"Bernie" mortician ordered back to prison in Texas widow murder case

Logistea AB

23/04/2016 06:09

By Marise Richter 
    DALLAS, April 23 (Reuters) - A jury on Friday sentenced a 
former mortician to return to prison for 99 years to life for 
murdering a wealthy East Texas widow and hiding her body in a 
freezer in a case that inspired the 2011 film "Bernie." 
    A jury in the East Texas town of Henderson deliberated for 
more than four hours following a three-week re-sentencing trial 
for Bernie Tiede, who was convicted in 1999 of the murder of 
81-year-old Marjorie Nugent. 
    Tiede, 57, confessed to shooting Nugent in 1996 and stashing 
her body in a freezer chest at her home in the East Texas town 
of Carthage, where it remained for nine months before being 
found. 
    After he served nearly 17 years, an appeals court granted 
Tiede a re-sentencing trial to hear evidence that emerged after 
his conviction. 
    Attorneys from the Texas Attorney General's office 
prosecuted the case after the original prosecutor, Panola County 
District Attorney Danny Buck Davidson, recused himself. 
    "Our office is on a mission to achieve justice for victims 
and their families," Attorney General Ken Paxton said after the 
verdict. 
    During the re-sentencing trial, defense attorneys attempted 
to prove that sexual abuse Tiede suffered as a child caused him 
to snap after he was victimized by Nugent, shooting her four 
times in the back in an act of passion. 
    The original jury dismissed that argument and sentenced 
Tiede to life in prison for premeditated murder. Prosecutors 
produced evidence that Tiede had misappropriated about $3.8 
million from Nugent, including $550,000 after her murder. 
    Nugent's family lauded the verdict. 
    "The family always believed justice would come for their 
grandmother when a fair trial had all the facts and none of the 
myth," said spokesman Ryan Gravatt. 
    Tiede's attorneys were not immediately available for 
comment. 
    Tiede had been free on a $10,000 personal bond for nearly 
two years, living in Austin on property owned by Richard 
Linklater. The film based on the case, directed by Linklater, 
starred Jack Black as Tiede and Shirley MacClaine as Nugent.  
    The film chronicled the relationship between Nugent and 
Tiede, who became companions shortly after Nugent became a 
widow. In 1993, Tiede left his job as an assistant funeral 
director to work full-time as Nugent's personal assistant and 
business manger.      
 
 (Reporting by Marise Richter; Editing by Chris Michaud and Tom 
Hogue) 
 ((christopher.michaud@thomsonreuters.com;)) 
 
Keywords: TEXAS CRIME/BERNIE