What stories did visitors to Public Opinion's website click on the most in 2017?
This is a list of the 10 most-clickedstories in the past year.
The number of clicks, or page views, we get has become more important each year. Many of the decisions we make about which stories we doare based on how well they are likely to do online.
Crime stories, by far, bring the most readers to our website. Seven of the top-read stories online in the past year were crime-related.
Two stories were about local doctors accused of not doing the right things, and one was about a celestial event.
To put this in context, these stories, combined, accounted for 4.4 percent of all page views in the past year.
Check out the list below. Unless otherwise specified, stories were published in 2017.
1. Man jailed for trying to frame his wife on Craigslist
Views: 57,010
First published: Aug. 17
This story is among a few we have publishedabout a Washington Township man namedChristian Koelsch, who pleaded guilty to false reports-falsely incriminate another personafter allegedly writing about an incident of domestic violence (for which he was previously convicted of simple assault)in aCraigslist advertisem*nt in which he posed as his wife,requestingsomeone to help "her" "take care of" her ex-husband, even if it meant killing him.
While certainly intriguing on its own, this story got a big boost after being shared on Drudge Report. We have tools where we can see how many people are in a story at any given time, and we knew something was up when this one started getting thousands of hits, seemingly out of no where, days after it had been posted on our website and shared on our social channels
2. Teen charged with homicide in New Year's Eve shooting
Views: 46,666
First published: Jan. 1
Tragedy kicked off the new year in 2017 in the Greencastle-Antrim community, when a young teen was charged for shooting and killing his friend on New Year's Eve.
Police said Taylor Alan Nelson, then 15, was mad at his 17-year-old friend Matthew Mitchell and pointed a gun at him to scare him, but the gun discharged. Mitchell was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
Nelson's dad was also charged after police said they found guns and ammo all over the house; his case has been continued until the 2018 trial term, online court documents state.
Taylor Nelson remains in police custody, denied bail. It is not clear when his next court date is, because he is charged as a juvenile.
3. Woman accused of burning, beating toddler charged after video of alleged abuse went viral
Views: 38,391
First published:May 23
Public Opinion first began following this story after learning a video of alleged audio of a local woman abusing a toddler had been featured on the Steve Wilkos Show. But local police had known about it for a couple months, and soon after the show aired, charges were filed against Jessica Samick, 21.
In court documents, police described audio from the video, alleging Samick smacked the boy 37 times and made inappropriate comments. The babywas found to have multiple bruises, lacerations and other injuries.
The case has been continued until March, online court documents show.
4.Chambersburg family awarded $42M after doctor causes birth injury
Views: 26,586
First published: April 20
A federal judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ordered the federal government to pay a Chambersburg couple $42 million for actions that caused the birth of the couple's baby boy to go tragically wrong in 2012. The family's attorney said a doctor with Keystone Women's Health, which is financially supported by the federal government, used forceps early in the delivery, causing head and brain injuries that will affect the child forever.
5.Accused killer: 'I was going to get paid to whack her stepmom'
Views: 26,374
First published: Dec. 8
What was first reported as an "incident"in Greene Township one afternoon a few weeks before Christmas turned out to be a brutal murder that left Jamie Daleydead on aporch, allegedly at the hands of a Greencastle man who later told police the woman's step-daughter had said she would give him $30,000 to kill Daley.
The victim's step-daughter, Tosha Daley, 26, and the man,21-year-old Vonallen Shinn, are both charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, among other charges.
Both were denied bail and remain at Franklin County Jail.
6.Best meteor shower of the year: Last chance to try to watch Geminids
Views: 25,866
First published: Dec. 13
People were apparently interested in learning how they could see what was promoted as the best meteor shower of the year.
7. Man charged with sex offenses found dead after standoff
Views: 24,909
First published: May 11
A welfare check on a man who had been charged earlier in theday on accusations that he had sexually abused a young girl ended with police, who had swarmed the home and attempted to negotiate with him, finding him dead by suicide.
8. Dr. Orange's license suspended due to office conditions
Views: 23,880
First published: Nov. 20
The medical license of adoctor well known in the Chambersburg community for his professional work as well as his participation in community events was suspended this fall after investigators found his private practice to be dirty and cluttered, including non-medical items being in exam areas. Improper cleaning of medical equipment is also among the allegations in the order calling for the suspension from the state's Department of State. A December hearing in the case was delayed indefinitely.
9. Police identify 18-year-old man killed in shooting
Views: 22,983
First published: June 20
A report of shots fired near Benjamin Chambers Elementary early this summer was revealed to have been the fatal shooting of19-year-oldTyson Hettenschuller. Sean Anthony Atkins, 18, was charged with first-degree murder.
Denied bail, Atkins remains in Franklin County Jail, online court documents state.
10: Find out who is wanted in Franklin County
Views: 18,704
First published: Feb. 23, 2016
This is the landing page for our photo gallery of individuals who are wanted by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. The gallery itself is usually one of the top click-getters each day.
Photos: Public Opinion photographer Markell DeLoatch's favorite picks of the year
