Woman accused of killing adoptive daughter terminated as caseworker over 'misconduct,' documents say
Sara Packer, charged in the killing and dismemberment of her 14-year-old adoptive daughter, was terminated from her job as a Northampton County adoption supervisor because of serious "allegations of misconduct" linked to a state investigation, documents say.
Northampton County officials would not detail the specifics of the investigation, citing confidentiality laws. Packer's termination letter states she told her supervisor of the allegations on Jan. 20, 2010, and was immediately suspended.
A day earlier, Lehigh County authorities started an investigation into David W. Packer, her then husband, on allegations of child sex assaults, District Attorney Jim Martin said Tuesday.
He said Allentown police received information about the alleged assaults Jan. 19, 2010, and detectives began the investigation.
Martin said he did not know of any connection between the Allentown investigation and Sara Packer's employment status in Northampton County.
Authorities say Sara Packer and her boyfriend, Jacob Sullivan, plotted for more than a year to fulfill a fantasy to rape and murder Grace Packer, Packer's adoptive daughter. Investigators allege the couple killed the teen at a Bucks County home in July, hid her body for several months in kitty litter and then dismembered it in a bathtub, scattering the remains in Luzerne County.
Sara Packer and Sullivan each were charged Sunday with homicide, rape and other offenses. The charges were brought after Sullivan gave a hospital bed confession as he recovered from a failed suicide pact with Sara Packer, according to a probable cause affidavit. Sullivan is also charged with sexually assaulting Grace Packer in an incident about two weeks before her death, officials said.
Authorities increased scrutiny of the couple after finding Grace Packer's body near a Luzerne County reservoir in October, according to officials.
From 2003 through 2010, Sara Packer worked in Northampton County's Children, Youth and Families Division, becoming a supervisor in 2007, authorities say.
Packer was terminated April 15, 2010, according to a letter signed by Kevin Dolan, the head of Children, Youth and Families. The letter and other documents were provided to The Morning Call after right-to-know requests.
The topic of the conversation between Packer and Dolan on Jan. 20, 2010, was redacted in the termination letter, but Dolan wrote, "based on the seriousness of these allegations of misconduct," Packer was immediately suspended without pay pending an investigation.
The exact reasons for the termination were redacted because they included personal identification information and had "references to state agency investigations which are not subject to public disclosure," according to a letter from Daniel O'Donnell, assistant county solicitor and open records officer, in response to The Morning Call's right-to-know request.
Packer filed no appeal or grievance after the termination, O'Donnell said in a brief telephone conversation Tuesday.
Packer left the county job about a year before her husband was charged by Allentown police in the first of two sex-abuse cases.
In June 2011, David Packer, now 40, pleaded guilty to indecent assault and statutory sexual assault in cases involving two juveniles and was sentenced to six months to five years in prison. He has been released and is required to register as a sexually violent predator.
Sara and David Packer divorced in August. Authorities say the couple took in Grace and her siblings in 2004.
On July 11, Packer reported her daughter missing to police in Abington Township, Montgomery County, where they lived, in what authorities called an effort to throw off investigators. From the time of Grace's death until her body was found in October by hunters, Packer profited by collecting her daughter's Social Security Insurance payments, authorities say.
Sullivan and Packer are being held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility. Both could face the death penalty. A preliminary hearing for both is scheduled Jan. 20 before District Judge C. Robert Roth in Quakertown.
A memorial service for Grace Packer will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday at New Life Presbyterian Church, 467 N. Easton Road, Glenside, Montgomery County. A community forum will be held afterward at the North Hills VFW, 2519 Jenkintown Road, Glenside.
pamela.lehman@mcall.com
Twitter @pamelalehman
610-820-6790
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
2003: Sara Packer begins work for Northampton County Children, Youth and Families Division, eventually becoming supervisor.
2004: Sara Packer and David Packer take in 3-year-old Grace and her siblings, a younger brother and older sister. Grace and her brother are later adopted by the Packers.
Jan. 19, 2010: Lehigh County authorities initiate criminal investigation into David Packer.
Jan. 20, 2010: Sara Packer is suspended from Children, Youth and Families Division job over "allegations of misconduct."
April 15, 2010: Sara Packer is terminated from her Northampton County job as an adoption supervisor.
Sept. 23, 2010: David Packer is charged by Allentown police with indecent assault on a child under 13. The charges stem from an alleged crime in 2006.
Nov. 24, 2010: David Packer is charged by Allentown police with indecent assault of a child under 13. The charges stem from an alleged crime in 2008.
June 2011: David Packer pleads guilty to indecent assault in one case and statutory sexual assault in the second case. He is sentenced to six months to three years in prison in one case and one to five years in the second case. He is deemed a sexually violent predator and is required to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law.
Feb. 19, 2015: David Packer is paroled from prison.
April 2015: Sara Packer moves to Abington Township, Montgomery County.
June 2016: David Packer files for divorce from Sara Packer.
July 4, 2016: Grace Packer is last seen alive by family members at a picnic in Laurys Station.
Source: Records from Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton counties, and law enforcement authorities