Published: June 05, 2009 12:15 am      

Dawson case divides some family, friends

SOMERSET — Friends and family of accused killer John Dawson can’t believe he’s been charged after 27 years.

Friends and family of his wife, murder victim Kathleen Dawson, cannot believe that it has taken 27 years to charge him.

Both sides can’t be right, and both were equally insistent in their positions Thursday at a preliminary hearing for Dawson. District Judge Susan Mankamyer bound over Dawson’s murder case for county court action.

About 50 people gathered for the daylong hearing. Some didn’t feel like commenting to the media, and others just said they attended “to get the facts” and walked away.

Those who talked about the case seemed almost relieved to get it off their chests.

“You think, ‘Someone’s been murdered and nobody’s paid for it’ kind of thing,” said Debra Romanak, 57, a cousin of Kathleen Dawson. “That someone’s gotten away with it.

“It’s always gnawing at you,” said the Upper Yoder Township housewife in the hallway of the courthouse.

“Almost every day you think about it. We grew up together as kids, teens. You just wonder what she went through, the terror of what she went through before the murder.”

Romanak was taking notes inside court for family members who couldn’t attend.

“I’m glad finally they’re bringing him (John Dawson) to court,” she said.

“It’s sad to hear some things – we knew the body was burnt – but it’s still hard to hear.”

Dave Yonai was sitting on a bench by himself before the proceedings started, alone with his thoughts.

“I don’t believe he did it,” said Yonai, 63, who attended a Johns-town-area church with Dawson in 1981 and said he visited the Dawson home on several occasions. “It’s just not John.”

Yonai – a Shanksville-area native, who now lives on Fayette County – said he stayed in touch with Dawson through a mutual friend.

“I’m really surprised they brought him back after all those years,” he said.

Yonai, 63, a retired PennDOT worker, said he visited his old pal in the Somerset County Jail for 15 minutes Wednesday.

Dawson asked about Yonai’s family. Yonai asked Dawson about his reading habits.

“I’ve read more in here than maybe in my whole life,” Dawson responded.

Yonai said, “I’m praying for him.”

Another of Kathleen Dawson’s cousins, Patty Istvan of Johnstown’s Moxham section, said she was a good person and that the case has been on her mind.

She said she saw burn marks on Dawson’s face at the funeral home. Police believe Kathleen Dawson was struck by a blunt object before her car was set afire in Conemaugh Township, Somerset County.

“It’s been bothering me the whole time,” she said in the hallway. “You look at (family) pictures, wondering what she went through.”

Istvan said she saw her cousin at their grandmother’s house just days before the murder.

Kathleen Dawson was complaining about her married life and said she’d fill her in at a later date.

That date never came.

“It’s a happy day, yeah, if he (Dawson) gets put away for good,” Istvan said.