THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS	Local Tuesday, June 24, 1997

The apartment building at 3411 Race St. was home to Ira Einhorn, the counterculture-philosopher and murder fugitive.

It was there, in the second-floor, rear one-bedroom apartment of the three-story building where Einhorn lived with his girlfriend, a Texas beauty named Helen ``Holly'' Maddux.

And it was there where Maddux's body was found by police in March 1979, stuffed in a steamer trunk in a closet off the bedroom porch, about 18 months after she was last seen alive.

Now, as then, the building, called Lerner Court, was home largely to students and others associated with the nearby universities, Drexel and Penn. Scores have moved in and out of the building in the 17 years since Einhorn went on the lam for his girlfriend's murder.

Now living in the apartment is a Drexel student, Dennis Loreman, 21, and his girlfriend. They have lived there for about 1_1/2 years, and are not troubled by the apartment's troubled past.

The apartment has been renovated since the murder, he said. The porch where the closet had been became an addition on the building, and is now the bedroom. He believes that the closet where Maddux was found is gone.

Loreman learned of the murder shortly after he moved in, from a neighbor who was reading Einhorn's biography, ``The Unicorn's Secret: Murder in the Age of Aquarius'' by Steven Levy.

Shortly after, he got a letter from an inmate from the Carolinas, he said. It was addressed to ``The Haunted House.'' The inmate wanted to know if they had seen Maddux's spirit.

They had not.

After hearing of the murder, Loreman dug up some of Einhorn's writings, and decided that ``He was a great thinker.''

``He's not the monster they make him out to be,'' he added.

If Einhorn did kill Maddux, Loreman believes he should go to jail. But he feels that Einhorn should be given a computer and other tools so he could share his intellectual musings.

``The murder was 20 years ago. Her spirit is well-rested. Why drag up the past?'' Loreman asked. ``He had some good thoughts at the time. Why let that go to waste, too? In jail, he should be allowed to work on projects, help where needed.''

Also untroubled by the notorious crime was Joseph Santucci, 23, a Drexel graduate. He had lived on the second floor for 1_1/2 years. He had mistakenly thought that his front apartment was Einhorn's.

Santucci had heard about the murder on the TV show, ``America's Most Wanted,'' and had enjoyed telling friends that he lived in the apartment where such a famous murder had taken place.

Santucci, who now lives in South Jersey, ``thought it was a little strange, but I wouldn't let it freak me out.''

Philadelphia Online -- Philadelphia Daily News -- Local News Copyright Tuesday, June 24, 1997