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Criminal Justice

Man found dead in Allentown creek was wanted for stabbing: Authorities

Allentown Police Department, Allentown City Hall, Allentown Arts Park, Lehigh County Jail, prison, Allentown Center City, Lehigh valley
Donna S. Fisher
/
For LehighValleyNews.com
A 34-year-old Emmaus man whose body was found Dec. 26 in Allentown's Jordan Creek was charged a week earlier in connection with a stabbing, authorities said Tuesday.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Emmaus man found dead last week in Allentown’s Jordan Creek was being sought by police after his girlfriend was stabbed, authorities announced Tuesday.

Daniel Leibensperger, 34, was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon near the 1200 block of North Sixth Street, according to Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio.

A passerby walking their dog found his body, Buglio said. An autopsy was completed Monday, but the cause and manner of Leibensperger’s death was being investigated Tuesday afternoon.

Court records show Leibensperger was charged Dec. 19 with multiple counts of aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon and attempts to cause serious bodily injury.

“She felt a blow to the back that knocked her to the ground, and … she realized she had been stabbed."
News release from Lehigh County authorities

Those charges were filed after Nicole Goeppert, Leibensperger’s girlfriend, was stabbed the day before at an Emmaus apartment, authorities said Tuesday in a news release.

Goeppert told police she was making dinner when Leibensperger started screaming at her, according to the release from Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan, Emmaus Police Chief Jason Apgar and Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca.

“She felt a blow to the back that knocked her to the ground, and … she realized she had been stabbed,” the release states.

Goeppert had a pocket knife “lodged in her back all the way up to the handle” when police and EMTs arrived, authorities said.

She remained hospitalized Tuesday, almost two weeks after the stabbing.