Off-duty Berks County security officer killed in domestic dispute
Berks County PA Jan 1 2018 An eastern Berks County man was beaten and shot to death Thursday morning by his daughter’s boyfriend, police said. The suspect is under arrest.
Stephen J. Kriebel, 58, of Colebrookdale Township was “struck while in bed” with an aluminum baseball bat and shot several times about 6:45 a.m., state police said.
Matthew R. Boyer, 32, of Rhoads Avenue, Douglass Township, Montgomery County, used his girlfriend’s key to enter Kriebel’s home at 114 Cleaver School Road, authorities said.
Boyer went into an upstairs bedroom where Kriebel and his wife, Virginia, were sleeping, and after the initial attack, Boyer and Kriebel moved to another bedroom, where the deadly assault ended, police said.
Police did not discuss a possible motive for the killing.
Boyer left in a car, police said, and officers later chased him by vehicle and on foot before he was caught near his home. He was charged Thursday night with murder, aggravated assault and burglary, and sent to Berks County Prison without bail.
Kriebel worked for his brother David’s Kriebel Security company in Palm, Montgomery County. Neighbors said he and his wife had three daughters and a son.
“He was a hard-working father and a very good neighbor for many years,” said neighbor Mark J. Reifsnyder, who went to Boyertown High School with Kriebel. Reifsnyder graduated a year before Kriebel.
“They were next door at least 30 years,” Reifsnyder said. “Our kids grew up together.”
He said violence is rare in this rural area just northwest of Boyertown.
“It’s very quiet,” he said. “It’s a country setting.” Reifsnyder said he didn’t hear anything from the Kriebel house Thursday morning, and learned about the death from Kriebel’s brother.
“It’s sad and it’s scary,” he said.
State police said the investigation extends into several jurisdictions in Berks and Montgomery counties.
The Morning Call
