Peter A. Levato, 49, was found dead on December 29, 1979, in woods near the Loyalhanna Dam and reservoir by Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. Investigators later determined he had been abducted from outside the Edison Hotel in Pittsburgh around December 27 and driven to the remote area by two men identified as John Travaglia and Steven Lesko.

When he was still alive, Travaglia shot him once in the chest and twice in the head. This murder was the opening killing in what became known as the Kill for Thrill murder spree that claimed three more victims in the following days.

Travaglia and Lesko were arrested on January 5, 1980, tried and convicted for the murders and sentenced to death. One of the convicted killers died in prison in September 2017; the other remained on death row with appeals ongoing as of recent years.