Flowers Begin to Collect for Slain Alburtis Women

The yellow police tape has been removed from the perimeter of 122 Cobblestone Court in Alburtis. The garage in front of the white Cape Cod with green shutters is where friends and neighbors are beginning to leave flowers.

Nobody has forgotten that Althea Walbert, 82, and her daughter, Jeannette, 59, were found dead there around 9 a.m. Friday. Nobody has forgotten that the killer is still on the loose.

"When times change people remember events," said the Rev. Katherine Brearley, pastor of Longswamp UCC near Mertztown. The Walberts will be buried in the church cemetery on Thursday.

"During the 1960s and '70s, people remember Supreme Court decisions and John F. Kennedy's presidency when they speak about how the times changed. In this case, people will remember what happened to Althea and Jeannette as the timing of the change in Alburtis," she said, especially considering the area's rapid growth.

Brearley has only been pastor of Longswamp UCC since September, so she did not know the Walberts very much at all. As she was working on her eulogy for the women's funeral she said she will remind survivors -- neighbors and friends in Alburtis who are scared and upset -- that Althea and Jeannette's pain is over. There is no more worry for them. And that the possibility of a similar incident happening any time soon is very slim.

Indeed, Alburtis Police Chief Robert Palmer and Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin released a statement Monday saying they believe the crime was an isolated incident. They have remained quiet about the details of the homicides in an effort, they say, to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

Palmer said the homicides are thought to be the first in the history of Alburtis.

Still, that doesn't ease the tension for Steve Walbert, Althea's nephew. Though he wasn't close to his aunt or his cousin, there are family memories. Despite the fact the homicides happened in Alburtis, he says even his Emmaus neighbors are nervous about a recurrence.

Walbert learned of the killing Friday after his wife, Rita, saw the news on a website and called him. Another aunt, Rachel Grim, learned in a similar way.

Walbert remembers his cousin Jeannette as being sheltered because of her Down syndrome, he said. And though he was very young, he remembers the day Althea found her husband -- Steve Walbert's Uncle Woodrow -- in a field on their farm. He had severed his arm in a piece of farm machinery. In the hospital after the accident, Steve said his uncle was found to have leukemia.

Their life was not easy, he said, even before last week.

"I hope whoever did this is brought to justice soon," he said. "People are on edge in Alburtis. For the people who knew my aunt, this double homicide is causing them to be more wary. They're locking their doors and leaving lights on. You expect this in Allentown or Reading or Philadelphia. But it can happen anywhere."

Joint funeral services for Althea and Jeannette will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the Ludwick Funeral Home, 333 Greenwich St., Kutztown, according to published reports. A calling hour will precede the services in the funeral home.