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Robert Lee Suders, 43, most recently of Harrisburg, confessed to the Jan. 27, 2023 stabbing at a hearing over the summer and was sentenced by the Honorable Jessica E. Brewbaker on Dec. 12, the DA said and court records confirmed.
Both of the victims "required emergency medical treatment" after being stabbed "multiple times" but Suders left their home after the assault – stealing their 2013 GMC Terrain and fleeing to Chambersburg, the DA and state police explained.
He had been staying with the couple at their home in the 200 block of Mill Street along with his partner, 33-year-old Kayla Whisner, and a 4-year-old child both from Chambersburg, according to PSP. Whisner was also sentenced on Dec. 12 as their cases were joined.
She managed to get all but one charge dismissed. The remaining charge, a misdemeanor for recklessly endangering another person, she pleaded nolo contender meaning, "I do not wish to contend." Basically, she isn't accepting or denying her responsibility for the charge but has waived the right to a trial and agrees to accept the sentence of 12 months probation.
She'll serve her probation in Franklin County, according to her updated court docket. The terms of her probation require her to "have no contact with the co-defendant Robert Suders whatsoever," set up a payment plan for her court fees, and if she has "no major incidents within the first 6 months of supervision, the court will consider making remaining period unsupervised," the docket details.
Suders has a much stricter sentence. He will spend the next 9 to 18 years in a SCI for aggravated assault and unlawful taking, according to the release and court records. The charges were filed by Trooper Amy Kocher-Fry of the Pennsylvania State Police in Carlisle. First Assistant District Attorney Courtney Hair LaRue prosecuted this case.
This won't be his first time doing a prison stint, as he has a lengthy court record in Westmoreland, Somerset, Dauphin, Cumberland, and Franklin counties. These offenses include but are not limited to theft, driving under the influence, fleeing from police, reckless endangerment, receiving stolen property, speeding, inmate obtaining a weapon or instrument for escape, aggravated assault, simple assault, conspiracy, and forgery, numerous court dockets detail.
Victim Advocate Adrianne Vaughn received a special thank you from the DA "for her work with the victims in this case," the release concludes.
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