On September 10, 1977, a mother would wake up in the very early morning to find out that her son, Nicholas E. Grassmyer, had not returned home from a night out. After contacting people who he may be with, and after receiving no results, the mother would call the police to report the missing person. For the hours that followed, police, firefighters, and members of the community would search the areas in and around Bellwood to no avail.
Ultimately, Grassmyer’s body was found, and his death was ruled a homicide. Today, state police are still searching for his killer, and the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers have offered a $5,000 reward for anybody who can release new information on the case.
The day before his disappearance, on Friday the 9th, Grassmyer would play in a football game against Tyrone as a halfback. After a total victory over Tyrone, with a final score of 21-0, Grassmyer decided to visit his girlfriend’s house to spend the rest of the night there. Upon leaving his girlfriend’s house to return home after 12:00 AM on the 10th, Grassmyer would call his parents to report that he had suffered car problems, and that he intended on walking home. Shortly after 1:00 AM, Grassmyer was last seen walking off route 865, Campbells Ln, toward route 220, I-99. He would never return home.
Just a day later on the 11th at about 1:00 PM, a body would be spotted by joggers by an embankment alongside the Tyrone Reservoir. The body was lying by the vegetation surrounding the area. They contacted the authorities and informed them they had found a body by Janesville Pike, Tyrone. State police promptly responded to the call and later identified it. It was soon revealed that they had just found Nicholas Grassmyer. As it turns out, Grassmyer was not just missing, but dead, nearly 7 miles from his home.
An autopsy was performed on Grassmyer on the 13th of Sept. The Blair County Coroner, Charles R. Burkey, stated that Grassmyer suffered from cerebral lacerations due to a skull fracture which led to his death, which was later ruled as a homicide. Many speculated that it may have been a fall, but that was quickly ruled out by the coroner’s statement and the fact that his body was found in Tyrone, several miles away from his home.
As soon as the case was classified as a homicide, state police conducted a full investigation on the murder of Grassmyer. However, with no solid leads, and no leading suspects, the case went cold. There was also no motive that could be definitively proved, further impeding the progress of investigators. Many thought the case would be solved in a short time, but investigators could not pinpoint the killer or killers.
It is improbable that any DNA could have helped the investigation progress. No records of the use of DNA in this case is available for the public, and it may be possible that no DNA was gathered because, unfortunately, forensic science was not yet developed and used for criminal cases until nearly a decade later. It is unlikely that any traceable DNA evidence can be found on Grassmyer’s body, even with today’s technology.
Cameras, another form of evidence that investigators could use, were unable to significantly assist in the case. The local Sheetz in Bellwood, located right along route 865, does have several cameras placed on the walls pointing to the road Grassmyer last walked. However, being built just 2 years prior, it is improbable that the local Sheetz had technology (which was early in development in the 1970’s) that was able to capture Grassmyer’s movement.
One of the last viable options investigators had was to look for witnesses who may have seen Grassmyer that night. Although there are no public records that said so, police presumably spoke to everyone who had seen Grassmyer at the football game, at his girlfriend’s house, and nearby houses near where Grassmyer may have walked. The problem with witnesses is that human error is present within everyone. Memory exceptionally affects the information a witness gives, which is why police interview them as early as possible. But, with the disappearance and death of Grassmyer happening hours after he had last seen anybody, witnesses lose their memory about potential details of Grassmyer’s whereabouts. It is doubtful any outside witnesses even saw Grassmyer as the incident happened, as it was in the early, dark, and cold morning hours.
It is rumored that the rivalry between Bellwood and Tyrone was something to be considered when looking at Grassmyer’s death. At the time, the rivalry was considerably greater than what it is today. The rumors surrounding the death mention that some Tyrone students, whether they played for the team or not, may have been the ones who killed Grassmyer, possibly accidentally, and took his body up to Tyrone where they would drop him there. It would explain how Grassmyer’s body ended up in Tyrone, but nobody really knows for sure. State police have not released any information regarding this matter, so it is purely up to speculation for the public.
The tragic death of Nicholas Grassmyer remains unsolved for over 40 years. The case is likely to remain unsolved with no new information resurfacing. Only the killer or killers know who did it, and unless they confess to their crimes, the case may forever be cold.
Grassmyer is buried at the Logan Valley Cemetery in Bellwood. His family, ever since that day, has been hoping for the perpetrators to be punished for the crimes they committed.
Anyone with information regarding the death of Nicholas Grassmyer should contact PSP Hollidaysburg at (814) 696-6100 or the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS.
