Latest news with #Gettysburg
The Sun
21-07-2025
- The Sun
Shock twist in Annabelle doll handler's sudden death after wild conspiracy blamed US's most infamous ‘haunted' object
A SHOCK twist has been revealed after the sudden death of a paranormal investigator while touring with a 'demonically possessed' doll. Creepy Annabelle has spooked believers for decades - despite the doll being encased in a glass box to 'contain the evil.' 5 5 Dan Rivera, 54, died on July 13 in Pennsylvania while leading a national tour of the allegedly haunted Raggedy Ann doll named Annabelle. The US Army veteran was the lead paranormal investigator of the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), which announced his 'sudden' death. Rivera had been showing the supposedly haunted doll - which inspired film franchise The Conjuring - across multiple states. At the time of his death he had been visiting Gettysburg, where he was leading the Devils on the Run Tour alongside NESPR colleagues. A Pennsylvania coroner has now confirmed to People that the spooky doll was not in the hotel room where Rivera died. Francis Dutrow, the Adams County coroner, told the magazine that he didn't notice Annabelle upon his arrival at the scene on July 13. Dutrow also further confirmed that the doll had not been in Rivera's hotel room at all. The coroner told People that hours before he died, Rivera had been with NESPR colleagues. However, he told them he was returning to his hotel room, as he was feeling sick. The Pennsylvania State Police said on July 16: 'Members from PSP Gettysburg responded to a hotel in Straban Township, Adams County for a report of a deceased [man]. 'Annabelle doll' handler Dan Rivera dies suddenly at 54 while touring with America's most infamous 'haunted' object_4 "The decedent was discovered in his hotel room by workers. 'Nothing unusual or suspicious was observed at the scene." Rivera's cause of death has not as yet been revealed. His autopsy results are expected before the end of September. The doll had been given to late paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who kept it in their occult museum in Monroe, Connecticut. The chilling tale of "demonic The original doll, which was locked up inside Ed and Lorraine Warrens' Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, was claimed to have unleashed a reign of terror on a group of flatmates in a chain of events that ended in a man's death Annabelle's chilling story began in 1970 when a mum bought the doll from a hobby shop for her daughter, student nurse Donna, as a birthday gift. Donna took the doll back to the flat she shared with her friend Angie and soon began to notice small hand movements, which they explained away. The doll was then claimed to have begun to move around the flat, appearing outside Angie's room after being placed on Donna's bed. Then things took an even more sinister twist. The girls' close friend, Lou, became very nervous around the doll, believing it to be possessed, but the girls dismissed his fears. Then notes written on parchment paper, reading "Help us" and "Help Lou" in a child's handwriting, began to appear around the flat. The girls finally called in a medium, after Donna came home from work to find the doll had 'blood' on her hands. Annabelle was on her usual spot on the bed but red liquid was seeping from her hands. After holding a séance the medium claimed the apartment was built on the site of a field, where a dead seven-year-old girl called Annabelle Higgins had been found many years before. When the doll was brought to the apartment Annabelle's spirit was apparently in the area and she became fond of the doll, opting to possess it. Donna later called in an Episcopal priest named Father Hegan, who suggested they contact occult experts Ed and Lorraine Warren. The couple told the girls the doll was allegedly being manipulated by an "inhuman demonic spirit." Inanimate objects aren't possessed, they said, but spirits can become "attached." The apartment was 'cleansed' by Ed, using a special Episcopal blessing, and the couple took the doll away and housed it in their museum. A few hours after the priest left their museum, he rang the Warrens, claiming his brakes had failed as he turned on to a busy road. He'd been in an accident, his car was written off and he was lucky to have survived. Ed claimed the doll willed his car's brakes and steering to fail, before he stopped it by throwing holy water on it. Worried, the Warrens moved the rag doll in to a glass box at their museum, secured with a special set of prayers. Lorraine Warren later warned visitors against mocking Annabelle. But one man visiting the museum began bashing on her case, calling on her to scratch him if she was real. Ed threw him out, but later heard a chilling tale from his girlfriend. Lorraine recalled: "[The girlfriend] told us that they were both laughing and joking about the doll when the young man lost control of the bike and crashed head-on into a tree.' He was killed instantly and his girlfriend was in hospital for a year. In a lecture given at Rutgers University in 1987, the Warrens claimed that Annabelle could "slash" people's skin with her psychic powers. Ed Warren died in 2006, and Lorraine passed away in 2019, aged 92. The museum closed following her death. The couple's decades of ghost-hunting cases inspired such frightening films as The Conjuring series and The Amityville Horror. Annabelle also has movies in her own name, including Annabelle (2014), Annabelle: Creation (2017), and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). HAUNTINGS The Warrens founded the New England Society for Psychic Research in Monroe in 1952 to probe suspected hauntings. They investigated more than 10,000 cases in the U.S. and abroad, often writing about their experiences. One such case was that involving the rag doll, with huge black eyes. Lorraine Warren said: "It's not what the doll looks like that makes it scary. It is what has been infused within the doll. Evil." A student nurse who received the Raggedy Ann doll as a gift brought it home where she lived with a roommate, according to NESPR, which is overseen by the Warrens' son-in-law Tony Spera. 5 His in-laws pronounced the doll as being allegedly "demonically possessed." To protect people, they encased it in a glass box to contain the "evil spirited entity," according to the website. A chilling alert displayed on its case says: "Warning: Positively Do Not Open." US TOUR WARNING Rivera, who was mentored by the couple, took ownership of Annabelle after Lorraine's death in 2019, and hoped to continue their work with his research and tour. His sudden death came after the Warren family had to quash conspiracy theory-style claims that the doll had disappeared. Months before the US tour, Rivera had posted on Facebook about embarking on a 'thrilling and terrifying adventure showcasing the most diabolical items from the infamous Warren's Occult Museum.' Spookily, a woman warned him eight weeks ago: 'I don't understand why you guys would put yourself in danger like this, you really should put that doll back. "And Lorraine Warren said it wasn't supposed to be touched or removed under no circumstances.' 5 But another wrote: 'So much superstitious nonsense. Grow up people.' Others said it was a mere 'coincidence' and that 'he didn't die because of a doll.' One woman admonished believers by writing: 'Seriously?! Do you think people are gullible or what?! "I'm sorry this man passed away, but come one, you guys are being silly here.' Dan Rivera's family statement "We as a family are in pieces as we share the news that Dan Rivera has passed away unexpectedly," Sarah Bond Rivera said. "He was the center of this family and a pillar of love and strength. "As a devoted husband, father of four sons, and a staunchly faithful friend, he always had a quiet source of resilience, strength and endless hope. "Daniel carried a light and a brave heart everyday through his life and his work. "We are currently at a loss for words as we process his loss but are extremely thankful for the love, support and respect during this unimaginable time." Source: Facebook. However, one man claimed: 'When Annabelle got to Gettysburg, we went into a huge blackout for 911! "Everyone's phones were going crazy with the notification for 911 being out, and it's just odd that soon as Annabelle got to Gettysburg that happened, then he dies suddenly.' Another agreed, saying: 'On the day the tour started in Gettysburg, PA had a statewide 911 outage. That thing is evil.' One believer added: 'Most haunted doll on earth. "It was warned 'never to remove' the doll [from] where it was stored, and this guy not only moved the doll but took it on a US tour.' Another added: 'The Warrens kept Annabelle locked up for a reason.'
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man who sent Facebook message about committing a 2013 campus sexual assault pleads guilty
Campus Sexual Assault GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 — and later sent her a Facebook message that said 'So I raped you' — pleaded guilty Thursday. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than a decade after Shannon Keeler says he sneaked into her first-year dorm at Gettysburg College on the eve of winter break and assaulted her. Cleary's guilty plea was the first time she'd seen him since the assault. 'I had been thinking about this moment for 12 years,' said Keeler, who clenched her husband's hand as Cleary was led into court by deputies. She called it a surreal moment. A decade ago, a former prosecutor had declined the case. 'It's taken a lot of twists and turns to get to this point,' said Keeler, now 30. 'It took a lot of people doing the right thing to get us here.' Judge Kevin Hess set an Oct. 20 sentencing date. The two sides proposed a four- to eight-year sentence, which the judge can accept or not. Keeler, in interviews with The Associated Press, described her decade-long efforts to persuade authorities to pursue charges, starting hours after the assault. She renewed the quest in 2021, after finding a series of disturbing Facebook messages from his account. Cleary has been in custody since his arrest on minor, unrelated charges in Metz, France, in April 2024. A defense lawyer told the judge Thursday that Cleary experienced several mental health episodes there and was hospitalized around the time he sent the Facebook messages in 2019. Cleary left Gettysburg after the assault and finished college in Silicon Valley, California, where he'd grown up. He then got a master's degree and worked for Tesla before moving overseas, where he spent time writing medieval fiction, according to his online posts. The AP published an investigation on the case and on the broader reluctance among prosecutors to pursue campus sex assault charges in May 2021. An indictment followed weeks later. Authorities in the U.S. and Europe tried to track Cleary down for the next three years, but seemed unable to follow his trail, online or otherwise. In court Thursday, defense lawyer John Abom said Cleary was homeless at times and unaware of the charges. Adams County District Attorney Brian Sinnett on Thursday said he has his doubts, but cannot prove that Cleary was on the run, so it's unlikely to be an issue at sentencing. The second-degree sexual assault charge carries a maximum 10 years in prison. His family members have declined to comment on the case and have not attended his court hearings. Abom also declined to comment on Cleary's behalf Thursday. The AP typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Keeler has done. 'I hope that we as a society, the institutions around us, can make truly successful legal outcomes more viable for victims,' she said after the plea. "It starts with listening to victims and making sure their voices are heard,' she said, 'even if the system's slow to catch up.'
New York Times
18-07-2025
- New York Times
Man Who Sent ‘I Raped You' Message Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault
A California man who attacked a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and years later sent her a Facebook message that said 'So I raped you' pleaded guilty on Thursday to sexual assault. The plea, in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas in Gettysburg, Pa., capped a case in which Shannon Keeler, 30, the woman who was attacked, spent years pressing the authorities to bring charges against the man, Ian Cleary. 32. Mr. Cleary attacked Ms. Keeler in her dorm room on the night of Dec. 15, 2013, when they were both students at Gettysburg College, kissing her and then having sex with her without her consent, prosecutors said. Years later, in 2019, Mr. Cleary sent Ms. Keeler a series of Facebook messages about the attack. The Adams County District Attorney's Office brought charges against Mr. Cleary in 2021, setting off a search that ended with his arrest in 2024 in France and his extradition to the United States in January. Under a plea agreement, Mr. Cleary will face a maximum possible sentence of four to eight years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Kevin A. Hess on Oct. 20, according to John Abom, Mr. Cleary's lawyer. Mr. Cleary can receive credit for his time in custody since his April 2024 arrest, Mr. Abom said. He is being held at the Adams County Adult Correctional Complex. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Screen Geek
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Screen Geek
Paranormal Investigator Dan Rivera Dies During Annabelle Haunted Doll Tour
The allegedly haunted doll known as 'Annabelle,' that horror fans may recognize from The Conjuring and its follow-ups, was the focus of a ' Devils on the Run Tour ' when the paranormal investigator hosting the tour suddenly died. Dan Rivera, who was only 54-years-old, passed away unexpectedly during the tour. As reported by the NY Post, the US Army Veteran was hosting the tour in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania at the time of his death. Firefighters and medics were dispatched to his hotel, and while CPR was performed on Rivera, attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Dan Rivera is said to have been the lead investigator for the New England Society for Psychic Research. Additionally, the exact cause of his unexpected death has yet to be confirmed. Fans may have recognized Rivera for being involved with the Travel Channel's Most Haunted Place as a paranormal investigator. He was also a producer for other similar shows including the Netflix series 28 Days Haunted . The New England Society for Psychic Research, aka NESPR, reported that Rivera was one of several members from the organization giving tours surrounding the doll known as Annabelle. The outlet adds that Rivera's 'death came after he finished a three-day sellout stop in Gettysburg from Friday through Sunday.' The tour was hosted by the ' Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Tours ' at the Soldiers National Orphanage. Prior to its popularity in The Conjuring , which featured a fictionalized version of the doll, Annabelle was a Raggedy Ann doll investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren in the 1970s. In fact, the Warrens founded the NESPR organization as far back as 1952. The doll was eventually placed in the Warrens' occult museum, and it has since been under the ownership of their daughter Judy and son-in-law, Tony Spera, who have toured the doll with their museum in recent years. Dan Rivera is survived by his wife Sarah and four children. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any potential updates regarding the situation as we have them.
CNN
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Coroner says ‘Annabelle' doll was not present in the hotel room where paranormal investigator Dan Rivera suddenly died
A Pennsylvania coroner is revealing new details surrounding the sudden death of Dan Rivera, a noted paranormal investigator who was on tour with the Raggedy Ann doll known as Annabelle, made famous by 'The Conjuring' horror film franchise, when he died. Francis Dutrow, coroner in Adams County, PA, told CNN on Thursday that the doll was not present in the hotel room where Rivera died earlier this week in Gettysburg. He was reportedly 54. Ever since the death was reported by the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) via a press release posted to Facebook on Tuesday, horror and supernatural fans have theorized about a possible connection between the Annabelle doll, which Rivera was seen handling during the 'Devils on the Run Tour' over the weekend, and his death. The case remains an'active investigation,' according to the coroner, with autopsy results expected in eight to ten weeks. Pennsylvania State Police public information officer Megan Frazer shared a report on Wednesday citing details that match Rivera's case, and stated that 'nothing unusual or suspicious was observed at the scene.' On Tuesday, NESPR posted to social media announcing 'the sudden and heartbreaking loss of our dear friend and colleague' Rivera. 'Dan was not only a vital part of our team for over a decade, but also a deeply compassionate, loyal, and dedicated friend.' Rivera was affiliated with the Warren Occult Museum in Connecticut, which shared on its Facebook page that he 'played a vital role in the museum's operations, often responsible for transporting and safeguarding Annabelle during public appearances and private events.' 'He was respected for his careful approach and deep respect for the artefact's (sic) alleged supernatural reputation. Rivera's sudden passing has shocked both colleagues and paranormal enthusiasts worldwide.' NESPR's statement also said Rivera was a US Army veteran, and that he 'worked closely with' Lorraine Warren – the late famed paranormal investigator who determined that the real-life Annabelle doll was demonically possessed in 1968. Warren was portrayed by actor Vera Farmiga in the 'Conjuring' films, an immensely successful horror franchise that has also seen sequels and standalone spinoffs, including 2014's 'Annabelle' and 2018's 'The Nun.' A new sequel starring Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, titled 'The Conjuring: Last Rites,' is due in September.
