Hours after Cheryl Silvonek tried to end a relationship between her 14-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old soldier, the Upper Macungie mother fought for her life as he repeatedly stabbed her in the neck early Sunday, police say.
Investigators say they found defensive wounds all over Silvonek's hands, showing she did not go quietly as Caleb G. Barnes allegedly stabbed her in a family car parked in the driveway as her daughter looked on.
Barnes, on a weekend leave from Fort Meade in Maryland to visit the girl, was charged Monday with killing Silvonek, and her daughter was locked in a juvenile facility, accused of helping Barnes bury her mother's body along a rural road a few miles from the attack.
Because of her age, police did not release the girl's name. The family's attorney said she is "devastated" by the killing.
"She's just crying for her mom, saying she misses her mom," said lawyer John Waldron. "This is a child, who just turned 14. She's in shock."
Barnes, who enlisted in the Army in El Paso, Texas, is charged with homicide, abuse of a corpse and statutory sexual assault. He is in Lehigh County Jail without bail.
The girl is charged as a juvenile with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension. Prosecutors have 10 days to decide whether they'll charge her as an adult.
Police say the killing took place between midnight Saturday and 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the Silvonek family's driveway at 1516 Randi Lane.
An argument broke out as the three of them sat in the car, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said.
"I can only imagine that it was because of his age," Martin said. "We have a 20-year-old man a 14-year-old."
After Silvonek's death, Barnes and the daughter drove another car to the Walmart in Lower Macungie Township, Martin said, and bought alcohol, bleach and other items to allegedly clean up the crime scene.
The pair then drove Silvonek's car with her body inside to the 5700 block of Haasadahl Road in South Whitehall.
Ray Werley, of Haasadahl Road, called police to report the car after his Pomeranian woke him at 4 a.m.
"I grabbed a spotlight and I could see down across the road was a vehicle facing the wrong way," Werley said. "I seen all the blood in it. It was smeared on the passenger-side window like there was a fight, like there was a struggle. It was drops all on the dash … and all over the seat. And the car was locked.
"That's what scared me. I thought, was I down here and he was trying to get into the house?"
Martin said Barnes and the daughter were burying the 54-year-old woman's body in a nearby wooded area while Werley was looking in the car. South Whitehall police responded in about five minutes, Martin said, but by then the car was gone.
Officers looked around the area and noticed a mound of disturbed dirt on the snowy bank of Haasen Creek. Silvonek's body was found in a shallow grave.
Police fanned out onto nearby Applewood and Huckleberry roads, where they found a vehicle partially submerged in a pond. A large amount of blood was inside the car, court records say.
Officers traced the car to the Silvonek residence, where they found Barnes and the girl,
as well as Silvonek's husband, David, who was sleeping.
Martin said David Silvonek did not know about his daughter's relationship with Barnes and did not know he was in their home.
Barnes and the girl met at a concert in October and began a relationship, Martin said. He said the statutory sexual assault charge stems from evidence that Barnes had sexual relations with the girl on three occasions over the past several weeks, including Saturday night or Sunday morning, shortly before the slaying.
"The mother became aware of the relationship and was attempting to have her daughter break it off," Martin said. "Obviously we don't know what occurred in the driveway. There are different versions of the event."
On Friday night, Silvonek took her daughter and Barnes to a Wilkes-Barre area concert by country music singer Eric Church, Martin said.
Barnes, who holds the rank of specialist, was on a weekend pass from Fort Meade and was due back at the base at 8 p.m. Sunday, according to MyRon Young, Army public affairs officer. He said Barnes joined the military in February 2012 and declined to comment further.
Silvonek worked as a medical secretary at Lehigh Valley Health Network. LVHN spokesman Brian Downs said her co-workers were mourning her loss Monday.
"We are deeply saddened that we have lost one of our Lehigh Valley Health Network colleagues with the tragic passing of Cheryl Silvonek. We express our deepest sympathy to Cheryl's family, colleagues and friends and want them to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time," Downs said in a prepared statement.
A man who appeared to be in his 40s answered the door Monday morning at the Silvonek home and directed all questions to his attorney, Waldron.
"Please respect my family's privacy," the man said as he closed the door to their two-story, three-car garage home.
Late Monday afternoon, numerous cars were lined up outside the large brick home. A woman who came out of the house said the family was not ready to talk.
The daughter had her first juvenile court hearing Monday afternoon, and her father and grandparents were in the courtroom to hear the charges read, Waldron said.
"Everyone was crying. It was just brutal," he said.
Waldron said the girl's family did not oppose court officials' recommendation that she remain in a juvenile facility while the case is being investigated.
"It's in her best interest to remain there. She's going to get psychological counseling while she's here," he said.