Pike County man receives 28-62 years for murder sparked by family feud

On August 12, Pike County President Judge Gregory H. Chelak sentenced 32-year old Ryan James Paige of Dingmans Ferry to between 28 and 62 years incarceration in a state prison and a $1,200 fine after Paige plead guilty to third-degree murder, attempted murder and two counts of reckless endangerment.

According to the Pike County District Attorney's Office, the inciting incident "arose out of a long simmering dispute between the families."

Paige entered a guilty plea as jurors were assembling to hear his trial in April 2022, two years after charges were filed. In doing so, he admitted to the murder of Ronald Paige, his father, the attempted murder of Nicole Gencarelli, his father's fiancée, and recklessly endangering two minor children present in the household.

According to Pike County DA Ray Tonkin, Paige drove to his father's house, where Gencarelli and the two children also lived, in the early hours of April 1, 2020. He stepped out of his vehicle, brandishing a loaded hunting rifle and shot multiple times into the house. One of the bullets Paige fired struck his father in the back, killing him.

When state police arrived to arrest Paige, he exited his residence garbed in a ballistic vest kitted out with ammunition magazines and a large knife. He submitted to police custody without incident. During the arrest, police recovered a semi-automatic Tavor 5.56 NATO round rifle, equipped with a laser, night scope and light.

Tonkin's office notes the family feud came to a head in March of 2020. Paige's girlfriend got into a verbal argument with Gencarelli while the two were picking up school lunches distributed by East Stroudsburg School District while the school buildings were closed during the COVID-19 lockdown.

At Paige's sentencing, Gencarelli read aloud a letter Ron Paige wrote to his son months before the shooting. The Pike County DA's office notes, "In that letter, Ron Paige offered to reconcile the dispute between the families and offered words of support for Ryan going forward. Though there was an attempt to deliver the letter, the letter was rebuffed by Ryan."

Reflecting on the case he described as "particularly senseless", Tonkin released the following statement: "Here an easily resolvable family dispute led to the death of a father and a long term of incarceration for his son, a truly no winner situation."