The daughter of a woman killed by her ex-husband in an upstate New York murder-suicide last week says her former stepfather also raped her and created a disturbing shrine containing her underwear.
The allegations emerged after Melissa K. Pelc-Lohr, 50, was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head at her home in Moira on Oct. 27, according to New York State Police.
Investigators later spotted a red 2009 Chevrolet Silverado believed to be connected to the killing and attempted to pull over the driver, whom police identified as Pelc-Lohr’s ex-husband, Norman E. Lohr Jr., 50, of Michigan.
Lohr allegedly led state troopers on a 200-mile pursuit before fatally shooting himself in Lyons, New York, police said.
Pelc-Lohr’s daughter has since publicly accused her former stepfather, Lohr Jr., of a pattern of disturbing and violent conduct, including rape, stalking, the creation of an underwear shrine and repeated violations of protection orders.
“There had been years of warning signs that led up to her death. My former stepdad, Norman, also known as Ed, raped me, and for years I experienced harassment,” Allison Pelc, who also lives in Michigan, said in a Facebook video.
“He was so obsessed after what he did to me that he would not stop,” Pelc said. “I tried to protect myself through the legal system, and look what happened—my mom is gone.”
In one disturbing video, Pelc said her underwear, “inappropriate items and liquids” and other personal belongings were scattered throughout a “shrine” in Lohr Jr.’s closet. She claimed the closet had previously been filled with about 100 firearms.
Pelc also alleged that Lohr took her underwear—including a used sanitary napkin—and placed it in his pocket. She said surveillance footage showed him rummaging through her belongings and following her to her car.
After Pelc-Lohr discovered the alleged shrine, Pelc said, her mother attempted to leave Lohr Jr. and “worked so hard for her own safety that she moved.”
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According to a screenshot of a personal protection order statement, the mother and daughter went to a sheriff’s office to report the alleged rape, which Pelc said occurred in January 2023.
“I had to get two [orders of protection] to try to at least feel safe. But nothing happens—we just keep letting people get away with things,” Pelc said. She claimed Lohr violated the orders at least three times without facing consequences.
A Michigan court hearing had been scheduled for Oct. 28 regarding his alleged violations of one of the restraining orders—one day after the murder-suicide.
Pelc also said she contacted the FBI’s Detroit office but never received a response.
Pelc-Lohr is survived by two children, including Allison, who are “now facing the heartbreaking reality of life without their mother,” according to a GoFundMe fundraiser.
The fatal shooting and suicide occurred days after Pelc-Lohr returned home from Las Vegas, where she had celebrated her daughter’s 30th birthday.
“On Tuesday, October 27, Melissa Pelc’s life was tragically taken in a senseless act of stalking-related domestic violence. A devastating and unimaginable loss,” the fundraiser said.
“Being here is incredibly difficult. Everything feels like she’s just out running errands and will walk through the front door at any moment,” Pelc wrote in an update on the fundraising page.
The FBI, New York State Police and local Michigan police did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
