Man Obsessed with Vampires and Fantasy Role-Play Finds His Perfect Murder Victim
By: Liz Jin
Tags: True Crime, Vampires, Crime, Murder, History

Man Obsessed with Vampires and Fantasy Role-Play Finds His Perfect Murder Victim

Lisa Manderach was a beautiful woman just 2 weeks shy of her 30th birthday at the time of her murder; Photo source.

I used to live in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Home to Ursinus college, an art museum, and even a state park, it’s a great little suburb to raise a family. But to me, the best part about Collegeville, or any suburb for that matter, are the strip malls. There’s something quaint and homey about the mom and pop stores that populate these shopping centers and create a sense of safety and community.

That illusion of safety was shattered in 1995 when a woman and her baby were murdered inside a clothing store at the Collegeville Shopping Center.

Background

Lisa Agostinelli Manderach was a 29-year old wife and mother. She and her husband, James “Jimmy,” had known each other since childhood. After marrying in 1992, they had a beautiful baby girl named Devon and settled down in Limerick, Pennsylvania.

Lisa, Jimmy, and Devon, a young, happy family; Photo source.

Lisa worked as a fork-lift operator in a food warehouse. In her spare time, she volunteered for the charity Meals on Wheels. Since Jimmy also worked full-time, the couple enjoyed making the most of their weekends to relax and spend time with Devon.

September 10, 1995, started off like any other typical day for the Manderachs. A new clothing store called Your Kidz & Mine had recently opened in nearby Collegeville, and Lisa wanted to check it out. Jimmy decided to stay at home and watch football. He breezily said goodbye to his wife and daughter, not realizing that he would never again see either of them alive.

Lisa and Devon go missing

When Lisa and the baby hadn’t returned by dinnertime, Jimmy instinctively feared something was wrong and frantically called his family. At first, they thought he was overreacting, but Jimmy knew better. He and Lisa typically called each other if they were apart for longer than an hour. More importantly, he recalled that Lisa had handed him her diaper bag before heading out and told him that she’d be right back. This suggested that she wouldn’t be gone long enough to change Devon’s diaper.

Police initially wondered whether Lisa had run away with Devon; Photo source.

Police found Lisa’s abandoned car in the strip mall parking lot where Your Kidz & Mine was located. There were no signs of foul play around the car, nor were there any clues suggesting where they’d gone. The only store still open in the shopping center was the Acme supermarket. Jimmy and his family members combed every aisle of the store with no success. Lisa and Devon had vanished without a trace.

That same afternoon, police got a call that a baby’s body had been found by hikers in nearby Valley Forge National Park. Jimmy’s brother identified the body as 19-month old Devon. Based on the bruises on her tiny body, an autopsy determined that Devon had been strangled to death. After her death, someone had thrown her lifeless body down to the hiking trail.

Valley Forge National Park has several hiking trails; Photo source.

Police were quick to identify Jimmy as their prime suspect. Aside from the usual suspicion that is cast on the spouse, they found it odd that Jimmy was unwilling to identify his daughter’s body. But Jimmy’s neighbor confirmed his alibi that he had been at home all day. Also, one could hardly blame him for his odd behavior. An entirely uneventful Sunday had turned into a living nightmare. His daughter was murdered, and his wife was still missing.

Police focus on Caleb Fairley

Police began an intense search in Valley Forge National Park the day after Devon’s body was found there. Meanwhile, investigators interviewed people at the Collegeville Shopping Center. One woman recalled seeing Lisa in Your Kidz & Mine at around 3:30 pm the previous day while leaving the store.

Caleb Fairley, the 22-year old son of the store’s owner, was working alone that day. He denied seeing Lisa and Devon, but he agreed to meet with the police to look at photos. The officers noticed that Caleb was wearing a thick coat of makeup on his face that covered deep scratch marks.

Caleb Fairley came from an affluent family; Photo source.

A background check and search warrant of his room turned up additional disturbing information. Caleb had previously been accused of sexual harassment, and his room was filled with pornography depicting perverted acts. Friends described Caleb as a loner who lived with his parents and was obsessed with vampires and fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.

Now, none of the above facts, when viewed independently, mean that someone is a murderer, and people are certainly allowed to enjoy (even be obsessed with) vampires and fantasy games. But Caleb’s checkered history with women and obsession with role-playing seemed too coincidental, given that he was the last person to see Lisa and Devon alive.

Investigators found saliva belonging to Devon and semen belonging to Caleb in the back of the store. They also found long, dark strands of hair with the roots attached, which suggested they were yanked from the head. But without Lisa’s body, these facts were all circumstantial and insufficient to arrest Caleb.

One of the t-shirts that Caleb frequently wore depicts a vampire ravishing a woman who looks eerily similar to Lisa; Photo Source: Screenshot of Forensic Files episode “Shopping Spree.”

A shocking twist in the case

Caleb told police that he would lead them to Lisa’s body but on the condition that he be spared the death penalty if Lisa was found to be murdered. Prosecutors agreed, and Fairley led police to a wooded area near the store. There lay Lisa’s body posed in a sexually suggestive manner with her thick hair covering her face. She was naked except for a black lace top. An autopsy showed that, like her daughter, Lisa was also strangled to death.

Investigators could now forensically compare the evidence found in the store to Lisa’s body. Not surprisingly, the evidence conclusively tied Caleb to Lisa’s murder. Caleb was charged with two counts of murder, aggravated assault, theft, and abuse of a corpse.

So what happened that day in the store?

Police believe that Caleb targeted Lisa because she resembled his idealized woman — a fair, raven-haired beauty — popular in fantasy role-playing games. With her creamy complexion and jet-black hair, Lisa looked a beautiful, gothic Snow White.

Caleb’s mug shot; Photo source.

Police theorize that Caleb locked the store door when he realized that Lisa and Devon were the only customers. He then attacked Lisa, who viciously fought back and clawed at his face. During the struggle, some of her nails were ripped off entirely and her ribs were broken before she died by his hands. Caleb then sexually assaulted Lisa’s dead corpse before strangling a crying Devon.

Aftermath

Caleb was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. He tried unsuccessfully to vacate his conviction in 2012, claiming that his age at the time of the crime should have been considered during sentencing. As of 2017, he is held in SCI Fayette, a maximum-security prison in Labelle, Pennsylvania.

To Jimmy and his family, two life sentences fail to atone for the sheer evil of his acts. Jimmy’s brother stated in an episode of Forensic Files, “I’d like to buy [Caleb] a weekend furlough and give him to my brother Jimmy.” That sentiment seems shared by many of the law enforcement members who worked on this horrific case.

Conclusion

I occasionally go back to Collegeville to visit family. The strip malls are still there, although Your Kidz & Mine is long gone. Also gone is my naivete that suburbs are free of crime and psychotic individuals with deranged sexual perversions.

The Manderach Memorial Playground in Limerick, PA; Photo source.

But in the end, I like to think that most people are still inherently good and kind-hearted, including the residents of Limerick, who rallied around the Manderach family. Over two years, they raised over $250,000 to build a memorial for Lisa and Devon. The Manderach Memorial Playground was unveiled on September 12, 1998.