Frederick P. Balester leaves the Luzerne County Courthouse after his preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges he fatally stabbed his cousin, Jonathan Balester, in May 2011.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
Jonathan Balester
WILKES-BARRE — Retired forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross described the May 2011 stabbing death of Jonathan Balester as “overkill.”
Ross conducted Jonathan Balester’s autopsy on May 28, 2011, two days after the 56-year-old was found dead inside his North Lehigh Street, Kingston Township, home with 17 stab wounds, mostly to his back.
As the case stalled for more than a decade with no arrest, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Caroline Rayeski, in December 2022, reviewed the case file and requested Ross to study autopsy photographs to determine if Jonathan Balester could have been stunned by a Taser.
After Ross concluded his study of autopsy pictures in April 2025, he opined two identical circular marks on the back of Jonathan Balester could have come from a stun gun.
Investigators, with Ross’ medical opinion, arrested Frederick P. Balester, 69, of Liberty Hills, Hanover Township, in January 2026, with criminal homicide, alleging he killed his cousin over a dispute about selling the family business, Balester Optical.
Jonathan Balester, a shareholder in the family business, was a holdout against selling the business, angering Frederick P. Balester, another shareholder, according to court records.
Court records allege Jonathan Balester was killed the day before shareholders were scheduled to vote to sell the business.
After nearly four hours of testimony during Frederick P. Balester’s preliminary hearing on Wednesday, District Judge Brian Tupper of Kingston Township determined Deputy District Attorney Daniel E. Zola and Assistant District Attorneys Jill Matthews and Gerry Scott established a case, sending the criminal homicide charge to the Court of Common Pleas.
Attorney Theron J. Solomon, who is representing Frederick Balester with Attorney Nicole P. Psaila, said there is “absolutely” no evidence his client killed his cousin.
“There is no case here. It’s not even a thin case; there’s no case,” Solomon argued.
During the hearing, prosecutors introduced testimony from state police crime lab scientists who tested three latex gloves recovered from Jonathan Balester’s house.
Frederick Balester’s DNA was found mixed with Jonathan Balester’s DNA and a third unknown contributor inside one of the three latex gloves.
Solomon pointed out Frederick Balester’s DNA was found “nowhere else” inside Jonathan Balester’s house, which was covered with blood. Also, Solomon argued, a pair of shoes seized from Frederick Balester’s house did not match a bloody shoe print.
Prosecutors focused heavily on an Ultra High Power stun gun that was also seized from Frederick Balester’s house during the execution of a search warrant by state police in November 2011.
With the stun gun in evidence, years later, Ross was asked to review autopsy photos of Jonathan Balester to see if there were any markings caused by a stun gun.
With pictures of the autopsy on a screen, Ross pointed to two identical circular marks that he opined could have been caused by the stun gun seized from Frederick Balester’s house.
Solomon noted the purported stun gun injury on Jonathan Balester’s back could have been caused by something else, as the body was dragged into the house. Solomon further argued the stun gun electrical prongs were one inch apart, while the autopsy photo depicting the alleged stun gun injury were “on top of each other.”
Solomon said Frederick Balester had an alibi as he was sleeping at the time Jonathan Balester was killed, and suggested another shareholder could be responsible for the killing.
“I’ve never seen a weaker case in my life,” Solomon argued. “Their best evidence is a mixture of DNA on one glove. This is an injustice.”
Zola said Frederick Balester’s DNA was found in one of the gloves at the scene of the murder, and a unique weapon was used to incapacitate Jonathan Balester before he was violently stabbed 17 times.
“This case deserves to be heard by a jury, that’s where this case belongs,” Zola said.
Ross testified that 15 of the 17 stab wounds were “deep,” with two stab wounds penetrating rib bones.
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