LANCASTER, Pa. — Three individuals accused of murdering 25-year-old Matthew Scott Whisman in April will have their cases move to the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas after waiving their preliminary hearings on Tuesday.
The defendants, Alexander Whisman, 17; Steven Gaddis, 27; and Jeremy Absher, 25, face 11 charges each, including murder, kidnapping to facilitate a felony, drug delivery resulting in death, intimidation of a witness, and abuse of a corpse. The waivers were entered before District Judge William Mankin.
Authorities allege the three assaulted, kidnapped, and killed Matthew Whisman after learning he intended to cooperate with law enforcement regarding a January shots-fired incident in Maryland. Prosecutors say Gaddis, Absher, and Alexander Whisman—who is the victim’s cousin—attacked him on April 3 at a residence in East Drumore Township, injected him with a fatal dose of fentanyl, and later disposed of his body by throwing it off a bridge.
Human remains discovered in August near a hiking trail in Cecil County, Maryland, were identified as those of Matthew Whisman. The victim’s mother had reported him missing in July after not hearing from him for months, and a witness later told investigators that the three defendants were responsible for his disappearance.
Gaddis and Absher remain incarcerated in separate Pennsylvania prisons on unrelated charges, while Alexander Whisman is held at the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center. Absher was extradited from South Carolina earlier this year, where he had relocated after the victim’s disappearance.
Court records show the next steps in the prosecution will occur in Lancaster County, where the defendants await trial.
