Late every August when most people are thinking about school, there last beach trips, Labor Day weekend, Football and BBQ's Sara is not far from my thoughts. Henderson, Chester County lost a Warrior 12 years ago this year and although gone I will not forget.
We were getting ready to start High School, Most of us anyway. It was late August 1998 and we were trying to get in our last moments of summer before we were freshmen. Summer School was barley over and there was not nearly enough time for all the fun that had to be had, Bomb Fires, BBQs, Beers, Concerts, Car Trips, Friends, and Boyfriends.
It was one of these nights that Sara (then 14) walked outside late at night to have a cigarette and was murdered. We all found out the tragic news a year later, however. West Chester went back to school without Sara while her friends worked with detective Catov to find her.
Life immediately became a dark funnel cloud without peace. I could not tell you much about a teacher, grade, boyfriend.. Anything that happened for approximately the next six months. I was asked to leave Henderson High School in October after being involved in a fight in the sophomore wing.
August 30, 1999 a routine maintenance worker found 90% of Sara's skeletal remains in a sewer after lifting a man hole to perform routine maintenance. The man hole was yards from her home.
February 13, 2004 Detectives received a confession from Matthew Gianboi (18 years old at the time of the murder). He was a neighbor and acquaintance and confessed to strangling Sara during what he proclaimed to be 'consensual sex' (we all know that’s a lie) and put her body in the man hole.
During prosecution in August 2004 Heather and I sat in the front holding hands. Judge MacElree asked Giamboi to tell Sara's friends and family what happened that night. He asked him to turn and face the court. Giamboi looked us in the eyes so cowardly and still lied and 'apologized for our loss'
The Judge proclaimed -" You are clearly responsible for her death," MacElree said. "It’s hard to imagine one human being can be so callous toward another. For the rest of your life, her face, her memory should be etched in yours."
Heather and I did not need words. We cried for all that Sara will never experience. We cried tears of pure anger for the lies, deceit and selfishness. We cried for each other for what we had been through for so many years, for all it did to change us and so many others that were not there that day.
Sara was book smart, street smart, artistic, gorgeous 5" 5' with blond (sometimes black) hair and blue eyes. She was funny rebellious and losing her so young was a definite loss to so many that never even had the chance to know her.
Due to little evidence and no witnesses the detectives were pushed to a third degree murder charge with the confession and Giamboi is serving a 10-40 year prison sentence upstate.
Sara is buried in West Chester.
http://missing87975.yuku.com/forums/52/t/PENNSYLVANIA.html
http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2004/08/26/frontpage/12783016.txt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwC0RTAC2Pg
My sister lived in Sara's neighborhood at the time she "went missing"...for a year we could not walk the dog, go to the pool or park without our eyes darting everywhere in search of Sara. It was the deepest cruelty when her body was discovered literally under our feet a year later. Not knowing the family, we did what small acts of comfort and neighborliness we could.
ReplyDeleteI also did not know Sara, but heard wonderful things about her, and she and her family are held in my heart all these many years later.
My sister lived in Sara's neighborhood at the time she "went missing"...for a year we could not walk the dog, go to the pool or park without our eyes darting everywhere in search of Sara. It was the deepest cruelty when her body was discovered literally under our feet a year later. Not knowing the family, we did what small acts of comfort and neighborliness we could.
ReplyDeleteI also did not know Sara, but heard wonderful things about her, and she and her family are held in my heart all these many years later.
I was in Sara's grade, I knew her in middle school. We had classes together all 3 years. I didn't have friends but she was nice to me. I think about her and all the stuff she'll never know. She was SO nice.
ReplyDeleteYour information is incorrect. Sarah was not murdered by "Matthew Giamboi." She was murdered by Andrew Joseph Giamboi. Second, the charges against him had been reduced from the death penalty to the 10-40 year sentence by a deal made by his grandfather, who had been a NYS Supreme Judge.
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry for your loss and for the loss of this beautiful young lady. Let's just say I knew Andrew and his family before this all happened and I can tell you from first hand experience that the kid had some issues. One time he and I had roughhouse wrestled as two you guys sometimes do, but he seemed to have an issue with boundaries. He seemed to not know when to stop messing around when physical playing was getting to be too much/too violent. A couple of times I literally had to forcibly push him off me to get him to stop. I had lost contact with the family in 1998 and found out about this murder years later (around 2006) after reading about it online. When I learned about it, I was deeply shocked and saddened but then I remembered, how Andrew would take roughhouse play almost way too far and then it all made sense to me how this tragedy could have happened. I believe He simply lost control of himself and then being an 18 year old kid with an under-developed frontal cortex, he most likely panicked when it resulted in someone getting hurt. I just thought maybe I could offer a little bit of insight into how this awful thing could have happened. I continue to pray for Sara and her family. she was way too young to have been taken from this world.
ReplyDeleteI look through this more often then i should. I’m sarah’s cousin that was born shortly after they found her. Her mom is my aunt. Growing up i was told all about her and what she was like. I visit her statue often as we looked so similar at the same age. I grew up with constant reminders from everyone in the family of what not to do, as I’m the only female born on my moms side of the family except for Sara. I wonder CONSTANTLY why this POS that did this to her wasn't charged with rape. she was 14!!!!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone would like to reach out to me I'm really interested in learning more about her.
DeleteHM I was a friend of Sara’s. I don’t want to put too much personal information on here so not sure how we could connect.
HM. I'm also Sarah's cousin on her father's side. I was a little under 4 when she was killed. I have no strong memories of her, but I remember her absence. Some of my earliest memories are of our shared grandparents showing pictures of her holding me as a baby. I feel weird mourning someone I didn't get the opportunity to
Deleteknow well. But her father's (my dad's brother) side completely fell apart after this and I never got the courage to ask anyone about her before they all passed away and I'll forever be sad that I didn't get to know her. So I often come back here looking to find some more information. Not about her tragic ending but about who she was as a person
Hey all- Shortly after i made that post in 2023 my mother along with one of my aunts passed away. I finally have the time to listen and learn after closing my mothers estate.
DeleteI set up an email just for this as i also didn't want to post any personal information. If you have memories, are a family member, once a friend, please email listeningtosara@gmail.com.
I would be very interested in hearing from the cousin who posted on her dads side. My family also completely fell apart after her death and everyone stopped communicating. Very few of my family members are left, though i am grateful that her mom is still alive. Please reach out to me as i would love to “compare notes”. I often drive past her gravestone to get to work and im glad others are thinking about her too.
HM I was a friend of Sara’s. I don’t want to put too much personal information on here so not sure how we could connect.
ReplyDeleteHeart breaking. I am just now reading what happened to Sara. I never knew any of the Giamboi's outside my grandmother. For whatever reason... My father didn't want me to know any of the Giamboi family. We moved from Baldwin to SoCal in 1968 I was 11. I never knew Andrew, so I don't know if he is my nephew or cousin. I do know I am so sorry for the family's great loss. She was a very beautiful young lady. I will remember Sara and her family in my prayers. I will pray God gives Sara's family peace. RJG
ReplyDeleteHey all- Shortly after i made that post in 2023 my mother along with one of my aunts passed away. I finally have the time to listen and learn after closing my mothers estate.
ReplyDeleteI set up an email just for this as i also didn't want to post any personal information. If you have memories, are a family member, once a friend, please email listeningtosara@gmail.com.
I would be very interested in hearing from the cousin who posted on her dads side. My family also completely fell apart after her death and everyone stopped communicating. Very few of my family members are left, though i am grateful that her mom is still alive. Please reach out to me as i would love to “compare notes”. I often drive past her gravestone to get to work and im glad others are thinking about her too.
Hi all - I'm a writer and am exploring this horrific case for a book I am working on. My husband and his family are from West Chester and this story has haunted me for years. I could never understand how this monster has been able to roam free after committing such a heinous crime. I'm interested in knowing more about the young woman Sara was and writing something to honor her memory. My writing can be found at barriemiskin.com. Please contact me if you would be able to share any stories. I will be handing all information confidentially and with utmost sensitivity. You can reach me at barrie.miskin@gmail.com.
ReplyDelete