Joel M. Krueger, 36, was found dead on the morning of January 1, 1978, at a rest stop on Interstate 70 just south of Breezewood in Bedford County. He was the director of volunteer services at the Altoona VA Hospital and had been killed by a shotgun blast to the chest while in his parked car. The body was discovered by a truck driver on New Year’s Day morning.

The case remained unsolved for more than four decades until March 2021, when 79-year-old convicted serial killer Edward A. Surratt, already serving life sentences in Florida, admitted during interviews with Pennsylvania State Police that he had killed Krueger. Surratt also confessed to the killings of Guy and Laura Mills on the same day and to a total of six homicides in Pennsylvania in 1977 and 1978. District attorneys in the involved Pennsylvania counties declined to prosecute Surratt because he was already serving life sentences and authorities judged transporting and trying him impractical, so there will be no new trial or conviction in Krueger’s case.

Does anyone have memories of Joel Krueger or information about his life and work at the Altoona VA Hospital that could add context to this long-closed case?