Murder charges held in landlord-tenant case

All charges were held for trial against a landlord accused of hitting his Abington apartment tenant in the head with a blunt object and killing him.

Larry Reese, the 44-year-old property owner, was embroiled in an ongoing dispute with Louis Malachowsky, who was renting an apartment from Reese. The tenant and landlord's contentious relationship came to a head over money matters, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

Reese appeared before District Judge Joseph H. Dougherty for a preliminary hearing and afterward was returned to Montgomery County Correctional Facility. He is not eligible for bail.

In May, the DA charged Reese with second- and third-degree murder and abuse of corpse after he admitted hitting the 54-year-old man in the head with an electricians' insulator tool, then dumping the body in Philadelphia days later.

Reese, who lives in Lester, Delaware County, admitted to detectives that he got angry with Malachowsky after receiving an e-mail from him in April.

In the early morning on April 30, the property owner sneaked into the apartment at 2208 Hamilton Avenue carrying the tool he used in his work as an electrician for SEPTA, according to court papers.

Once inside the apartment, the landlord found the renter asleep on the couch. When the man awoke and saw Reese, he threatened to call police. Reese reportedly told investigators that he did not recall what happened next but admitted "I must have" hit Malachowsky.

According to the defendant, when he left the apartment after the confrontation, Malachowsky was "on the couch and mumbling." The tenant was set to move out in May. Prosecutors believe the landlord went to the apartment to kick the renter out.

Reese allegedly returned to the apartment a day or two after the incident and found the man dead on the sofa. At that time, the landlord tied him up, wrapped him up in a blanket and put him in a trash can, Ferman said in May. Next, Reese allegedly drove to Philadelphia to dispose of the corpse.

On Friday, May 1, Malachowsky's body was discovered in a vacant lot at 2200 E. Butler Street in the Frankford section of the city.

An autopsy performed by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office determined that the victim died as a result of a being hit on the head with a blunt instrument; however the injuries seemed minor and did not apparently kill him right away, according to court papers.

As a result of the autopsy findings, the DA concluded the injury didn't warrant a first-degree murder charge.

After learning from the Medical Examiner's that the victim may have been living in Abington, Detectives from the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and the Abington police began a joint investigation.

Reese and Malachowsky had been friends in the run up to the death, but the relationship had soured recently, according to investigators.

Prosecutors James Zoll and Frank Nero are handling the case.