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Friday, August 29, 1997

Suspect in deep-freeze murder indicted on murder, theft counts

CARTHAGE, Texas (AP) -- A 39-year-old East Texas man has been indicted in the death of his longtime companion, an 81-year-old wealthy banker's widow whose body was found in a deep freeze.

A Panola County grand jury indicted Bernhardt Tiede Wednesday on charges of murder and theft in the death of Marjorie Nugent. The lay minister and former funeral director lived with the widow of Carthage banker Rod Nugent and served as her bookkeeper and escort since 1990.

Tiede was arrested Aug. 18 after Mrs. Nugent's body was found in the chest-type freezer at her home. The Longview News-Journal reported that Tiede gave a statement to a Texas Ranger and a Panola County sheriff's deputy admitting that he killed Mrs. Nugent.

Tiede also was accused of taking large amounts of money from Mrs. Nugent's bank accounts since her death. Investigators say the money could have totaled millions of dollars.

A preliminary autopsy showed that Mrs. Nugent was shot in the back several times. Sheriff's deputies said they believe she was killed with a .22-caliber rifle found in her home.

Since Mrs. Nugent's November disappearance, Tiede had told friends and law enforcement officials that she was ill, hospitalized or out of town, the News-Journal reported.

Tiede was in the Panola County Detention Center on Thursday in lieu of nearly $2.7 million bond.

The federal government is pursuing its own charges against Tiede, The Times of Shreveport, La., reported Thursday.

The Internal Revenue Service has seized Tiede's property, and the U.S. attorney's office in Longview is investigating Tiede on charges of money laundering. Prosecutors are expected to present their case to a federal grand jury within the next six months.

Tiede has spent "extensive and extremely substantial" amounts of Mrs. Nugent's money since her death, according to documents filed by the Internal Revenue Service.

Checks drawn on one of her accounts since her death indicate the transfer of $250,000 to Tiede in a dozen transactions, most of them in amounts of more than $10,000, federal documents state.

In another instance, "Tiede appears to have cashed almost $400,000 in checks" on Mrs. Nugent's account at another bank, according to the documents.

"Tiede also appears to have made such transfers not only for his own use, but also for his friends," the federal document states. "For example, he appears to have given or loaned money to several individuals to purchase personal vehicles."

Carthage, a town of about 6,800 residents, is located near the Louisiana border 35 miles southeast of Longview and 40 miles southwest of Shreveport, La.