Pennsylvania Man in ‘Scream’ Mask Killed Neighbor With Chainsaw, Then Left Note, Police Say

Zak Moyer is the Carbon County, Pennsylvania, man who is accused of attacking his neighbor Edward Whitehead Jr. with a knife and chainsaw while wearing a “Scream” mask from the horror movie.

According to WNEP-TV, Moyer is accused of showing up at Whitehead’s home “wearing a Halloween mask investigators describe as being consistent with the Scream movie character.”

Time News Online reported that Moyer is accused of striking the victim with both the chainsaw and knife in the head while wearing the mask and a “black costume-like garment, consistent with the ‘Scream’ movie character.”

He was carrying a knife and “small chainsaw” and later admitted to stabbing Whitehead Jr. “in the head with the knife before going back home and waiting for police to arrive,” the television station reported.

Here’s what you need to know:

Zak Moyer Believed Edward Whitehead Jr. Had ‘Killed Women & Children,’ But a Relative Says That Isn’t True, Reports Say

Pennsylvania State PoliceZak Moyer case.

According to WNEP-TV, Moyer told police he believed the victim “killed women and children last summer,” but Whitehead’s niece Jennifer told the television station that this is not true.

The court docket report obtained by Heavy says that Zak Russel Moyer was charged on March 26. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 3. His home was listed as Lehighton, Pennsylvania.

The charge was listed as criminal homicide, with the offense date listed as March 25. He is being prosecuted by the Carbon County District Attorney’s office. The docket sheet says Moyer is 30 years old. Heavy has reached out to the Pennsylvania State Police for additional details. Pennsylvania State Police sent an update to their press release that confirmed the suspect’s name.

“The suspect, identified as Zak Russel Moyer, 30 years-of-age, Lehighton Borough, Carbon County, was charged with one (1) count of Criminal Homicide and incarcerated,” the update reads.

MugshotZak Moyer.

The March 25 press release from Pennsylvania State Police says that, at 3:30 p.m. that day, members of the Lehighton Borough Police Department “responded to an address on Carbon Street, for a report of an assault in progress.”

They found “a 59-year-old male” who was “located with life-threatening injuries from being struck by a piercing object. He was transported to St. Luke’s, Carbon Campus and was pronounced dead.”

The Carbon County District Attorney’s Office requested that the Pennsylvania State Police Troop N Major Case Team commence an investigation. “A suspect is in custody,” the release says. “There is no threat to the surrounding public/community members.”

The Arrest of Zak Moyer Was Captured on Video by a Neighbor

A neighbor’s video shows Moyer’s arrest.

“Edward Whitehead Junior was struck multiple times with a knife and a battery-operated chainsaw,” Trooper Anthony Petroski told WFMZ-TV.

“This was not just a random attack. They did know each other,” Petroski told the television station, which noted that Whitehead had never been charged with murder.

At one point, while police were trying to get him to come out of his home, Moyer held a note up to the window that read, “Ed murdered women and kids. Eddie Junior murdered women and kids last summer,” according to WFMZ, which added that Moyer’s sister told police that her brother had talked about killing the neighbor, 59, for a week.

“Mindnumbing, I don’t think anybody has truly had it all sit in at this point. What actually occurred and what happened it’s been horrible,” said Megan Bernosky, Edward Whitehead Jr.’s niece, to WNEP-TV.

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