Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the murder trial of a former Lowe’s employee accused of shooting a co-worker to death in June 2025.
Christopher Wasnetsky, 36, allegedly admitted to shooting his co-worker, saying Jeffrey Moeller Jr. was harassing him during work time.
He faces charges of first- and third-degree murder.
At a pre-trial hearing Friday, Lackawanna County Judge Margaret Moyle heard testimony on a defense motion to permit expert witness testimony from a neurologist. Moyle did not issue an immediate ruling on that issue.
The court previously denied defense motions to argue Wasnetsky suffered from a mental disease, defect, or diminished capacity.
Jeffrey Moeller Jr. (COURTESY OF ROSS FELLER CASEY LLP)
Meanwhile, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Moeller’s widow and the administratrix of his estate, Keisha Moeller of Scranton, in December remains pending against Lowe’s in Lackawanna County Court. That suit alleges Moeller raised concerns about Wasnetsky verbally and in writing, informing the company he believed the other man posed a serious risk to the safety of others in his work environment.
Suspect calls in shooting
Just after midnight on June 14, 2025, Wasnetsky called 911 to report the shooting.
“I’d like to report a shooting at the Dickson City Lowe’s. I was the person that did it,” he said, according to a criminal complaint.
Wasnetsky told investigators he brought a handgun to work, intending to shoot Moeller, who he claimed had been harassing him. Wasnetsky told officers he reached out to the business’s management to report the situation, to no avail, police said.
Police said they found Moeller on the ground in a pool of blood amid multiple bullet casings. Moeller suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
There was a semiautomatic handgun, a Springfield 9 mm, on the ground near a shopping cart about 30 feet from the victim. The handgun appeared to be unloaded. There was a live round on the ground and a magazine next to the handgun.
Officers transported Moeller to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, where he was pronounced dead.
Officers found Wasnetsky at the entrance to the store, arrested him without incident and took him to police headquarters.
Wasnetsky told police he approached Moeller while he was working on a machine and shot him in the chest without warning. He said Moeller fell to the ground and asked for help.
Wasnetsky told police he didn’t want Moeller to suffer, so he shot him again, in the head and chest.
Fraught work relationship
According to the civil lawsuit, in spite of both Wasnetsky and Moeller reaching out to Lowe’s management for help, the challenges of their personal relationship escalated over time.
It delineates a timeline that began in July 2024, with Moeller emailing Lowe’s management about “serious safety concerns” regarding Wasnetsky.
Throughout 2025 and up until the month of the shooting, both Wasnetsky and Moeller contacted store management with concerns about the other, the suit alleges. Store management responded by promising to keep the men apart during their work day, according to the suit.
In May 2025, Wasnetsky told a manager the situation was beginning to affect his mental health.
Less than a month later on June 9, Wasnetsky purchased a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, practiced with it in his backyard and took it to work, putting it in a cart he pushed around the store, according to the lawsuit.
On June 14, Wasnetsky pushed a shopping cart up to a forklift Moeller was driving, pulled out the handgun and shot him in the chest from less than 5 feet away, according to the lawsuit.
Prior to shooting Moeller, Wasnetsky emailed Lowe’s saying it could have prevented Moeller’s killing, according to the lawsuit.
The civil lawsuit, still pending in Lackawanna County, seeks more than $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages on counts of negligence and recklessness, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara Varela and Deputy District Attorney Christina Farrell are prosecuting the criminal case.
Open arguments are expected to begin as early as Monday afternoon, with the trial expected to last about a week.