Deceased/Not Found PA - Edwina Onyango, 34, Lansford, 27 Dec 2007 *E. Freeby guilty*

Any help on this one would be greatly appreciated.

http://pennsylvaniamissing.com/onyangoedwine.html

Thanks!

CCJD,

They don't give many details about her disapperance at all.


Was she married?
How long had she been living in Carbon County?
It says she was a native of Kenya ... how long had she been in this country?

Hi Talisman - yep, I know, not a lot of details. What I do know is that Ms Onyango was very probably a victim of immediate and local foul play. So I'm pretty much concentrating on looking for remains found pretty close to where she disappeared. Hope that helps.

Thanks for looking at her case.

CCJD said:

Hi Talisman - yep, I know, not a lot of details. What I do know is that Ms Onyango was very probably a victim of immediate and local foul play. So I'm pretty much concentrating on looking for remains found pretty close to where she disappeared. Hope that helps.

Thanks for looking at her case.

Click to expand...

It does make it harder when not many details are given. I do understand, though, LE has to keep some information closed to the public.

Do you know anyone local that could shed some light?

CCJD,

I wonder who it was that reported her missing? The information about her disappearance is worded that she was last seen "on or around Dec, 9 2007" That just sounded strange to me ... like she didn't have anybody really close in her life (family? friends?) Just something I was wondering about.

I tried to google her name today to try and find more information. The last name Onyango must be more common than I thought it would be. The only thing under her name, though, was her missing flyer ( I even checked under her alias - not saying I am great at internet searching because I am not!)

I've updated her page on my site with some additional information.
http://pennsylvaniamissing.com/onyangoedwina.html

I am some what familiar with the Lansford area. My boyfriend lives in Schuylkill County and we visit Lansford/Tamaqua frequesntly. I don't know much about her case but if anyone has an informtaion I know a little about the geography of the area. I can tell you that the area is very torn up from strip and deep mine coal mining. There are many abandoned coal shafts that have been boarded up and forgotten. Also there are several sink holes that open up and fill themselves back in from underground shafts collapsing. Rt. 209 and Rt 309 intersect near Lansford in Tamaqua and is heavily traveled by truckers. Also the Lehigh River and Mauch Chunk Lake are not very far away either. I wonder if these areas were even searched? Does anyone know?

Carbon County trial soon in homicide case over missing Allentown woman

Jury selection is scheduled this week for the trial of a Lansford man charged with homicide in the disappearance of his estranged wife four years ago.

Thirty-six-year-old Ernest Freeby was charged with murder a year and a half after Edwina Onyango, a 34-year-old Kenyan immigrant, went missing in December 2007.

[snip]

Police have alleged that the woman was placed in the coal bin in the basement of Freeby's home, where officials said "a large quantity of blood" was found that matched her DNA. Her body has not been found.

More: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationwor...ife-body-in-coal-bin-20120108,0,4597601.story

Carbon County man found guilty of wife's murder

A Carbon County jury has convicted Ernest Freeby of killing his wife, a Kenyan immigrant who settled in Allentown before she disappeared in 2007.

More: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...-coal-bin-conviction-20120131,0,7243191.story

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Onyango, circa 2007; Ernest Freeby

• Missing Since 12/27/2007
• Missing From Lansford, Pennsylvania
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 10/18/1973 (50)
• Age 34 years old
• Height and Weight 5'2 - 5'3, 130 pounds
• 
  
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Onyango may use the alias name Veronica Gaya. Some agencies refer to her as Edwine Onytango. She is a native of Kenya and moved to the United States in 1998. Onyango has a scar on the left side of her face, a scar under her left eye and pierced ears.

Details of Disappearance​

Onyango was last seen at her estranged husband's home in the 200 block of west Bertsch Street in Lansford, Pennsylvania on December 27, 2007. She lived and worked in Allentown, Pennsylvania at the time of her disappearance. Her husband, Ernest Troy Freeby, asked her to come to his house, saying he had an insurance check.

He says she left his house with an unidentified woman. She has never been heard from again. Her brother reported her missing. A photo of Freeby is posted with this case summary. He and Onyango married in March 2001.

Onyango's car was found at her husband's home. Freeby used her credit card in several locations in the days after she went missing. He says she gave it to him when he last saw her. Onyango's cellular phone was also used three days after she vanished; it made two calls to Freeby's phone, three minutes apart.

Freeby told authorities his wife had mailed him two cards after she disappeared, but he couldn't produce the envelopes. He stated his relationship with Onyango was a marriage of convenience, contracted in part so she could get a green card and live in the United States legally. Onyango's family disputed Freeby's description of the relationship, and stated she only lived apart from Freeby because her job as a live-in care provider kept her in Allentown during the week.

A trail of Onyango's blood was found in Freeby's basement after her disappearance. The blood went down the basement steps and into the coal bin. Investigators stated the evidence indicated Onyango sustained "substantial" injury at someplace other than the basement. Someone had tried to clean up by painting over the stains. In August 2009, Freeby was charged with his wife's murder and with evidence tampering.

Freeby maintains his innocence in Onyango's disappearance and says he believes she's still alive. He claims he saw her in July 2009 and believes she's involved in credit card fraud. His mother stated also she saw Onyango after her 2007 disappearance. At his three-week trial in January 2011, Freeby argued Onyango was still alive and had reasons of her own to leave. He was convicted of first-degree murder and evidence tampering.

Onyango has nine siblings, most of whom live in the United States. She had frequent contact with her family in Kenya prior to her disappearance, but none of them have heard from her since she went missing. She hasn't used her credit cards or bank accounts since December 2007. Foul play is suspected in Onyango's case due to the circumstances involved.

Investigating Agency​

• Pennsylvania State Police
• Troop N
• 570-459-3890

Source Information​

• Pennsylvania Missing Persons
• WNEP 16
• WFMZ-TV
• The Morning Call
• The Lebanon Daily News
• The Philadelphia Daily News
• NamUs

Updated 7 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated January 31, 2012; details of disappearance updated.

Jan 31, 2012

I hope and pray that Edwina will be found one day for her family’s sake. She has a large family who I’m sure miss her very much.

6 Unidentified Person Exclusions