Adam Leroy Lane (born August 6, 1964) is a convicted murderer who was dubbed the Highway Killer because his crimes took place near the highway, which he frequently traveled due to his job as a trucker.

Murders

Lane was born on August 6, 1964, in

Jonesville, North Carolina Jonesville, originally called Allen's Settlement, is the oldest town in Yadkin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,285 at the 2010 census. The town grew by nearly 800 residents in 2001 when it merged with neighboring Arling ...

. He dropped out of high school and later acquired a job as a truck driver and occasional chicken-plant worker. He lived in a trailer with his wife and three daughters. Lane committed the murders while he made his way through the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

during the summer of 2007. He had a DVD in his truck of the 2002 horror film ''

Hunting Humans ''Hunting Humans'' is a 2002 horror film written and directed by Kevin Kangas. The film gained notoriety when a copy of it was found among the possessions of murderer Adam Leroy Lane. Plot In Maryland, Aric Blue, a mortgage broker, leads a dou ...

'', about a serial killer who stalks his victims before killing them with a knife. He also carried two large hunting knives, choke wire, and a leather mask with the eyes and mouth cut out. His first known victim was 42-year-old Darlene Ewalt, who lived in a suburban home in West Hanover Township, Dauphin County, near

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. She was stabbed and killed at around 2 AM on 13 July 2007. At the time, she was talking on the telephone on her patio. Lane slit her throat and stabbed her to death with a long knife while her family was inside the house. Lane's second victim was a woman named Patricia Brooks, whom he stabbed on 17 July 2007 in Conewago Township, in rural York County, Pennsylvania, as she was sleeping on her couch. She survived. His third victim was a 38-year-old woman in her duplex in Bloomsbury, New Jersey by the name of Monica Massaro. He cut her throat and stabbed her in the head, neck, and chest, and killed her in her bedroom a day before he committed his final crime. His final crime transpired when he made a stop on I-495 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, broke into a house on 30 July 2007, and while clad in all-black with a mask and gloves attacked 15-year-old Shea McDonough with a 15-inch hunting knife. Her parents, Jeannie and Kevin McDonough, awoke at 4 AM to the sounds of her struggling. Her 135-pound mother and 160-pound father were able to subdue the 245-pound Lane and wrestle the knife he was carrying away from him, though the mother suffered knife cuts. Chelmsford Police were contacted, arrived at the scene where the father was holding him in a headlock, and arrested him. While it has been speculated by law enforcement authorities that he has been involved with other murders in other parts of the country due to his extensive trucking routes, this has not been proven. He has refused to comment to police or the general public about this speculation.

Investigation

Lane was linked to Ewalt by DNA on his knife. He was linked to Brooks similarly. Police also discovered gloves with his DNA and one of his victim's blood.

Trials and imprisonment

Lane received a 25–30 year sentence in Massachusetts for the attack on the teenage girl. New Jersey sentenced him to 50 years for the murder of Monica Massaro. In Pennsylvania, Lane pleaded guilty in order to avoid the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. He was sentenced to 10–20 years for the attempted murder of the woman in York County, and to life for the murder of Darlene Ewalt. He is serving his sentences in

State Correctional Institution – Fayette The Fayette State Correctional Institution is a 2,000 bed maximum-security prison located in a remote section of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The prison is located southeast of Pittsburgh and was built to replace two instit ...

In the media

The story has been presented in the '' Dateline NBC'' series (original air date 3 August 2009) and ''

48 Hours Mystery ''48 Hours'' is an American documentary/news magazine television show broadcast on CBS. The show has been broadcast on the network since January 19, 1988 in the United States. The show airs Saturdays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, ...

'' episode, "Live to Tell: Hunting Humans" (original air date 26 February 2011),. The case also featured in episode 2, season 1, of ''

Nightmare Next Door ''Nightmare Next Door'' is a true crime documentary series which aired on Investigation Discovery from 2011 to 2016. Synopsis The series (responsible for bringing some crime cases into national attention) covered some notable ones like the Mc ...

'' and the episode 5, season 7, of ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

''. In 2013 Shea McDonough told her story in a documentary titled ''I Survived A Serial Killer.'' Also, it was featured in '' Reader's Digest'' July 2011 in an article entitled "Caught in the Act." Also in Season 1 of '' The Coroner: I Speak for the Dead'', episode 2 titled "Call the Coroner" (original air date 25 July 2016).

Murders

Investigation

Trials and imprisonment

In the media

References

Further reading