No break in slaying of Pa. supermarket executive

Mystery surrounds the weekend killing of a supermarket executive in Berks County.

Police have said only that Gary W. Redner, 55, was killed between 7 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday at his home on Rebers Bridge Road in Lower Heidelberg Township.

He was vice president of the 39-store chain established by his father, who was stunned by the death of his son.

"To my knowledge, everyone liked Gary," said Earl Redner, 82, the founder of Redner's, which has stores in three states. "If he had enemies, I didn't know them. . . . Well, obviously, he must have had one."

State police, who are working with township authorities, classified Redner's death as a homicide but declined to disclose how he was killed.

An autopsy was performed at Reading Hospital on Sunday, but the Berks County Coroner's Office provided no details, referring all inquiries to the state police.

Neighbors said the body was found Sunday morning in the driveway of the home next door, where a state trooper spent yesterday afternoon in his patrol car. The home is northwest of Reading.

John Kaisoglus, an executive with Penske truck leasing who lives nearby, said people keep to themselves in the "tranquil" neighborhood.

"This isn't downtown Reading," he said. "I'm anticipating some answers - we'll all feel better when we get them."

Earl Redner said his son, the youngest of his three children, had worked for the company since its inception in 1970 and lived by himself. A divorced father with two grown children, Gary Redner was executive vice president of procurement and director of wholesale operations for the company; his brother Richard was company president.

Eric B. White, a spokesman for Redner's, said Gary Redner was well-known and well-liked by the company's staff of about 4,000. Despite the company's growth, White said, it maintains a "family-like atmosphere."

Gary Redner, whose son also works for the company, frequently interacted with employees, White said.

"He was very approachable," White said, adding that it wasn't uncommon for Redner to make deliveries, even on weekends, if a store ran out of a product. "We're all very saddened by his loss."

Yesterday, yellow police tape surrounded Redner's two-story pale-brick house overlooking Blue Marsh Lake, as well as the houses on either side. An American flag next to the garage rippled in the breeze.

Earl Redner, who spends the winter in South Carolina, said he last talked to his son on Saturday afternoon between noon and 1 p.m. He said everything seemed fine.

He said he ended their conversation by telling his son he loved him.

"He said, 'I love you, Dad,' " Earl Redner said. "I'm just in shock."