Home Scandal and Gossip Allentown car explosion: Father blows self, son & friend after angry letters

Allentown car explosion: Father blows self, son & friend after angry letters

Christopher Koulouris: About author bio at bottom of article.
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Jacob Schmoyer
Pictured, Pennsylvania man, Jacob Schmoyer and his two year old son, Jonathan.
Jacob Schmoyer
Pictured, Pennsylvania man, Jacob Schmoyer and his two year old son, Jonathan.

Allentown car explosion: What led to Jacob Schmoyer a Pennsylvania father blowing up his 2 year old son and friend, David Hallman in a planned murder suicide? 

An Allentown, Pennsylvania father has killed himself, his two year old son and an older man in a car explosion following a series of letters describing his imminent plot.

McCall reported Jacob Schmoyer, 26, killing himself, his two year old son J.J and his friend, David Hallman, 66 after setting off a homemade bomb, September 29.

Authorities have yet to say what may have motivated the father orchestrating the murder suicide.

taking his own life, that of his son along with that of the grandfather who Schmoyer had a ‘shadowy’ friendship with.

Within seconds of picking Hallman up outside his home, police said Schmoyer detonated a homemade bomb, blowing the car up.

Of note, police said Schmoyer had a mysterious friendship with Hallman, while alluding to the two men’s connection being ‘shadowy’.

Jacob Schmoyer sends angry letters explaining his foreboding actions:

Prior to the explosion, Schmoyer had sent letters to his relatives and to the Allentown Police Department taking credit for it and explaining, somewhat, why. 

Police have refused to disclose what exactly the father said in those letters, only to indicate the missives were ‘full of anger and vitriol’. 

His relationship with Hallman, who neighbors say watched over their neighborhood, remains a mystery. 

Members of his immediate family told the dailymail they had never heard Schmoyer speak about the older man.  

The letters were received by their various recipients after the explosion.  In addition to confessing to the setting up the explosion, Schmoyer confessed to a number of other crimes including petty theft and burglary.   

Video footage taken by surveillance cameras at a business near the incident shows Hallman getting into Schmoyer’s car at 9.31pm.  

Schmoyer was in the driver’s seat, Hallman was in the passenger seat with Schmoyer’s two old son, Jonathan in a carseat behind his father. 

Police declined to say how the father, who lived 10 miles from where the explosion, made the bombs. 

Told Schmoyer’s sister, Tina, ‘My brother was a wonderful father, son, and brother…he adored his son and would never do anything that would harm him’. 

Tina said she had never heard of her brother speak of Hallman, nor was she aware of the nature of their relationship.  

Jacob Schmoyer family: ‘We thought it was a freak accident’.

A report via WFMZ told of Schmoyer’s grandmother receiving one of the four letters and her shock upon the realization that the explosion had been self detonated after the family initially believing it was a ‘freak accident’.

Told the woman, ‘I really did believe he would never do this, maybe in my heart I knew he would do it to himself, but never to JJ’.   

‘He was miserable. The four letters describe a miserable life, he was unhappy with himself, he was, I don’t know if shame is too strong a word but he admitted to a number of criminal acts, he didn’t think he would get any better.’

‘There was a lot of hatred there, some directed at Mr. Hallman. Hatred in him that caused this act. This despicable act,’ John Gallagher, Chief of the Allentown branch office of the US Attorney’s Office, said at a press conference. 

Hallman’s family have been equally stunned by the elderly man’s death. His niece paid tribute to him as a happy, ‘silly’ man who loved his dog. The dog was injured in the explosion but was not in the car at the time. It survived. 

On social media, Hallman said he worked as a ‘machine professional’ but it is unclear what industries he specialized in.  

Jacob Schmoyer
Pictured, Jacob Schmoyer, son, J.J and 66 year old friend, David Hallman.

Jacob Schmoyer suspected his son having autism:

J.J’s mother, Jasmine Kerecz has not commented on their deaths. 

‘He murdered an innocent child. That is evil,’ said Rehrig, the sister of the boy’s mother, Jasmine Kerecz.

Adding, ‘There are letters stating he had something against autism, which he suspected JJ had’. 

Come Thursday, police alluded to there being domestic problems at the family home. 

Reiterated police, ‘There’s a lot of stuff going on in the family. There’s a lot of anger, there’s a lot of vitriol in the letters’. 

How he organized delivery of the letters is also unclear but, the police said, he wanted them to receive them after the fact. 

Noted a police official, ‘He was very meticulous about wanting to make sure we knew how he put this thing together’. 

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