![\"Jeffrey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767184634_334_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nA Lackawanna County jury has found a former Lowe\u2019s employee guilty of first-degree murder for the in-store killing of a colleague last year.<\/p>\n
The jury returned the verdict on the fourth day of Christopher Wasnetsky\u2019s trial for murdering Jeff Moeller on June 14, 2025, at the store in Scranton.<\/p>\n
In a Facebook post after the verdict, District Attorney Brian Gallagher called Wasnetsky\u2019s murder of Moeller \u201csenseless.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will spend the rest of his life in prison,\u201d Gallagher said.<\/p>\n
The original charges<\/p>\n
Scranton police charged Wasnetsky with first- and third-degree murder, but in an interview Friday, Gallagher said once a jury finds someone guilty of first-degree murder, it does not deliberate a third-degree murder charge.<\/p>\n
Wasnetsky, 36, who lived in Dalton, reported shooting Moeller in a call to 911, according to an arrest affidavit.<\/p>\n
“I would like to report a shooting at the … Lowe’s. I was the person that did it,” Wasnetsky said.<\/p>\n
Store video showed Wasnetsky shooting Moeller, 44, a New Jersey native who lived in Scranton.<\/p>\n
Wasnetsky told police he bought a handgun a week earlier because he claimed Moeller harassed him for months. He shot Moeller in the chest without warning and then twice more in the head when Moeller asked for help so he wouldn\u2019t suffer, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe actually (testified) I intended to kill him on the third and fourth shot,\u201d Gallagher said.<\/p>\n
Defense attorney Joseph McGraw contended Wasnetsky should not be held responsible because suffered from brain disorders when he shot Moeller \u2014 depression, schizoid disorder and spinocerebellar ataxia type 7.<\/p>\n
Gallagher thankful <\/p>\n
Gallagher thanked Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara Varela and Deputy District Attorney Christina Farrell \u201cfor their commitment, preparation and outstanding work presenting this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also thanked city Police Detective Michael Schultz \u201cfor yet another exceptional investigation\u201d and other staff members and police who helped the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the beginning our focus was obtaining justice for Jeff Moeller and his family and that meant nothing short of first-degree murder,\u201d Gallagher said on Facebook. \u201cJeff was a hardworking husband and father whose life was stolen from his wife, children, and loved ones while he was working the night shift. Please continue to keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they endure this unimaginable loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Family photo via GoFundMe<\/p>\n
Jeffrey and Keisha Moeller are seen in a family photo. Jeffrey, an employee at the Lowe’s store on Viewmont Drive in Scranton, was shot and killed early Saturday, June 14, 2025 while at work. Christopher Wasnetsky has been convicted in the case.<\/p>\n
Moeller’s wife’s lawsuit <\/p>\n
Moeller’s wife, Keisha, sued Lowe’s in December for failing to prevent the shooting. The suit accuses Lowe\u2019s of \u201cnegligence and recklessness\u201d for failing to protect her husband. <\/p>\n
The shooting was “entirely preventable,” but store managers ignored Wasnetsky’s escalating and \u201cdeep personal animosity\u201d toward Moeller for more than a year, the suit alleges.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement, Keisha Moeller’s lawyers, attorneys Joel J. Feller and Scott S. Berger Jr., said the guilty verdict “is just the first step in achieving justice for the Moeller family.”<\/p>\n
They said the verdict “substantiate(s) the overwhelming evidence that Lowe\u2019s had known for more than a year about the targeted, unwarranted and escalating harassment Wasnetsky directed at Jeffrey, as well as Wasnetsky\u2019s intensifying anger and deteriorating behavior leading up to the shooting,” they said. <\/p>\n
Lowe\u2019s knew about Wasnetsky’s “targeted and intensifying personal vendetta” against Moeller and “his declining and concerning mental health.”<\/p>\n
“Jeffrey had to endure unspeakable and unfounded targeted workplace harassment while simply trying to do his job. He asked Lowe\u2019s for protection and was reassured with words that proved untrue. If Lowe\u2019s had taken even the most basic and fundamental steps that any responsible employer would take, Jeffrey Moeller would be alive today, and his three daughters would still have their father,” Feller and Berger said.<\/p>\n
A Lowe’s spokesperson declined to comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Lackawanna County jury has found a former Lowe\u2019s employee guilty of first-degree murder for the in-store killing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-265488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}