Groves Sentenced to 10 to 20 Years

LOCK HAVEN – In an emotional Thursday afternoon in the Clinton County Courthouse, convicted murderer Loyd Groves was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison in the 1991 killing of Katherine “Kathy” Dolan Heckel.

Presiding visiting Senior Judge Kenneth Brown imposed the sentence after hearing from Groves and eleven members of the victim’s family. All urged the maximum sentence allowable for Groves who had been found guilty of third degree murder in early December.

In brief comments to the Court, Groves, shackled and wearing orange prison garb, maintained his innocence. He said he “can’t imagine the pain” endured by the Heckel family but said he had nothing to do with the Heckel death, stating, “I hurt no one, I committed no crime.”

Family members addressed the Court, the first speaker the late victim’s mother, Margaret Dolan. She spoke of the difficulty for the family to continue with “life’s events,” given the disappearance of her daughter on July 15, 1991. She said Groves “refuses to tell us where Kathy’s remains are” and said, “Mr. Groves has my daughter’s blood on his hands and may God help him.” Groves, now 69 years of age, sat stoically, as he had done during the trial.

The victim’s children, Alicia Heckel Talbot and John William Heckel, were 13 and 9-years-old at the time of their mother’s disappearance; she said, “There will be no closure until we know where Mom’s body is.” He said he “still feels broken 27 years later.”

The victim’s husband, John Heckel III, said he has been pursuing justice for her for 27 years. He told of the tombstone at the family vacant grave and said he would continue his effort to locate her body “as long as I can draw a breath.”

In imposing sentence, Judge Brown cited the pre-sentence investigation which he said pointed to the need for a “significant and severe sentence.” He noted that 10 to 20 years was the maximum sentence he could impose for a crime committed in 1991, pointing out the law was subsequently changed to allow a sentence of up to 40 years for third degree murder, indicating the sentence would have been more severe if it were permissible.

The court imposed a $10,000 fine and said Groves will receive credit towards his sentence for the nearly four years he has been imprisoned since his arrest in January of 2015.

Defense has 10 days to file an appeal in the case. Attorneys George Leply Jr. and David Lindsay indicated they would. Lead prosecutor in the case was senior state deputy attorney general Daniel Dye. After the sentence was imposed and the hearing over, he embraced Margaret Dolan, the victim’s mother.

A jury in December had found Groves not guilty of first degree murder, but guilty of three degree in the death of Groves’ co-worker at the papermill where the two worked at the time of her disappearance in July of 1991. Testimony during the trial revealed that Groves had long been a suspect in the case, but no arrest made. Her body was never found and investigators had reopened the “cold case” in 2014, Groves arrested and in custody since January of 2015.