Initially, we are horrified as we learn of local murders, especially when the victims are young and innocent. It is inevitable, however, that the daily demands of home and work push those thoughts away. There is one person in our community who never stops seeking answers about a murder.

Dr. Katherine Ramsland, an internationally known expert on forensic psychology, has researched and written about thousands of murders. You may have seen her interviewed on mainstream magazine shows like 20/20 and 48 Hours, or on documentaries for the History Channel, Discovery Channel and A&E.

Although she has written about famous murders around the world, Ramsland is interested in our local murders too. "There's something intriguing," she says, "about being near a place where violence occurred, especially in idyllic locations where it's unexpected."

Along with publishing 48 books, Ramsland teaches forensic psychology and criminal justice courses at DeSales University. In 2007, she published "Bethlehem Ghosts: Historical Hauntings In & Around Pennsylvania's Christmas City" with Dana DeVito, the manager of the Moravian Book Shop. This book inspired the popular Historic Haunts tours through the Moravian Book Shop, which take place on weekends every October. In 2008, Ramsland also published "Murder in The Lehigh Valley" with Northampton County coroner Zachary Lysek. In this book, you will find a bounty of forgotten local murders from the past two centuries that once kept you awake at night.

"I was surprised by how many murders there had been, including several serial killers and mass murderers," Ramsland states. "I also discovered that forensic history had been made in the valley, once in a positive way and once in a negative way. I'd written about these incidents before without quite realizing that they'd happened right here."

The following are brief summaries of a few of the local murders covered in her book.

Jacob and Annie Geogle, Bethlehem Township

On Dec. 26, 1880, while the Geogle family slept, their boarder Edward Snyder took an axe and murdered the parents, Jacob and Annie. Snyder eliminated the parents to act upon his lust for their 14-year-old daughter, Alice. The next day, Snyder's calm demeanor and close proximity to the crime made him the prime suspect. He was lynched and hanged to death, invoking the lynch law for the first time in Pennsylvania to punish a criminal.

Ruth Mickley, Bethlehem

On Nov. 10, 1949, 31-year-old Ruth Mickley was found dead in the basement bar of the Colonnade Night Club. Mickley was the hostess of the club, which was located on Broad Street near Guetter Street. The coroner's jury determined that Mickley died from a blow to the head. Less than a month later the district attorney closed the case. All suspects had passed lie detector tests. Therefore, he concluded that Mickley had accidentally fallen down the stairs.

Mary Orlando and Jennifer Grinder,

Lookout Point, Bethlehem

In the evening of June 30, 1995, two teenage girls were found dead, shot multiple times with a 9-mm handgun, at the popular sightseeing spot on the north slope of South Mountain. Fifteen-year-old Mary Orlando and 17-year-old Jennifer Grinder were best friends since childhood. Six months later, an anonymous tip led to the arrest of Christopher Bissey, a known drug dealer. On the night of the murders, Bissey was accompanied by two friends who finally confessed that they had witnessed him shooting the two girls. His motive was anger at Grinder for $400 that she owed him. Bissey is currently serving two life sentences.

Moira "Holly" Branagan, Bethlehem Township

On March 28, 1979, as 17-year-old Holly was talking to a girlfriend on the phone, the doorbell rang. Holly cut the call short with her friend, promising to call back later. Holly was alone in the house, as her father was on a business trip and her mother had passed away from cancer two years before. The next day, her brother Sean, a Lehigh University student, arrived home to check on his sister only to find her dead, face down on the kitchen floor with a 10-inch knife in her back. Police investigators vigilantly followed up the few leads that surfaced, but this continues to be an unsolved murder. In addition, another tragedy occurred a few months later. Sean was killed in a freak accident as he worked at a gas station in Hanover Township. A spark from a cleaning machine ignited gasoline fumes, causing a devastating explosion.