Talented but deeply troubled Geologist who is remembered today as much if not more for his violent and unpredictable nature as he is for his work in the field of geology and petrology.

BS in Geology from Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA in 1965.
MS in Geology from Penn State University, 1969.
PhD in Geology from Penn State University, 1972.

Was selected as the new head of the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, as well as a prestigious teaching position at University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 1975.

He was arrested and disgraced in 1975 by allegations of pedophilia and child molestation, despite a hung jury and the trial records being expunged, and was never able to obtain a teaching job or other professional position as a result of these charges. Although he was never convicted, allegations of child molestation before and after the 1975 trial exist and they continued to follow him for the rest of his life. The story of his trial and the allegations against him was the subject of the 2018 book "Justice Perverted: The Molestation Mistrial of Richard Charles Haefner."

He died in 2002 in a Las Vegas hospital after bleeding out from a tear in his aorta -- a congenital heart defect. His marker is placed with his family in Lancaster, but he was in fact cremated and it is not known if his ashes are buried there or not.

Has been implicated by police, family members, and independent investigators as the probable killer of Betsy Ruth Aardsma, whom he dated briefly while at Penn State.

Talented but deeply troubled Geologist who is remembered today as much if not more for his violent and unpredictable nature as he is for his work in the field of geology and petrology.

BS in Geology from Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA in 1965.
MS in Geology from Penn State University, 1969.
PhD in Geology from Penn State University, 1972.

Was selected as the new head of the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, as well as a prestigious teaching position at University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 1975.

He was arrested and disgraced in 1975 by allegations of pedophilia and child molestation, despite a hung jury and the trial records being expunged, and was never able to obtain a teaching job or other professional position as a result of these charges. Although he was never convicted, allegations of child molestation before and after the 1975 trial exist and they continued to follow him for the rest of his life. The story of his trial and the allegations against him was the subject of the 2018 book "Justice Perverted: The Molestation Mistrial of Richard Charles Haefner."

He died in 2002 in a Las Vegas hospital after bleeding out from a tear in his aorta -- a congenital heart defect. His marker is placed with his family in Lancaster, but he was in fact cremated and it is not known if his ashes are buried there or not.

Has been implicated by police, family members, and independent investigators as the probable killer of Betsy Ruth Aardsma, whom he dated briefly while at Penn State.