrick suffered a blow when Pennell found listening devices in his van. They had to trudge through junk heaps in the cold January rain in pursuit of another of Pennell’s vehicles. All of them should be included in the circle of those who thought of ways to eliminate a predator.

Despite the draw of the murderer being the headline, it is the men and women of the law who should be applauded for their valiant efforts. For their role in putting in the labor and studying and discovering new ways of advancing the cause of justice they should be remembered.