Man in Scream-Like Mask Allegedly Killed Neighbor With Chainsaw and Knife in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania police may have a real-life horror film on their hands.

Zak Russel Moyer, 30, was arrested on March 25 after allegations that he fatally attacked his neighbor Edward Whitehead Jr. while wearing a mask and costume "consistent with the Scream movie character," according to a police affidavit obtained by E! News.

In the March 26 criminal complaint, Pennsylvania State Police said they showed up at a residence in Lehighton Borough in the afternoon on March 25 after receiving reports of an assault in progress. Upon arriving on the scene, the state troopers found a 59-year-old man suffering from life-threatening injuries that appeared to be caused by a "piercing object." The victim, identified as Whitehead Jr., was then transported to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. 

As their investigation continued, trooper Anthony Petroski explained that police learned Whitehead Jr. was actually "struck multiple times with a knife and a battery-operated chainsaw."

"This was not just a random attack," Petroski shared in a March 26 interview with WFMZ-TV. "They did know each other."

As for Moyer, the 30-year-old was observed on surveillance footage from that day wearing a "black costume-like garment" and a mask resembling that of the horror film franchise Scream, which launched in 1996 and stars the likes of Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox. Per the report, Moyer was also seen exiting Whitehead Jr.'s home from the back in the footage.

After canvasing a few neighbors on the street, investigators soon learned the suspect and Whitehead Jr. lived next door to each other and were able to surround Moyer's residence, at which point he began communicating with officers by writing messages in a notebook, accusing Whitehead Jr. of murder, per the police affidavit. 

Moyer was taken into custody without incident and is now being held in the Carbon County Correctional Facility, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 3. 

E! News was unable to find an attorney for Moyer on file to speak on his behalf.

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