John Jefferson
A Michigan man is behind bars after being arrested for the murder of a missing school janitor whose dismembered body parts were found near a boat ramp in Bay City.
Robert Dale Tweedly Jr., 40, is charged with one count of open murder and one count of moving and mutilation of a corpse in connection to the death of 41-year-old Justie Stilwell.
Stilwell was reported missing by his family on September 18 after he failed to show up to work at Handy Middle School in Bay City.
The same day, police responded to the Edward Golson Boat Launch after a teenager spotted a severed foot in the Saginaw River. Police later found Stilwell’s arms and the lower parts of his legs in the water.
The body parts were identified as belonging to Stilwell through fingerprint identification.
It’s unclear if the two men knew each other. A motive for the killing is not known at this time.
Stilwell’s disappearance and death have been unsettling in Bay City, located about 112 miles northwest of Detroit, where he worked at Handy Middle School.
“Justie was a valued member of our Handy family, and we know that this loss will be felt deeply by many,” the Bay City school district said in a statement.
Renee Griebe said Stilwell was a regular customer at her hair salon.
“He was more quiet, more not social, kind of had to draw things out to get him to talk to me during haircut services and stuff like that,” Griebe told WNEM-TV.
“He was just always kind. I can’t imagine something like this happening to him.”
On Friday, Tweedly appeared remotely from the Bay County Jail before District Judge Mark Janer and pleaded not guilty to both charges.
He is being held at the jail on a $1 million bond.
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