Murder trial under way for roommate of man found buried in apartment floor

By Matt Pordum

Thursday, July 21, 2005 | 8:06 a.m.

Relatives of 52-year-old Robert Wilson testified Tuesday that during the months that they were worried about why they couldn't reach him, his former roommate, Gregory Stiegler, gave them varying stories about Wilson's disappearance.

During all that time, however, Stiegler had the formerly homeless man's body in the apartment they had shared, prosecutors said.

Stiegler is being tried on a murder charge for allegedly killing Wilson at his home at the Orleans Square Apartments in the 500 block of South Maryland Parkway.

It's a case that Court TV is covering for a national audience, dubbing it the "telltale heart case" because Wilson's body was buried under concrete under a stairwell in the apartment.

Wilson had been missing for about three months when, after Steigler was evicted, new carpet was being installed in his former apartment. The general manager of the apartment complex, Grete "Heidi" Raser, noticed a cut in the living room carpet under the stairway to the second floor. She pulled it back and revealed a rectangular area covered with black roofing tar.

Because she knew that Wilson had been reported missing, unusual modification to the apartment raised Raser's suspicions and she called police. As they examined the floor, a small hole was chipped into the tar, revealing a 2-inch thick layer of concrete and a plywood layer underneath.

As the officer chipped through the second two layers the "strong odor of decomposition" was released, according to the police report.

The digging would ultimately result in the discovery of Wilson's body, wrapped in plastic sheeting, secured with masking tape.

The body had 14 lacerations in the head. Wilson had red duct tape across his mouth, and his knees and ankles were also bound with duct tape.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc Digiacomo said Stiegler's fingerprints were found on the cardboard boxes used to cover the stairwell "crypt."

The prosecutor also said that after Wilson disappeared, Stiegler's girlfriend, Teresa Cheney, had moved into the apartment. She said she "smelled sewage near the stairs," but Cheney said Stiegler told her it was from a "broken pipe that he didn't fix right."

The prosecutor said not only did Stiegler kill and bury Wilson, but he offered up a slew of lies to Wilson's concerned family members. When Wilson failed to call his mother on New Year's Day in 2002 and then later on her birthday on Feb.17, his mother, sister and brother began calling him and leaving messages on his answering machine. Wilson never called back, prompting his brother, Jim Wilson, and sister, Susan Gaynor, to leave messages with Stiegler threatening to call the police if they didn't hear back from their brother.

Jim Wilson testified Tuesday it was after that message that he received a 42-minute "rambling" phone call from Stiegler. "He was calling me back to let me know my brother had left," Jim Wilson said. "He (Stiegler) said he was out drinking with a woman, came home, picked up dirty clothes and paper work and said he was doing laundry at her house." Jim Wilson said Stiegler's story soon changed as he said he never saw the girl, and wasn't sure if there was a girl. He said as the call continued Stiegler said he "really cared about my brother and would have been out on the streets if it wasn't for him."

Jim Wilson testified that he asked Stiegler if anyone would want to harm his brother and that Stiegler told him it could have been the gang member boyfriend of a bartender to whom Bob Wilson had given two bad checks or perhaps a drug dealer. Jim Wilson testified that he was convince Stiegler was lying so he filed a missing persons report. Gaynor said the only response she got from the call she made was a message on her cell phone from a man named Greg that said, "This is Greg and I'm calling you back about your call, don't be concerned about Bob, he has met some girl at a bar and moved out."

Stiegler's lawyer, Frank Kocka, said the jury should not get caught up in the prosecution's attempt to suggest Wilson's death "probably" happened this way or "may have" been done by Stiegler. He suggested the case against Stiegler was simply a "story DiGiacomo has spun" as he urged the jury to remember "every good story is required to have a who, what, when, where and how." Kocka said if the jurors kept that in mind they would ultimately find Stiegler not guilty.