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Cold Case: Nephew Found Lehigh Valley Woman Murdered In Her Home

Pennsylvania State Police are asking for the public's help to find Rose Josephine Hnath's killer. 

Rose Josephine Hnath

Rose Josephine Hnath

Photo Credit: Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers

The 78-year-old was found murdered on the floor of her North Whitehall home on Jan. 21, 1989, troopers said. 

Her nephew had gone over to check on her around 7:30 p.m. after she was uncharacteristically absent from a church service that morning, according to a 2011 Allentown Morning Call report. 

She was stabbed and beaten to death and her house had been ransacked, authorities said. Evidence from the scene suggested she fought with her attacker in her final moments, police told the Morning Call

Hnath lived alone on the west bank of the Lehigh River since her husband had passed four years prior, the newspaper reported. She was said to be from Northampton and employed as a seamstress before her retirement at the age of 65. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-472-8477 or submit an anonymous tip online via Crimewatch

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