MET Opera Star's Son Busted in 1991 Rape & Murder

[stopbush]

The son of a famed New York opera star shot a young Pennsylvania camp counselor in the head at point-blank range, brutally raped her as she lay dying and then got away with it for 18 years -- until he was nabbed last week on new DNA evidence, authorities said.

Jeffrey Plishka, 46 -- son of internationally known Metropolitan Opera bass Paul Plishka -- had long been the prime suspect in the chilling 1991 murder of Laura Lynne Ronning, a pretty, outgoing Florida college student who worked at a Poconos sleepaway camp near the Plishka family's farm in Honesdale, Pa.

But shortly after the murder, with his wealthy dad's help, he moved to Florida and then around the country for the next two decades, sources said.

"The family has done everything it can to keep him off the radar," one former family friend told The Post.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08102009/news/regionalnews/met_opera_stars_son_busted_in_1991_rape__183799.htm

[david13]

1. Reminds me of that murder at the met. The killing of

who, a musician from the orchestra? During half time (ha, no, I don't watch football) or opera, in New York city.
That may have been about 1991 also?
I think there was a book about it?
dc

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. It was actually circa 1980, and the victim was a violinist

who was murdered by a stagehand during intermission.

A dancer performing with a visiting company saw the stagehand with the victim in a backstage elevator. The dancer was hypnotized to produce a sketch of the man she had seen, and it led to the stagehand.

[david13]

3. Yeah, Lydia. I guess I read the book. And I had seen it in the paper.

She disappeared at intermission. What does the conductor do then when a musician doesn't return. Go on, I guess, he assumes sickness, or other emergency. And the show goes on.
But how bizarre. But why not. No place is safe.
dc

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Well, I've seen what happens when there's a mishap on stage

Back in the 1970s, I was viewing a performance of the National Ballet of Cuba at Lincoln Center, when one of the dancers suddenly fell over and lay on the stage clutching her leg. The orchestra kept playing, and the audience started murmurring, saying, "Why doesn't the conductor stop?"

But no, he played to the end of the section. Then the curtain came down, the injured dancer was presumably removed from the stage, and ballet continued at the beginning of the next section.

My gentleman friend at the time had once dated a ballet dancer, and he explained that the orchestra kept playing to the end of the section so that the remaining dancers wouldn't get lost. It is extremely difficult for them to start in the middle of a sequence, so they could not have just picked up from the point where the dancer fell over. It would have been chaotic. However, by moving on to the next section, the conductor assured that everyone would be on the same page.

As far as a missing musician is concerned, there are an awful lot of violins on stage, and so while it would be unusual for a violinist not to return from intermission without prior notice, it would not cripple the orchestra unless that violinist was scheduled to play a solo passage. The conductor would probably make a mental note to talk to the musician later about being AWOL.

[david13]

5. Yes. I've seen many violins, but some instruments, on some performances,

and not well represented.
Violins, yes, they have 2 rows, not unusual. However, they do have ah ... plucking order? First chair, second chair. And they don't start til first and second are in place.
Someone else, yes, they could be done without.
First chair, sometimes he/she deliberately comes out last.
Berlin Philharmonic, Beethoven's 5th, someone in the first row broke a string, first movement. (As might be expected.) They waited while it was changed.
Audience silent, except for one who yelled 'vunderbar'.
dc