Polk Township man admits killing mom

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When state police arrived at a house in Pleasant Valley Estates on Wednesday morning, they found Adrienne Strachn, 53, dead. They charged her son Christopher Strachn, 21, with criminal homicide.David Kidwell/Pocono Record

The man who admitted to murdering his mother in Polk Township early Wednesday morning had been acting strangely and erratically for some time, his neighbor said Wednesday.

Christopher Strachn, 21, had been known in the last year or so to wander the streets of his development, Pleasant Valley Estates, screaming and making strange noises, said Ashley Savarese, who lives next door to Strachn.

"It was really strange. Sometimes I'd hear him screaming. Sometimes he would put on a different voice while he was screaming, too," said Savarese, 20.

Strachn admitted to state police that he choked and stabbed his mother, Adrienne Strachn, 53, inside their home on Creek Drive around 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Police have not disclosed a motive for the crime; however, according to an arrest document, Christopher Strachn admitted to killing his mother and said he had thought for some time about murdering her and the rest of the family.

A shackled, barefoot Strachn told reporters nothing as police led him from his preliminary arraignment on a criminal homicide charge before Brodheadsville Magisterial District Judge Colleen Mancuso.

Police said Strachn called 911 at 2:49 a.m. Wednesday from the home he shared with his family and told them he had choked his mother. Police said he told 911 she was lying on the kitchen floor and that he believed she was dead.

Police arrived, took Christopher Strachn into custody and found Adrienne Strachn dead on the kitchen floor with blood under her body. Police said they found a broken knife handle on a small table in the kitchen area and a broken knife blade on the living room floor.

Christopher Strachn told police he took advantage of his being alone with his mother Wednesday morning when he choked her from behind in the kitchen, where she fell to the floor, and then he stabbed her.

Strange behavior

The neighborhood where the murder occurred consists of homes set back from a narrow dirt road and surrounded by tall trees providing shade. Neighbors awoke Wednesday morning to the sight of police vehicles in the Strachns' driveway and later TV news vehicles in the area.

Savarese, who was close to Adrienne Strachn, said she didn't know why Strachn had been acting erratically, but she said that the strange behavior started a year ago, after Strachn returned after serving a short stint in a correctional facility.

Court records show that in July 2011 Strachn was sentenced to up to 23 months for committing several crimes, including receiving stolen property and fleeing police.

Savarese described Adrienne Strachn as a "really nice woman who absolutely loved her family." She also said that Adrienne Strachn would complain to her that "Chris didn't like taking medication he was prescribed." It wasn't clear what that medication was for.

Though Saverese said Christopher Strachn had been acting strange, she and a few other neighbors on Creek Drive said they didn't think he was capable of murder.

"I mean, I would say hi to him. Everything seemed OK," said neighbor Daniel Mitchell. "I went to school with him, and he wasn't a loner. He did have a group of friends."

"It's just awful," neighbor Connie Mule said, watching police and reporters from her driveway. "I don't know the family very well, just from seeing them around. They seemed like wonderful people."

As for Adrienne Strachn's friends and family members, about 20 of them gathered across the street from the Strachn home Wednesday afternoon. Those who gathered consoled each other. Some cried. The victim, among other things, was said to be very religious, made really good chili and enjoyed selling Avon products.

One woman who stood outside the Strachn home told a reporter, "You write good things about my Adrienne."

Andrew Scott contributed to this report.

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