No one has been charged in the killing of Gary Redner, the executive vice president of Redner’s Warehouse Markets who was beaten to death outside his Berks County home on March 8, 2008. More than 17 years later, the question of who killed Gary Redner remains officially unanswered, though Pennsylvania State Police have said they believe the attacker was someone he knew and that a handful of people in the area know what happened and have refused to come forward.1Reading Eagle. Years Later the Search for Gary Redner’s Killer Continues
What Investigators Believe Happened
Redner, 55, left Ganly’s Irish Pub and Restaurant around 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday night. The pub sat about half a mile from his home on the 400 block of Reber’s Bridge Road in Lower Heidelberg Township.2FOX43. State Police Investigation Cold Case Reward Offered Murder Gary Redner Berks County
State police believe Redner pulled into his own driveway and was still in the driver’s seat when someone confronted him. He ran on foot through a wooded area toward a neighbor’s property. The attacker caught him and beat him to death in the neighbor’s driveway, where his body was found the next morning.3Reading Eagle. PA State Police Offering $5,000 Reward for Tips in Gary Redner’s Killing Redner did not die immediately; he survived his injuries for hours.1Reading Eagle. Years Later the Search for Gary Redner’s Killer Continues The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, and the manner was ruled homicide. No murder weapon has been publicly identified.4PhillyVoice. Redner’s Market Homicide Cold Case Pennsylvania
Why Police Think the Killer Knew Him
Trooper Eric R. Schaeffer, the lead investigator, said in 2018 that physical evidence and the sequence of events pointed to someone familiar with Redner. He dismissed the theory of a stranger lying in wait, noting that the drive from the pub to the house took only about 25 seconds on a stormy night, which made a chance encounter unlikely. Schaeffer described the killing not as a planned murder but as a physical fight that escalated, calling it “an episode of sudden anger.”1Reading Eagle. Years Later the Search for Gary Redner’s Killer Continues
Robbery was ruled out as a motive. Redner’s wallet was still on his body when he was found, with $270 in cash inside.2FOX43. State Police Investigation Cold Case Reward Offered Murder Gary Redner Berks County Investigators have said they were not aware of any argument or trouble involving Redner at the pub earlier that evening.3Reading Eagle. PA State Police Offering $5,000 Reward for Tips in Gary Redner’s Killing
Schaeffer described the suspected killer as someone with difficulty controlling anger and the physical ability to inflict a severe beating on an able-bodied, middle-aged man. No suspects have ever been publicly named.
The Local Silence Holding the Case Back
Schaeffer estimated in 2018 that between two and four people in the area knew what happened after Redner left the pub and had chosen not to tell police. He said their reasons for staying quiet were “stronger than $125,000,” referring to the reward money already on the table.1Reading Eagle. Years Later the Search for Gary Redner’s Killer Continues
Dozens of troopers worked the case in its early phase, interviewing witnesses, traveling out of state, and processing physical evidence. The resulting investigative file runs more than 700 pages. The Reading-based Troop L Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit still handles it.
Case Status and Rewards
Trooper Ethan M. Brownback, a Troop L public information officer, said in December 2025 that the case is “still being actively investigated” and that troopers are “still pushing forward with it,” though he had no new details to release.3Reading Eagle. PA State Police Offering $5,000 Reward for Tips in Gary Redner’s Killing
Two rewards remain available for information leading to an arrest. Pennsylvania State Police are offering $5,000, and Crime Alert Berks County is offering $125,000. Tips can be submitted several ways:
- PSP tip line: 1-800-472-8477 (1-800-4PA-TIPS).4PhillyVoice. Redner’s Market Homicide Cold Case Pennsylvania
- Anonymously through the Pennsylvania State Police website.
- Crime Alert Berks County at crimealertberks.org, through its smartphone app, or by phone at 877-373-9913.
Who Gary Redner Was
Gary William Redner was born in 1952 and worked for 36 years at the family business, right up through the Friday before his death.5Kuhn Funeral Homes. Gary Redner Obituary He held the title of executive vice president of procurement and director of wholesale operations at Redner’s Warehouse Markets, the Reading-based grocery chain his father Earl founded in 1970.66abc Philadelphia. Redner’s Warehouse Markets Executive Found Slain He ran the company alongside his brother Richard, the president and CEO, and worked with his son Gary M. Redner, who directed wholesale operations.
Redner was divorced, lived alone, and had two adult children. His father called him “probably the most popular person in the company,” and state police described him as a “very gregarious man.” Outside work he played drums, performing at Philadelphia-area venues in the two years before his death.5Kuhn Funeral Homes. Gary Redner Obituary
His father Earl died in April 2017 at age 91, and his brother Richard died in April 2024 at age 73, neither having seen the case solved. In lieu of flowers, Richard’s family asked for donations to Crime Alert of Berks County, the organization still carrying the $125,000 reward in Gary’s case.7The Morning Call. Richard Redner Who Helped Expand Redner’s Supermarket Chain Dies at 73