Caleb Fairley

Background

Caleb Fairley (born October 21, 1973) was an American murderer from Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania. He worked alone at Your Kidz & Mine, a children’s clothing store owned by his parents in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

Lisa Manderach (born September 30, 1965) went for a quick errand to Your Kidz & Mine on September 10, 1995. She took her 19-month-old daughter Devon (born February 4, 1994).

The offence

On September 10, 1995, Lisa Manderach and her 19-month-old daughter Devon entered Your Kidz & Mine just before closing time. Fairley locked the doors when he realized that they were the only customers present. He attempted to sexually assault Ms. Manderach. When she attempted to resist him, he became enraged and strangled her to death. He also strangled Ms. Manderach’s infant daughter.

After the murder, Fairley sexually assaulted Ms. Manderach’s corpse. He then went to an Electric Hellfire Club concert that he had been planning to attend that night.

Investigation

Lisa Manderach’s husband contacted local police when she did not return. Police found her car parked outside.

A search of Your Kidz & Mine revealed stacks of pornography stained with what appeared to be blood and long black hairs consistent with Ms. Manderach. Similar hairs were found in the store’s vacuum cleaner. Police also noted that peepholes had been drilled into the dressing rooms. A large damp spot on the carpet was later determined to be saliva.

After Fairley was located, his face was covered with fresh scratches. Fairley said he had received them in the scramble of a “mosh pit” at a local club called the Asylum, but a doctor’s examination indicated the scratches were from fingernails.

In his mother’s house, police found an extensive collection of pornography and a black sweatshirt that depicted an image of a vampire attacking a young woman that bore a striking resemblance to Lisa Manderach. Detectives suspected that Fairley, an avid fan of vampire culture, thought of his sweatshirt upon seeing Manderach in the store and took her appearance as a sort of supernatural message, and then acted out his fantasies upon Manderach and her daughter. When police questioned Fairley, he was wearing a thick coat of makeup on his face; when detectives told him to wipe it off, his face was covered with obvious scratch marks.

When hikers discovered Devon Manderach’s strangled body dumped on a hill at Valley Forge National Park, Fairley was charged with murder.

After Fairley was arrested, a stain on his shirt was tested and found via DNA analysis to be a match for Lisa Manderach. Stains at the store on different carpets matched mother and daughter, and tissue found underneath Manderach’s fingernails matched Fairley’s DNA.

Arrest

Fairley was arrested after police found him at Your Kidz & Mine. By that time, Devon’s body had already been found by hikers, strangled and dumped on a hill at Valley Forge National Park, but Lisa was not with her.

Trial

Fairley was tried in April 1996. He entered a plea bargain in which prosecutors would not seek the death penalty if he would show them the location of Lisa Manderach’s body.

At trial, Fairley was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder. He received two life sentences.

Sentencing

In April 1996, Fairley received two life sentences after being convicted on two counts of first-degree murder.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Fairley showed prosecutors the location of Lisa Manderach’s body. He placed her body behind an abandoned industrial building in a wooded area of King of Prussia. From the exposed position, it was assumed that Lisa had been sexually assaulted. She was taken for an autopsy.

Aftermath

Fairley was incarcerated at a state correctional facility in LaBelle, Pennsylvania.

Additional details associated with the case included that Fairley played Dungeons & Dragons, was known to read pornography avidly, and collected vampire paraphernalia. He had joined the Asylum, described as a members-only nightclub that resembled a padded cell and catered to people who dressed in Goth-style clothing and sported dramatic make-up as part of the vampire subculture. The club regularly hosted vampire live action role-playing games such as Vampire: The Masquerade. People interviewed by the media pointed out that club members were being unfairly stigmatized because of one person’s sickness.

Other details

Fairley was described as overweight and a target of ridicule, especially from girls at school, and as tending to keep to himself. He had once been close to his younger brother, who had accidentally shot himself when he was four. Fairley told some people that he felt empty and lost.

Prosecutors surmised that Fairley tried to rape Lisa after she entered the store; she struggled and scratched him, so he strangled her. It was also stated that he had admitted that her resistance made him blindingly angry. Fairley killed Devon and took both bodies to remote areas to dump.

One additional described aspect of his arrest involved that, even though he said he got scratches in a “mosh pit,” the doctor’s examination indicated the scratches were from fingernails.