Lansdale man admits killing adoptive father; sentenced to 20-40 years in prison | News

NORRISTOWN — Displaying no emotion in court, a Lansdale man admitted to using a butter knife to fatally stab his adoptive father and to pulling out the victim’s eye during a violent attack at their home.

Preston Alvin Lonnberg-Lane, 30, of the 1000 block of Delaware Avenue, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Tuesday to a felony charge of third-degree murder in connection with the March 27, 2018, death of his adoptive father, 74-year-old Thomas Lane, at their single-family residence. Third-degree murder is a killing committed with malice and with an extreme indifference to the value of human life.

Judge Wendy G. Rothstein, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, immediately sentenced Lonnberg-Lane to 20 to 40 years in a state correctional facility.

“You took someone’s life and it was a brutal, senseless murder,” Rothstein addressed Lonnberg-Lane as she imposed the punishment, adding she believes Lonnberg-Lane was under the influence of drugs at the time of the killing.

During the investigation, Lonnberg-Lane told detectives he committed the crime after snorting two bags of fentanyl.

“Don’t do drugs,” Lonnberg-Lane said to reporters as he was escorted from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies to begin serving his sentence.

Lonnberg-Lane added, “My dad was a remarkable man.”

By pleading guilty, Lonnberg-Lane, who was represented by defense lawyers Carrie L. Allman and Daniel Theveny Jr., avoided a potential conviction of first-degree murder at a trial, which would have carried a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.

Lonnberg-Lane’s trial was set to get under way in county court next week.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Brianna Ringwood and co-prosecutor Kathleen McLaughlin.

Lisa Simmons, the victim’s daughter, testified Lonnberg-Lane broke family bonds when he killed her father.

“I miss the sound of his voice. Preston Lonnberg-Lane took him away,” Simmons told the judge. “I have not been able to sleep for nights.”

Simmons added her father loved Lonnberg-Lane “with every fiber of his being.”

Simmons told the judge her family supported the outcome of the case.

The judge ordered Lonnberg-Lane to have no contact with Thomas Lane’s family.

“He seems like a remarkable man,” Rothstein, referring to the victim, addressed grieving family members. “My sincere condolences for your loss. Hopefully, the healing process can begin today.”

An investigation began at 4:44 a.m. March 27 when Lonnberg-Lane called 911 and reported he “tried to kill everybody in the house.”

“I, I need help…I need, you guys got to get some people here quick…like there’s people dead,” Lonnberg-Lane told emergency dispatchers, according to a criminal complaint.

As dispatchers continued to talk to Lonnberg-Lane he admitted to hurting someone and uttered, “I need help…there’s something wrong…I don’t know what’s going on…I don’t know what to do,” according to the arrest affidavit.

When Lansdale police arrived at the residence, they found Lonnberg-Lane standing barefoot in the driveway and observed he had an injury to his left hand and blood on his T-shirt, according to court documents.

Another resident of the home directed police to a bedroom where they located Thomas Lane “bloodied and on the floor of the bedroom.” Police said Thomas Lane is the adoptive father of Lonnberg-Lane.

“Thomas Lane had a traumatic right eye avulsion and his eye was located on the floor. Thomas Lane was semi-conscious and officers observed apparent stab wounds to his head, neck and arm,” county Detective John Wittenberger and Lansdale Detective Joel Greco alleged in the arrest affidavit.

“Adjacent to Thomas Lane, officers observed blood stains on top of a bed and a butter knife,” detectives added.

Thomas Lane was transported by medical helicopter to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in critical condition but died two days later, at 2:59 p.m. March 29, court documents indicate. An autopsy determined Thomas Lane’s cause of death was “hyperextensive brain hemorrhage” and the manner of death was listed as homicide.

“Additional pertinent findings were evidence of strangulation and cutting wounds to the head, neck and face,” detectives alleged.

When detectives interviewed Lonnberg-Lane he said he had snorted what he believed to be two bags of fentanyl at 3:30 a.m. March 27 and attempted to sleep.

“Lonnberg-Lane said he was listening to music and ‘got up and grabbed a butter knife from the kitchen and tried to kill my dad,’” Greco and Wittenberger alleged in the arrest affidavit.

Lonnberg-Lane allegedly told detectives he stabbed his adoptive father in the neck, punched him, placed him in a choke hold and “tried to pull out his eye,” according to the criminal complaint.

Lonnberg-Lane said he stopped the attack after hearing his father utter, “Preston, Preston, what are you doing?” detectives alleged.

Lonnberg-Lane’s guilty plea came just weeks after Rothstein ruled his confession was voluntary and legally obtained by detectives and could be heard by a jury at his trial.