Suspect in Justie Stilwell murder confesses and describes details
MLive shared a lot of details about the hard-of-hearing man, Justie Stilwell (41), who was murdered and found mutilated at the end of September. He was from Bay City, Michigan. Police arrested a suspect named Robert D. Tweedly, Jr.
MLive provided details from court documents describing the police investigation and a police interview with the suspect. I will share the details below and the links to the articles are at the bottom of the transcript.
On Saturday, September 14, Stilwell left his home in the late afternoon to meet Tweedly after connecting with him on Grindr, a gay dating app. They lived close by and Stilwell walked there.
Tweedly said he knew Stilwell for a couple of months. Tweedly said he was under the influence of alcohol and meth and that when Stilwell arrived, he wanted to leave a short time later.
Tweedly said he just “snapped” and shoved him down the basement stairs and then went downstairs and strangled him to death. Tweedly said he tried to bring Stilwell’s body upstairs but couldn’t.
He then stole about $40 in cash from Stilwell’s wallet and took the keys to his vehicle. He went outside and walked to Stilwell’s house, got into his vehicle, and drove to a nearby Walmart to buy a rope to try and pull up the body.
When Tweedly got back home, he was still unable to move the body. The next morning, he drove back to Walmart to buy an ax and bags. He then dismembered Stilwell’s body and put the parts in his vehicle. He drove to a river and dumped his arms and legs. He then dumped his head and torso in a wooded area. Tweedly abandoned the vehicle at a park and walked back home.
Apparently Tweedly cleaned up the scene in the basement and then tried to burn the evidence. Tweedly said he burned a mop, his and Stilwell’s clothing, Stilwell’s cellphone and key fob, the ax, and other things in his backyard fire pit.
When Stilwell did not show up to work and did not respond to messages, his family and friends became concerned. Stilwell’s siblings found his vehicle parked at the park. They knew it was not like him to do this and reported him missing.
A teenage girl who was with her family at a riverfront park saw Stilwell’s arms and legs floating in a river. This is when police started investigating the murder.
A friend of Stilwell remembered that he met someone through Grindr and shared with police all the details he had, and it was enough to help officers determine the suspect’s appearance and location.
Police showed up at Tweedly’s home on September 25 to serve a search warrant. In the basement, police found several strikes or marks in the concrete that seemed to come from an ax. In the backyard, there was a firepit that had a charred mop, clothing, and electronic pieces.
Tweedly was detained and brought to a police station to do an interview with detectives. Tweedly confessed to the murder, providing the details I shared earlier.
An autopsy found that Stilwell’s cause of death was strangulation.
MLive reported that Tweedly recently made bizarre and disturbing statements on social media such as comparing himself with Jeffrey Dahmer, the notorious mass murderer and cannibal. Other posts had Tweedly expressing suicidal thoughts and frustrations with financial struggles. On the day of Stilwell’s death, Tweedly posted that he was “tired” and “hated himself.”
Tweedly is behind bars on a $1 million bond and is charged with open murder and mutilation of a dead body. He will have to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see if he is competent to stand trial.
Tweedly’s next court date is scheduled for early January.
Stilwell leaves behind a mother, two brothers, a sister, and a cat.
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