July 25, 2024 • 11 mins
What drives a young boy to commit an unthinkable act against his own family? In today's episode, we explore the harrowing case of 14-year-old Jacob Remaley, who left the small town of New Stanton, Pennsylvania reeling from the tragic loss of his mother and younger brother. On the morning of November 30, 2016, Jacob made a chilling 911 call, initially accusing his father of the crime before unraveling into a confession that shocked everyone who knew him. This episode takes you through the haunting moments of that day, from Jacob's cold actions to his interactions with paramedics and police.
Hear from those who knew the Remaley family intimately and believed Jacob to be a kind and polite boy. We share emotional testimonies, including the heart-wrenching words of Jacob's father, David Remaley Sr., as he grapples with the devastating loss and the unimaginable truth about his son. Learn about Dana Remaley , a beloved member of the community, and her final moments. This episode promises an intense look into a case that continues to unsettle and mystify everyone it touched.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In 2014,.
Police in New Stanton,pennsylvania, received a 911
call from 14-year-old JacobRamelli.
He claimed his father had shotand killed his mother and his
brother, but was he reallytelling the truth?
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage True Crime
Podcast.
Thanks for joining me In thisepisode.
We are talking about the caseof Jacob Ramelli, who killed his
(00:22):
mother and brother.
Let's get into it.
(00:52):
Jacob Rumeli was a 14-year-oldboy who lived in New Stanton,
pennsylvania, with his mother,dana, his father, david, and his
8-year-old brother, caleb.
Jacob was a student at HemfieldArea High School, while Caleb
was a third grader at StanwoodElementary.
Dana had grown up in Derry andshe was known as a kind and
generous woman who was alwaysthere for her friends.
(01:13):
Anita Stoner said our kids goto school together.
She was wonderful, kind andcaring.
She was that person you couldcall at 3M if you needed Tylenol
for your kids and if she didn'thave it, she'd run to the store
and buy it for you.
She'd do anything for anybody.
She worked as a personal careassistant at West Hempfield
Middle School and was veryproactive in parent-teacher
(01:36):
organizations.
David had been in the Army.
At around 5.40am on the 30th ofNovember 2016, david left the
family home to drive to work.
Shortly before 7 am, jacobretrieved a Ruger 380 handgun
from the top of the refrigeratorin the kitchen.
He entered his mother's bedroombut noticed that the weapon was
unloaded.
(01:56):
He went back into the kitchenwhere the ammunition was stored.
He grabbed a six-round magazineand then loaded the gun.
Jacob then entered his mother'sbedroom again and shot her once
in the forehead as she slept.
He then went into Caleb'sbedroom and shot him once in the
forehead as he slept as well.
After the murders, jacob called911.
(02:17):
He claimed that his father hadshot and killed his mother and
brother and then placed a gun inhis bed before leaving the home
.
Why didn't he kill me?
I need help.
He exclaimed to the dispatcher.
Jacob then hung up.
Before calling back and yelling, he asked why they had hung up
and said he needed an ambulance.
While on the phone to thedispatcher, jacob had said he
(02:37):
went into his mother's bedroomand attempted to wake her up.
He then became hysterical andsaid that he had blood on his
hands.
When paramedics arrived at thecrime scene, they found Jacob
standing in the front yard.
There was blood on his knee, aswell as a cut on his right big
toe and a cut to his indexfinger.
He immediately approached theparamedics and kept repeating
(02:58):
the word mom.
They provided him with ablanket and began to question
him when he went back inside andbrought out the murder weapon.
Paramedics were not trained tohandle such a situation, so they
retreated and waited for policeto arrive.
While awaiting police, jacobbegan to walk down the street
armed with a gun.
He came across a neighbor whoengaged him in conversation and
(03:20):
encouraged him to drop theweapon, to which he complied.
Moments later, police arrivedand Jacob was taken by ambulance
to Excello WestmorelandHospital in Greensburg where he
was interviewed by police.
While he initially claimed hisfather had committed the murders
, he made a full confession tothe two murders.
He told Pennsylvania StateTrooper Jason Morgan that if his
(03:41):
father was at home he wouldhave shot him too.
In regards to a motivation,jacob simply said that he and
his parents hadn't been gettingalong recently.
He said that he was close withhis younger brother.
Jacob would be arrested andcharged as an adult with two
counts of criminal homicide andfirst-degree murder.
The murders would completelystun the area, in particular
(04:02):
those who knew the family.
They described Jacob as apolite and kind boy who received
good grades and was involved insports and church.
Anita Stoner, whose son wasfriends with Jacob, would state
he's such a good kid.
If you could pick a friend foryour kid, it would be Jacob.
Other members of the Remelifamily would be even more
(04:22):
horrified.
They couldn't comprehend whathad happened in Hawaii.
David Remeli Sr would stateyeah, one day, I'll believe,
I'll forgive him.
I'm a pretty easygoing guy andsometimes you can't stop
terrible things from happening.
He had been informed of themurders by his son, david.
The sentiment at a prayer vigilthat night would be the same.
Many in attendance spoke abouttheir disbelief, stating that
(04:46):
Jacob appeared to be a normalteenager.
He was a really nice kid, saidRebecca Tumulty.
He donated his hair every yearfor Relay for Life, which was an
event that raises funds forfighting cancer.
Dana and Caleb were laid torest on the 4th of December.
Their funeral was held at StBruno Roman Catholic Church in
New Derry.
The service was led by ReverendLarry Monches, who asked the
(05:10):
mourners to pay for Jacob.
In the wake of the murders,jacob was ordered to undergo
mental health care.
He was also ordered to be heldwithout bond in the Westmoreland
County Juvenile DetentionCenter Early the following year.
Jacob's defense lawyer, wayneMcGrew, requested that his
client be tried in juvenilecourt as opposed to adult court.
He said that psychologicaltesting had indicated that he
(05:33):
was amenable to treatment in thejuvenile justice system.
However, district Attorney JohnPeck would say that a
prosecution hired mental healthexpert determined that he would
be able to receive propertreatment in adult prison.
The prosecution and the defensewould be allowed to present
arguments before JudgeChristopher Feliciani on whether
the case should be moved tojuvenile court.
(05:53):
They offered polarizingopinions.
The defense hired forensicpsychologist, alice Applegate,
who testified that the family'shome appeared to be normal to
those looking in, but the insidewas riddled with arguments and
abuse aimed at Jacob who, as aresult, became depressed and
antisocial.
By the time he was about 12years old, his ability began to
(06:14):
split apart Jacob as the host,psychologically, was not there.
She said that Jacob sufferedfrom a dissociative disorder
which manifested in blackouts,memory loss and the appearance
of alternative personalities.
These included a witch, an oldman, a little girl and a
dominant alter known as Wrath.
She said that Jacob was underthe influence of Wrath when he
(06:37):
shot and killed his mother andbrother.
She revealed that when Jacobwas interviewed by investigators
, he had struck his head off awall so Rath would come out.
Afterwards, his voice becamedeeper and he spoke in detail
about the murders.
He had said to investigators Ihad to come in and take control.
So if you arrest me, arrest me,but don't arrest that kid.
(06:57):
That kid went through too much.
According to Applegate, thesplits in Jacob's personality
had been the result of his homelife.
She said that his parents weredemanding of him in schoolwork
and chores.
She stated that he wasresponsible for much of the
housework, including the cooking, cleaning and the laundry.
She said that the year beforethe murders, his parents gave
(07:21):
him a vacuum cleaner as aChristmas present.
She went on to state that Jacobhad fallen and sustained two
concussions during his childhoodand that he had nicknames for
his mother Mrs Meany, bad Witchand Hitler.
She went on to describe hisfather as a heavy drinker who
was physically abusive towardsJacob.
This was something that Davidhimself admitted to during the
court hearing.
A few weeks before theshootings, the family had gone
(07:43):
to Disney World and left Jacobbehind at home.
District Attorney John Peckwould question why Jacob had not
spoken about these voices tohis psychiatrist.
He had attempted suicide backin 2015 and saw a psychiatrist
for a year.
Applegate responded there aremany times when individuals may
be hearing voices, seeingvisions and experiencing
(08:04):
dissociations.
These are confusing,frightening experiences and
people don't talk about them.
District Attorney Peck arguedthat Jacob had been acting
carefully and logically when heshot and killed his mother and
brother, even making sure thatthe weapon was loaded.
He said that he had killed hismother first so that she could
not stop him from killing hisbrother.
(08:24):
The prosecution called on RonBarron, a supervisor at the
Westmoreland County JuvenileDetention Center.
He said that Jacob had beenreadmitted to hospitals since
the murders and said that he nolonger heard the voice of Rath.
They then called on Dr BruceWright, who said he could not
reach the same diagnosis asApplegate.
According to Dr Wright, therewere far too many
(08:46):
inconsistencies withininterviews and hospital reports
about when wrath firstmanifested in Jacob and how many
other voices Jacob heard.
He acknowledged that there wereclassmates who spoke about
Jacob changing personality atschool.
There were also writings in hisjournal in which he wrote he
was pleased that his classmatesthought he could be a school
shooter.
A school shooter.
(09:10):
David would testify during thecourt hearing and admit that he
had been hard on his son, but hecontended he did not comprehend
the effect his behavior wouldhave on his son.
He said he was willing to helphis son through his treatment.
The judge would ultimatelydecide that Jacob would be tried
as an adult.
He said that the communitywould be at risk if Jacob was
tried in the juvenile courtsystem.
However, in 2020, jacob, whowas now 18 years old, appeared
(09:32):
in court where he pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, to the two
murders.
I know I am guilty, he said.
Jacob Romaley was sentenced totwo terms of 30 years to life
that were ordered to be servedconcurrently.
Defense McGrew said that itwould be easier for Jacob to be
placed in a psychiatricinstitution as an adult, which
was why they waited until he was18 years old for the guilty
(09:53):
plea.
If, at some point, thepsychiatric treatment is no
longer needed, the rest ofJacob's sentence would be served
in prison.
Jacob's first shot at parolewill come when he is 44 years
old.
In handing down the sentence,judge Christopher Feliciani said
.
In handing down the sentence,judge Christopher Feliciani said
I am sure this is a sad day foryou and your family, but you
have taken responsibility foryour actions.
(10:14):
Take advantage of all theprograms offered.
So when the day comes you areeligible for parole, you may be
paroled.
Thanks again for joining me.
Jacob needed the help, but itcame too late.
Very heartbreaking case.
One can only hope everyoneheals from this tragedy.
If you like what I do, pleasesubscribe to my channel.
Until next time, please takecare of yourselves, thank you.
In 2014,.
Police in New Stanton,pennsylvania, received a 911
call from 14-year-old JacobRamelli.
He claimed his father had shotand killed his mother and his
brother, but was he reallytelling the truth?
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage True Crime
Podcast.
Thanks for joining me In thisepisode.
We are talking about the caseof Jacob Ramelli, who killed his
(00:22):
mother and brother.
Let's get into it.
(00:52):
Jacob Rumeli was a 14-year-oldboy who lived in New Stanton,
pennsylvania, with his mother,dana, his father, david, and his
8-year-old brother, caleb.
Jacob was a student at HemfieldArea High School, while Caleb
was a third grader at StanwoodElementary.
Dana had grown up in Derry andshe was known as a kind and
generous woman who was alwaysthere for her friends.
(01:13):
Anita Stoner said our kids goto school together.
She was wonderful, kind andcaring.
She was that person you couldcall at 3M if you needed Tylenol
for your kids and if she didn'thave it, she'd run to the store
and buy it for you.
She'd do anything for anybody.
She worked as a personal careassistant at West Hempfield
Middle School and was veryproactive in parent-teacher
(01:36):
organizations.
David had been in the Army.
At around 5.40am on the 30th ofNovember 2016, david left the
family home to drive to work.
Shortly before 7 am, jacobretrieved a Ruger 380 handgun
from the top of the refrigeratorin the kitchen.
He entered his mother's bedroombut noticed that the weapon was
unloaded.
(01:56):
He went back into the kitchenwhere the ammunition was stored.
He grabbed a six-round magazineand then loaded the gun.
Jacob then entered his mother'sbedroom again and shot her once
in the forehead as she slept.
He then went into Caleb'sbedroom and shot him once in the
forehead as he slept as well.
After the murders, jacob called911.
(02:17):
He claimed that his father hadshot and killed his mother and
brother and then placed a gun inhis bed before leaving the home
.
Why didn't he kill me?
I need help.
He exclaimed to the dispatcher.
Jacob then hung up.
Before calling back and yelling, he asked why they had hung up
and said he needed an ambulance.
While on the phone to thedispatcher, jacob had said he
(02:37):
went into his mother's bedroomand attempted to wake her up.
He then became hysterical andsaid that he had blood on his
hands.
When paramedics arrived at thecrime scene, they found Jacob
standing in the front yard.
There was blood on his knee, aswell as a cut on his right big
toe and a cut to his indexfinger.
He immediately approached theparamedics and kept repeating
(02:58):
the word mom.
They provided him with ablanket and began to question
him when he went back inside andbrought out the murder weapon.
Paramedics were not trained tohandle such a situation, so they
retreated and waited for policeto arrive.
While awaiting police, jacobbegan to walk down the street
armed with a gun.
He came across a neighbor whoengaged him in conversation and
(03:20):
encouraged him to drop theweapon, to which he complied.
Moments later, police arrivedand Jacob was taken by ambulance
to Excello WestmorelandHospital in Greensburg where he
was interviewed by police.
While he initially claimed hisfather had committed the murders
, he made a full confession tothe two murders.
He told Pennsylvania StateTrooper Jason Morgan that if his
(03:41):
father was at home he wouldhave shot him too.
In regards to a motivation,jacob simply said that he and
his parents hadn't been gettingalong recently.
He said that he was close withhis younger brother.
Jacob would be arrested andcharged as an adult with two
counts of criminal homicide andfirst-degree murder.
The murders would completelystun the area, in particular
(04:02):
those who knew the family.
They described Jacob as apolite and kind boy who received
good grades and was involved insports and church.
Anita Stoner, whose son wasfriends with Jacob, would state
he's such a good kid.
If you could pick a friend foryour kid, it would be Jacob.
Other members of the Remelifamily would be even more
(04:22):
horrified.
They couldn't comprehend whathad happened in Hawaii.
David Remeli Sr would stateyeah, one day, I'll believe,
I'll forgive him.
I'm a pretty easygoing guy andsometimes you can't stop
terrible things from happening.
He had been informed of themurders by his son, david.
The sentiment at a prayer vigilthat night would be the same.
Many in attendance spoke abouttheir disbelief, stating that
(04:46):
Jacob appeared to be a normalteenager.
He was a really nice kid, saidRebecca Tumulty.
He donated his hair every yearfor Relay for Life, which was an
event that raises funds forfighting cancer.
Dana and Caleb were laid torest on the 4th of December.
Their funeral was held at StBruno Roman Catholic Church in
New Derry.
The service was led by ReverendLarry Monches, who asked the
(05:10):
mourners to pay for Jacob.
In the wake of the murders,jacob was ordered to undergo
mental health care.
He was also ordered to be heldwithout bond in the Westmoreland
County Juvenile DetentionCenter Early the following year.
Jacob's defense lawyer, wayneMcGrew, requested that his
client be tried in juvenilecourt as opposed to adult court.
He said that psychologicaltesting had indicated that he
(05:33):
was amenable to treatment in thejuvenile justice system.
However, district Attorney JohnPeck would say that a
prosecution hired mental healthexpert determined that he would
be able to receive propertreatment in adult prison.
The prosecution and the defensewould be allowed to present
arguments before JudgeChristopher Feliciani on whether
the case should be moved tojuvenile court.
(05:53):
They offered polarizingopinions.
The defense hired forensicpsychologist, alice Applegate,
who testified that the family'shome appeared to be normal to
those looking in, but the insidewas riddled with arguments and
abuse aimed at Jacob who, as aresult, became depressed and
antisocial.
By the time he was about 12years old, his ability began to
(06:14):
split apart Jacob as the host,psychologically, was not there.
She said that Jacob sufferedfrom a dissociative disorder
which manifested in blackouts,memory loss and the appearance
of alternative personalities.
These included a witch, an oldman, a little girl and a
dominant alter known as Wrath.
She said that Jacob was underthe influence of Wrath when he
(06:37):
shot and killed his mother andbrother.
She revealed that when Jacobwas interviewed by investigators
, he had struck his head off awall so Rath would come out.
Afterwards, his voice becamedeeper and he spoke in detail
about the murders.
He had said to investigators Ihad to come in and take control.
So if you arrest me, arrest me,but don't arrest that kid.
(06:57):
That kid went through too much.
According to Applegate, thesplits in Jacob's personality
had been the result of his homelife.
She said that his parents weredemanding of him in schoolwork
and chores.
She stated that he wasresponsible for much of the
housework, including the cooking, cleaning and the laundry.
She said that the year beforethe murders, his parents gave
(07:21):
him a vacuum cleaner as aChristmas present.
She went on to state that Jacobhad fallen and sustained two
concussions during his childhoodand that he had nicknames for
his mother Mrs Meany, bad Witchand Hitler.
She went on to describe hisfather as a heavy drinker who
was physically abusive towardsJacob.
This was something that Davidhimself admitted to during the
court hearing.
A few weeks before theshootings, the family had gone
(07:43):
to Disney World and left Jacobbehind at home.
District Attorney John Peckwould question why Jacob had not
spoken about these voices tohis psychiatrist.
He had attempted suicide backin 2015 and saw a psychiatrist
for a year.
Applegate responded there aremany times when individuals may
be hearing voices, seeingvisions and experiencing
(08:04):
dissociations.
These are confusing,frightening experiences and
people don't talk about them.
District Attorney Peck arguedthat Jacob had been acting
carefully and logically when heshot and killed his mother and
brother, even making sure thatthe weapon was loaded.
He said that he had killed hismother first so that she could
not stop him from killing hisbrother.
(08:24):
The prosecution called on RonBarron, a supervisor at the
Westmoreland County JuvenileDetention Center.
He said that Jacob had beenreadmitted to hospitals since
the murders and said that he nolonger heard the voice of Rath.
They then called on Dr BruceWright, who said he could not
reach the same diagnosis asApplegate.
According to Dr Wright, therewere far too many
(08:46):
inconsistencies withininterviews and hospital reports
about when wrath firstmanifested in Jacob and how many
other voices Jacob heard.
He acknowledged that there wereclassmates who spoke about
Jacob changing personality atschool.
There were also writings in hisjournal in which he wrote he
was pleased that his classmatesthought he could be a school
shooter.
A school shooter.
(09:10):
David would testify during thecourt hearing and admit that he
had been hard on his son, but hecontended he did not comprehend
the effect his behavior wouldhave on his son.
He said he was willing to helphis son through his treatment.
The judge would ultimatelydecide that Jacob would be tried
as an adult.
He said that the communitywould be at risk if Jacob was
tried in the juvenile courtsystem.
However, in 2020, jacob, whowas now 18 years old, appeared
(09:32):
in court where he pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, to the two
murders.
I know I am guilty, he said.
Jacob Romaley was sentenced totwo terms of 30 years to life
that were ordered to be servedconcurrently.
Defense McGrew said that itwould be easier for Jacob to be
placed in a psychiatricinstitution as an adult, which
was why they waited until he was18 years old for the guilty
(09:53):
plea.
If, at some point, thepsychiatric treatment is no
longer needed, the rest ofJacob's sentence would be served
in prison.
Jacob's first shot at parolewill come when he is 44 years
old.
In handing down the sentence,judge Christopher Feliciani said
.
In handing down the sentence,judge Christopher Feliciani said
I am sure this is a sad day foryou and your family, but you
have taken responsibility foryour actions.
(10:14):
Take advantage of all theprograms offered.
So when the day comes you areeligible for parole, you may be
paroled.
Thanks again for joining me.
Jacob needed the help, but itcame too late.
Very heartbreaking case.
One can only hope everyoneheals from this tragedy.
If you like what I do, pleasesubscribe to my channel.
Until next time, please takecare of yourselves, thank you.
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