BAY CITY (WWJ) — A Bay City man who has been charged with killing and dismembering a local school janitor he met on the dating app Grindr allegedly pushed the victim down the stairs, strangled him and then cut him apart, according to a new report.
On Wednesday, Sept. 18 severed arms and legs were found in the Saginaw River in Bay City. The Bay City Department of Public Safety identified the victim the following day as 41-year-old Justie Stilwell, who had been reported missing after he didn’t show up to his custodial job at T.L. Handy Middle School.
Robert Tweedly was arraigned on Sept. 27 on charges of open murder and disinterment or mutilation of a dead body.
New details surrounding the case emerged Friday, as MLive reported that Stilwell had met up with Tweedly on Saturday, Sept. 14.
After police identified Tweedly as the suspect, he confessed to killing and dismembering Stilwell. He then discarded his body parts at different locations in Bay City, according to the MLive report. MLive said it learned the information through a Freedom of Information Act request it filed to get the transcript of Tweedly’s probable cause hearing.
Tweedly told authorities when Stilwell said he wanted to leave his house shortly after arriving on Sept. 14, he pushed him down the basement stairs, according to the MLive report. He followed him down the stairs and strangled him, Tweedly told police, according to the transcript.
He allegedly tried to move Stilwell’s body upstairs, but couldn’t, so he went to Walmart to buy rope that thought would help him pull the body up. The next morning he went back to the Walmart and bought an ax and bags and dismembered the body, according to the report.
He then dumped the legs and arms in the Saginaw River and put the head and torso at the Golson Nature Area, the report said.
Stilwell’s arms and legs were initially found in the river after being discovered by a teenage girl walking past the Edward M. Golson Boat Launch, according to police. They were able to ID Stilwell by his fingerprints.
Tweedly remains in custody on a $1 million bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for
MLive says a life celebration for Stilwell is being held at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Skorupski Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 821 N. Pine Road in Hampton Township.