The Jacklighter: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains

In 1976, attorney Martin Dillon went hunting in the Pennsylvania woods with his best friend-and never came home.

Officials called it a tragic skeet-shooting accident. But when the only witness was Dr. Stephen Scher, the man having an affair with Martin's wife, the Dillon family refused to believe it. Then Scher did the unthinkable: he married the widow and raised her children as his own, living a stolen life for 20 years-until Martin's body was exhumed.

Some secrets never stay buried.

In The Jacklighter, journalist-turned-true crime author Carla Conti reconstructs the decades-long quest to understand what happened in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains: the early missteps, the evidence that reopened the case, the witnesses, two trials, and the aftermath. She also uncovers a murder confession that never reached either jury-and the reasons it remained hidden.

With unique access to hometown victims and key witnesses, Conti reveals how one shotgun blast shattered multiple lives and tested whether justice can survive when everyone in town thinks they know the truth.

From the award-winning author of Chained Birds: A Crimemoir.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Crimemoir Press
Published: 10/27/2026
ISBN: 9798999460196
Pages: 378
Weight: 1.45lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.88d