Teens' relationship secret before girl's parents slain

LITITZ, Pa. — The relationship between David Ludwig, 18, and Kara Borden, 14, was a closely guarded secret.

There was good reason to keep things quiet: Their four-year age difference displeased their parents.

"They weren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend because their parents didn't approve of them being together," said Stephanie Mannon, 16, one of Borden's neighbors. "Sometimes they would secretly get together."

The tensions in the Borden house apparently spilled over last Sunday, when police say Ludwig fatally shot Borden's parents, Michael and Cathryn Borden, after an argument about their relationship and then fled with the girl.

The two were found the next day after a chase and crash in Indiana. Ludwig is being held without bail on murder and kidnapping charges; Borden is in the care of relatives and church members.

Saturday, the 14-year-old sat with her four siblings in the chapel of Lancaster Bible College for her parents' funeral. On the Bordens' street, white ribbons were affixed to mailboxes to honor the couple's memory.

Neighbors say the two teens met at a support group for home-schooled students. Borden's sister Katelyn told police she met Ludwig in May and saw him regularly at the group.

Vera Zimmerman, 50, who has known the Bordens for seven years and is acquainted with Ludwig's mother, said, "They were good kids and they were brought up very well. What I see is, they just made some bad choices."

Borden has been described by neighbors and friends as a bubbly, outgoing girl who occasionally baby-sat younger children in her neighborhood and liked to play soccer. She regularly attended youth-group meetings, said Kevin Eshleman, executive pastor of Ephrata Community Church.

There were indications, however, that there was tension between Borden and her parents. Zimmerman recalled a conversation several months ago in which Cathryn Borden expressed concern about her daughter's interest in boys.

"At one point, they had cut off her Internet service because of her connection with David," Zimmerman said.

A close friend of Ludwig's, Samuel P. Lohr, told police he was "well aware" the two "were involved in an ongoing secret intimate relationship of a sexual nature," according to a search-warrant affidavit filed in court. The two often exchanged flirtatious messages and inappropriate images electronically, the affidavit said.

Ludwig may have had a dark side, according to court documents released Friday. In an 18-minute video recovered from a laptop computer in his home, Ludwig discusses plans to conduct an armed raid on another family's home. The video shows him and Lohr taking guns to a home, but court documents say they scrapped the plan because there was too much traffic.

Police also seized 54 guns from the home where Ludwig lived with his parents, according to court documents.

Police have said Kara Borden is a victim in the case, but Ludwig filed court papers saying surveillance videos from various stores along the route he drove will prove she wasn't kidnapped.

Associated Press Writer Mark Scolforo contributed to this report.