Witnesses describe grisly finds

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003 | 9:19 a.m.

Two men will stand trial on murder charges stemming from the killing and dismemberment of a local man whose body parts were found in suitcases in trash bins.

Visiting Judge Michael Federico ruled Tuesday that there was enough evidence against Wayne Dearion, 44, and Richard Peters, 34, to warrant a murder charge in the death of 48-year-old Allan Nidiffer.

Nidiffer's limbs were found June 7 in a suitcase on top of a trash bin near an apartment complex in the 3500 block of Maryland Parkway.

His torso was found the same day in another suitcase in a trash bin behind a strip mall at Desert Inn Road and Rome Street. His head was never found.

Prosecutors believe the slaying could have been the result of a bad drug deal.

The men will be arraigned on one count each of murder with use of a deadly weapon before District Judge John McGroarty on Sept. 9.

Louis Estrella said he noticed a suitcase atop a garbage bin behind a Maryland Parkway apartment complex. The suitcase, a Samsonite, looked fairly new and he thought he could possibly use it, he said.

When Estrella used a branch to try to open the suitcase, the lid popped open. Inside he found soiled towels and a limb, he said.

Samuel Christmas and his girlfriend, Bianca Fotter, said they were "Dumpster diving," and looking for valuables behind the Maryland Parkway strip mall when they noticed a dark colored suitcase on top of a bin filled with trash.

Christmas said he tried to lift the suitcase, but it was too heavy. When he flipped the lid of the suitcase open, he said, he noticed what appeared to be a human torso underneath a pile of clothes.

Police said when they searched Peters' home with a search warrant they found knives, brass knuckles and surgical gloves.

Upon searching Nidiffer's home, police said they discovered blood on the kitchen floor and on the carpet near the kitchen, as well as on several pieces of furniture.

Metro Police Detective Steve Popp said he interviewed both Dearion and Peters and that both men said they acted out of fear of the other man.

Popp said Peters admitted to punching Nidiffer in the face following a confrontation in front of Nidiffer's apartment the night before the slaying.

Peters told police he'd given Nidiffer money to buy drugs, Popp testified, and when he returned to Nidiffer's apartment the next day, he found Dearion striking and choking Nidiffer.

Peters, a chef by trade, said he helped Dearion dismember the body, but only because he was afraid of Dearion, police said.

"He said he was afraid of Wayne Dearion and he was doing only what he was told to do," Popp said.

Dearion, a former Marine, gave police a "similar account" of what had occurred, but he also denied being responsible for the slaying, Popp said.

He admitted to punching Nidiffer, but said Peters "used brass knuckles and did most of the kicking and hitting," Popp said.

"He said he helped dispose of the body but only because he was ordered to," Popp said.

Because of the condition of the body, autopsy results were unable to reveal a cause or manner of death, a forensic pathologist testified.