PENN STATE UPDATE: An interesting twist in the Jerry Sandusky case

The Jerry Sandusky case has just gotten much more interesting. In 1998, Ray Gricar was the
Centre County District Attorney. According to the Sandusky Grand Jury report, in 1998 Gricar decided not to prosecute then-Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky after evidence that Sandusky had molested a young boy was brought to his attention.

Seven years later, then-District Attorney Ray Gricar went missing. His car was later found abandoned, and his laptop was found in the Susquehanna River, without a hard drive and damaged beyond repair. Police reported that before he went missing, he had researched “how to destroy a hard drive” on his home computer.

  

While still early in the Sandusky trial, and a leap to assume that the two incidents are connected, Gricar’s reasoning not to prosecute Sandusky will never be known. There is no proof that Gricar had heard of the 2002 shower incident, and whether Sandusky had gone missing because of the Sandusky allegations will probably never be known. However, it does add an interesting twist in the recent allegations, and more information of Gricar’s disappearance may surface in the coming months as the case moves forward.

Authorities are looking into whether the man pictured above at left is former Centre County prosecutor Ray Gricar, who was just declared legally dead. 

Investigators in Centre County are checking with authorities in Utah to see if this John Doe prisoner might be the prosecutor who has been missing for more than six years.

Basically, a man who is about the same height and weight as Gricar was arrested on misdemeanor charges, but refused to give authorities his name. His fingerprints had no match to anyone in the system.

He is estimated to be in his late 60s or early 70s. Ray would be 65 if he was alive today.

At the request of Gricar's only daughter and sole heir, Lara, a Centre County judge declared Gricar deceased by law. It means his estate can be distributed, but it won't stop investigators from following up on leads, like this one.

If Gricar were to be found alive after being declared legally dead, his estate would probably not be affected, but there are no cases like that in Pennsylvania history.