A Lackawanna County jury has found a former Lowe’s employee guilty of first-degree murder for the in-store killing of a colleague last year.
The jury returned the verdict on the fourth day of Christopher Wasnetsky’s trial for murdering Jeff Moeller on June 14, 2025, at the store in Scranton.
In a Facebook post after the verdict, District Attorney Brian Gallagher called Wasnetsky’s murder of Moeller “senseless.”
“He will spend the rest of his life in prison,” Gallagher said.
The original charges
Scranton police charged Wasnetsky with first- and third-degree murder, but in an interview Friday, Gallagher said once a jury finds someone guilty of first-degree murder, it does not deliberate a third-degree murder charge.
Wasnetsky, 36, who lived in Dalton, reported shooting Moeller in a call to 911, according to an arrest affidavit.
"I would like to report a shooting at the ... Lowe's. I was the person that did it," Wasnetsky said.
Store video showed Wasnetsky shooting Moeller, 44, a New Jersey native who lived in Scranton.
Wasnetsky told police he bought a handgun a week earlier because he claimed Moeller harassed him for months. He shot Moeller in the chest without warning and then twice more in the head when Moeller asked for help so he wouldn’t suffer, according to the affidavit.
“He actually (testified) I intended to kill him on the third and fourth shot,” Gallagher said.
Defense attorney Joseph McGraw contended Wasnetsky should not be held responsible because suffered from brain disorders when he shot Moeller — depression, schizoid disorder and spinocerebellar ataxia type 7.
Gallagher thankful
Gallagher thanked Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara Varela and Deputy District Attorney Christina Farrell “for their commitment, preparation and outstanding work presenting this case.”
He also thanked city Police Detective Michael Schultz “for yet another exceptional investigation” and other staff members and police who helped the case.
“From the beginning our focus was obtaining justice for Jeff Moeller and his family and that meant nothing short of first-degree murder,” Gallagher said on Facebook. “Jeff was a hardworking husband and father whose life was stolen from his wife, children, and loved ones while he was working the night shift. Please continue to keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they endure this unimaginable loss.”
Moeller's wife's lawsuit
Moeller's wife, Keisha, sued Lowe's in December for failing to prevent the shooting. The suit accuses Lowe’s of “negligence and recklessness” for failing to protect her husband.
The shooting was "entirely preventable," but store managers ignored Wasnetsky's escalating and “deep personal animosity” toward Moeller for more than a year, the suit alleges.
In a joint statement, Keisha Moeller's lawyers, attorneys Joel J. Feller and Scott S. Berger Jr., said the guilty verdict "is just the first step in achieving justice for the Moeller family."
They said the verdict "substantiate(s) the overwhelming evidence that Lowe’s had known for more than a year about the targeted, unwarranted and escalating harassment Wasnetsky directed at Jeffrey, as well as Wasnetsky’s intensifying anger and deteriorating behavior leading up to the shooting," they said.
Lowe’s knew about Wasnetsky's "targeted and intensifying personal vendetta" against Moeller and "his declining and concerning mental health."
"Jeffrey had to endure unspeakable and unfounded targeted workplace harassment while simply trying to do his job. He asked Lowe’s for protection and was reassured with words that proved untrue. If Lowe’s had taken even the most basic and fundamental steps that any responsible employer would take, Jeffrey Moeller would be alive today, and his three daughters would still have their father," Feller and Berger said.
Efforts to reach a Lowe's spokesperson on Friday were not immediately successful.
