E8 | Escape from Prison and the Legacy of The Johnston Gang

The murders, the all-consuming investigation and trials, and the fear inflicted by the Johnstons left indelible marks on Chester County, Pennsylvania. Scars remain, 45 years after the events of August 1978.  

Find out what happened to The Johnston Gang and the investigators and prosecutors who worked for years to bring them to justice.

The events that took place in Chester County, Pennsylvania in August 1978 were unthinkable. Family killing family. A father calling for the murder of his own son. For years The Johnston Gang got away with everything—theft, burglary, violence—until the brazen attacks of August 1978 crossed a line, and the family crime empire began to crumble. Host and writer Amanda Lamb shares her own memories of the murders and the trials that followed. Her father was the lead prosecutor who helped bring the killers to justice. A fictional account of The Johnston Gang’s downfall was portrayed in the 1986 movie “At Close Range,” but this is the real story of a violent family crime operation and the long task of bringing its leaders to justice. The Killing Month August 1978 is a production of WRAL News in Raleigh, North Carolina.