Men Stabbed, Set Woman on Fire at Wildlife Preserve: Police

Two men were charged Thursday with stabbing a woman to death in a wildlife preserve and then setting her body on fire by dousing her with gasoline in an attempt to cover up their crime.

Adam Lynch, 21, of Reading, and Ryan Schannauer, 19, of Wyomissing, were charged Thursday with homicide, arson, abuse of a corpse and conspiracy in the death of Ashley Kline, whose body was found by hikers Sunday afternoon.

State police allege that the two picked Kline in up from her Robesonia home Dec. 30 in  Schannauer's white Buick and drove to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Clay Township, Lancaster County.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, the men have varying stories of the incidents that followed. Schannauer told police the men lured Kline into their car with the intent of "roughing her up."

He said they told the woman they were going to see a movie.

Lynch said instead Schannauer and Kline had sex in the back seat of the car before getting into an argument. Schannauer claimed that Lynch began to assault Kline in the car before driving to the wildlife preserve as previously conspired.

Both men told police that the three got out of the vehicle. "A struggle ensued as the three of them moved towards the woods," police said in a statement Thursday. Kline, 23, was stabbed multiple times, doused with gasoline and set ablaze, police said.

Lynch said Schannauer stabbed Kline while Schannauer told police that Lynch stabbed the victim.

Both men told police that Schannauer dosed Lynch with gasoline. Schannauer claimed that Lynch lit her on fire while she was still alive.

Lynch told police that both men returned to the area on Jan. 8 to further burn Kline's body in hopes of preventing her from being identified.

No motive was given for the initial attack.

Listed numbers for Lynch and Schannauer couldn't be found Thursday and it was unclear whether they had attorneys.

Kline's aunt, Penny Monteleone, said Schannauer's mother and Kline's mother had been best friends.

She said earlier that Kline left her father's home saying she was going to a girlfriend's house.

"It's awful knowing what they did to her," Monteleone told the (Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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