Jonathan Paul Luna

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Lancaster County Coroners Office (PA)

Death Location:

Baltimore, Maryland

Summary:

Jonathan Paul Luna was an Assistant United States Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances after being stabbed thirty-six times with his own pocketknife before drowning in a creek next to his partially submerged car in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Questions have swirled about whether Luna's death was a homicide or suicide, but the newly released autopsy report confirms his death was ruled a homicide. No suspect has ever been charged despite early attention and a $100,000 reward.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Death:

On the night of December 3, 2003, at 11:38 p.m. Luna left the Baltimore courthouse and drove northeast on Interstate 95. Luna was working on a case against two co-defendants accused in a drug-trafficking case and was supposed to present the plea agreement in court on December 4, 2003; he had returned to the office from home the previous night to complete the paperwork, and it was the last time anyone saw him. At 12:57 a.m., $200 was withdrawn from Luna's bank account from the ATM at the JFK Plaza service center near Newark, Delaware. At 3:20 a.m. his debit card was used to buy gas at the Sunoco King of Prussia service plaza, and at 4:04 a.m. Luna's car exited the turnpike at the Reading-Lancaster interchange. The car was parked at the back of the Sensenig & Weaver Well Drilling company at 1439 Dry Tavern Road, Denver, Pennsylvania (Brecknock Township), before it was later driven into the creek. In the early morning of Dec. 4, 2003, Luna, 38, was found face-down in a small stream in a remote area of Brecknock Township in northern Lancaster County. Luna was found lying face down in a creek while dressed in a suit and tie, and his clothes had extensive blood stains on them along with minor dirt stains.

Additional Details:

Luna was the lead prosecutor in the drug trial against Deon Lionnel Smith, 32, and Walter Oriley Poindexter, 28, who tried to make it in the rap music industry; Poindexter agreed to plead guilty to three counts of heroin distribution, and Smith agreed to plead guilty to one count of heroin distribution and to possessing a firearm during a drug transaction, and Luna agreed to drop drug conspiracy charges against both men. Some suggested motives for suicide were that Luna was to take a polygraph test concerning $36,000 which disappeared from a robbery case that he had prosecuted. Luna had about $25,000 in credit card debt, and investigators found blood and DNA evidence from a second person in Luna's car. An FBI award of up $100,000 remains for significant information about Luna's death. The investigation was conducted jointly by the FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police, described as a very active investigation, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania also reportedly conducting an investigation. The FBI leaned toward considering the death a suicide and came to the conclusion he was alone from the time he left his office until his body was found, but Lancaster County authorities, including two successive coroners, ruled it a homicide. On January 13, 2021, Judge David Ashworth ruled that documents would remain sealed, writing that releasing the records would pose 'a threat of substantially hindering or jeopardizing the open, active and ongoing criminal investigation into the death of Jonathan Luna'.

Case Last Updated:

Nov 02, 2026