Giving him access to her checking accounts so he could pay her bills, she rewrote her will making Tiede her sole beneficiary. Tiede met Nugent at the Hawthorne Funeral Home while preparing her husband . "In 1990, the town's leading banker and oilman, Rod Nugent, hard-nosed, tough, but fair businessman dies," said Skip Hollandsworth, who covered the case for Texas Monthly magazine. John served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves from 1973 - 1978. I won't leave. Family member testifies A jury convicted Tiede of first-degree murder, and sentenced him to 50 years in prison. He's an asset to the community.' YouTubeMarjorie Nugent And Bernie Tiede were inseparable right up until her 1996 demise. "we saw Broadway shows We had a lot of fun together.". Marjorie Nugent met Bernie Tiede when her husband died in 1990. CARTHAGE, Texas | One way or another, Bernie Tiede, has been dealing with death and darkness since he was 3 years old. When Shanna was 16, her grandfather died. 9 of 12 10 of 12 ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY JUNE 28--FILE--This is a 1996 file photo provided by the Panola County Sheriff's Department of Marjorie Nugent, right, and her former escort Bernie Tiede. That was not part of the deal. Got a magnetism," said Black. Not because Danny Buck wants 20. [11] By 1993, Bernie left his job to work for Nugent full time as her business manager and travel companion. It was on one of the next family visits to Carthage that the Nugent women got a hint of how deeply Tiede had moved into their grandmother's life. As an assistant funeral director at Hawthorn Funeral Home, Tiede soon became a beloved pillar of the Carthage community, and according to Texas Monthly, wore colorful Tommy Hilfiger clothes, when not wearing somber funeral suits, and drove around town in his Lincoln Continental, smiling broadly at everyone. Tiede was taken in for questioning, and he admitted to Nugent's murder to police in August 1997. And another thing, newly widowed 74-year-old Marjorie Nugent was loaded with cash - as much as $6 million. According to Texas Monthly, which covered the story extensively for years, Bernie was well-liked and popular in town, despite being, as one resident colorfully put it, "a little light in his loafers." "She untaped it and raised it up," D.A. Van Sant asked. "And you have a community saying, 'Leave him alone,'" Van Sant noted. Yet when "48 Hours" spoke with Tiede, Cole stopped him from telling those grisly details -- hard facts everyone from Carthage to Hollywood now knows. "Thoroughly confused," added Susan Jenull. He picked me up and we drove to Austin," Tiede said. The warm and affable Tiede invited her shopping and to dinner. "In some ways did you feel trapped in this relationship, just as you had been trapped with your uncle?" The director and those who loved Bernie argued he had paid his dues with time already served. As unpopular as Nugent was, her son eventually grew suspicious. In his confession to police, says ID,Bernie reportedly told them that, despite the pattern of behavior, "I was also afraid to leave her. "How long did it take this jury to make its decision?" In the end, though, Bernie's new defense couldn't save him. "It was a complete lie.". "There's this notion out there that you were attracted to Marjorie's money," Van Sant noted. And soon, Nugent and Tiede were seen on the scene -- the odd couple of Carthage. Bernie Tiede always had that human touch. And then I got active in the school here in the drama department," Tiede said. And though this case is the true story behind the 2011 movie Bernie, the real events are more astounding than anything Hollywood could have dreamt up. The Bizarre Story Of Bernie Tiede And The Real Murder Case That Inspired The Movie Bernie. "Nine months. The majestic gates swung open to a kingdom of riches, and Bernie Tiede rolled right in. In the chill at the cemetery, Tiede offered her his jacket. His mother dead, his father started drinking hard and died when Tiede was just 15. Primo said he worked with Nugent's husband, Rodney Nugent, on business ventures. "They went on great adventures together," Black said. He was temporarily released on bail in 2014, pending a resentencing hearing. The two met at her husband's funeral in 1990, and became close friends. Bernie Tiede: OK. Bernie: I love to be around people. But whatever Marjorie's affection for her granddaughters, the stakes were about to change. It was in 1991," he replied. I think she was madly in love with him.. They actually disassociate, which is to leave their body," Cole explained. Those graphic details would be missing from the movie. Nugent says he eventually stole $3.8 million of her money, which Marjorie was oblivious to at the time. "Doing good, doing a lot of good in Carthage," said Ruth Cockrell. And after watching the movie she got a hunch that the trial of Bernie Tiede had been a miscarriage of justice. Van Sant asked. Many believed her to be the meanest woman in Carthage, lording her wealth and status over the town. All of this both while Marjorie Nugent was alive, and after Tiede had killed her and stuffed her in her freezer. And she was an amazing seamstress; she could make you a whole wardrobe.. The film attracted attention to Tiede's case, and new evidence was discovered. "Well, I felt like she felt like she could trust me, I guess,"said Tiede. The visit was videotaped: Jack Black: I wanted to come and meet you. The Nugent family would have their own take on Cole's ideas. Thats when Marjorie met Tiede, who was working at the funeral home which made the arrangements. "Very much so. "Are you thinking to yourself, 'Well, we've parted ways, we did some business and never shall meet again'?" He did that," Tanner told the court. "He came with his box of transcripts," she said. In his confession, Nugent says, Tiede wrote that he went to Marjories home that day at 8 a.m. He moved the rifle, cleared out the freezer and made her coffee, she says. And Marjorie's family began to wonder, "What had become of grandma? We had the funeral service there. 7:30. Bernie Tiede was an assistant funeral home director who became her companion. "We went to Germany England Scotland and Wales. You see a scene like that in the script and you circle it in the calendar when you're gonna shoot that and you think about it a lot," said Black. But I don't like talkin' about them either," he told Peter Van Sant. Bernie Tiede's defense was that he killed Marjorie in an act of passion that her murder was not premeditated. bernie-tiedes-freedom-was-more-than-a-feel-good-se "Man gets life sentence for killing Nugent", "Witness says sexual abuse triggered Tiede's "dissociative episode", "Ex-Mortician Whose Killing of Widow Inspired Movie Freed Early", ex-texas-mortician-being-freed-from-prison-early, "As 'Bernie' Goes Free, Victim's Granddaughter Says Hollywood Has Wrought an Injustice", "Richard Linklater on Living With Bernie Tiede", Shanna Nugent Delivers the Victim Impact Statement at Bernie Tiede Resentencing, "New Sentencing Trial for Bernie Starts Wednesday", "Bernie Tiede trial: Victim's sister says she was afraid of Marjorie", "How My Aunt Marge Ended Up in the Deep Freeze . Van Sant asked Davidson. And the motives of her new companion deeply suspect. According to Investigation Discovery (ID), that man Bernhardt (Bernie) Tiede II, a 38-year-old local mortician then leaves to check out a rehearsal of a college theater group. He's been re-sentenced in the 1999 murder of 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent. "Well Marjorie wasn't a huggy-type person," said Ruth Cockrell, who would come to know as much as anyone in Carthage about the friendship of Bernie and Marjorie. Tiede reluctantly admitted to Cole that he had endured molestation by an uncle from the age of 12, with psychiatrists saying he experienced a dissociative episode during which he killed Nugent. "Bernie's name was top of the list," said Davidson. He and his daughter accompanied police to Nugents house on August 18, 1997, and found her neatly wrapped in the freezer. 'Have at it,'" said Linklater. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. So it wasn't long after 27-year-old Bernie Tiede arrived in Carthage back in 1985, that everyone seemed to know him. Almost immediately, Tiede admitted to murdering Nugent but the locals in Carthage didnt seem to hold it against him. "I think any of us can be difficult. And people are still mystified about what really happened on that November afternoon that led Bernie to shoot her four times," said reporter Skip Hollandsworth. "He was a God to this town," said Susie Cockrell. I'm mean as an old settin' hen sometimes," she laughed. "Everyone in that courtroom knew that my grandmother was not mean. Davidson then went to bat for the killer he had once helped convict. While she was outside, petting her dog, he shot her four times in the back. After high school, Tiede started working in a funeral home, showing a particular talent for makeup and hair. He and his daughter entered his mother's house, where they found her body in the freezer.[13]. "And the thing that disturbed me was that all of the pictures of my grandfather were gone.". "You know, all you can do is pray," Alexandria Nugent replied. Ruth Cockrell said of Tiede. He knew just what to say to bring a smile to anyone who needed it. The town of Carthage, where Marge lived and where Bernie worked at the local funeral home, is in deep East Texas, more than a two-hour drive from Dallas. That is what the original state's witness told us occurred in this case," Jodi Cole addressed the court in her closing statement. "And within a few weeks she had come to see me," said Tiede. The motion filed by Cole earlier in the week claims Marjorie Nugent's son, Rod Nugent, Jr., and an original administrator of Marjorie Nugent's estate were involved in a "scheme" to steal or embezzle money from the estate. Mortician Who Inspired 'Bernie' Movie Sent Back To Prison For Widow's Murder. "This woman had been abusing him for a very long time. "There wasn't a question in anybody's mind. "Some people are sayin', 'Hey let him go.' According to the Amarillo Globe-News, Nugent's estranged son, Rod, an Amarillo pathologist, had grown concerned about not being able to reach his mother. [10] He became a mortician, working in Carthage as assistant director of the Hawthorn Funeral Home. "The first bullet in her back makes her paralyzed, so she falls straight down onto the concrete. Within months of meeting at her husband's funeral, Tiede was full time at Marjorie Nugent's eye-popping home. Van Sant asked. Tiede, now 55, was convicted in the slaying of Marjorie Nugent, 81, his companion, who was found dead in her freezer months after disappearing in 1996. Some folks even suggested Tiede was next door to the angels. His father died in Abilene when Tiede was fifteen. But Tiede tells a different story, claiming that after five years attending to Marjorie Nugent, the relationship had soured. She knew that if her grandmother had left the house, she would have put everything she kept in the refrigerator in her freezer, located inside the pantry. "We had lost contact with her. "Was her place his gilded cage and she closed the door on that cage? On April 22, 2016, following Tiedes re-sentencing trial, the jury imposed a new sentence of 99 years or life for Tiede. Marjorie Nugent would one day be portrayed by Oscar-winning actress Shirley MacLaine. He is solicitous, gentle, tactful. Mom Drove Wife and Kids Off Cliff, the 'Hart Family Murders' Remain Chilling, Pa. Man Sentenced to Life for Bludgeoning Woman with Hammer, Then Strangling and Burning Her in Robbery Plot, 'True Crime Fan' Rene Zellweger on Playing Killer Pam Hupp: 'You Think You Know Her', Robert Durst's Murder Conviction Will Be Vacated on Legal Technicality, L.A. pictured above left, with Jack Black) while awaiting a new trial. "She was very distraught. ", "East Texas widow killer Bernie Tiede, subject of hit movie, gets 99 years to life in re-trial", "Bernie's lawyer's file appeal to court's decision", "Bernie Tiede won't face charge that he stole millions from East Texas widow he killed", "Bernie Tiede's attorney claims Nugent family stole money from victim's estate", https://inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/viewDetail.action?sid=05931666, http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/bernie-tiede-appeal-hinges-on-new-abuse-claim/ngWCC/, http://marjorienugent.com/content/nugent-family-files-full-brief-opposing-bernie-tiedes-release, https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034531/http://www.cbs19.tv/story/27147808/nugent-family-releases-checks-allegedly-forged-by-bernie-tiede-argues-they-are-evidence-of-motive-in-murder, http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20141030-bernie-victims-family-wants-killer-back-in-prison.ece, http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2014/11/financial-documents-show-the-extent-of-bernie-tiedes-criminal-behavior-before-he-murdered.html/, https://web.archive.org/web/20141117184614/http://www.cbs19.tv/story/27390720/nugent-family-reveals-full-scope-of-bernie-tiedes-alleged-scam, https://www.shutterbulky.com/bernie-tiede-story/, "How My Aunt Marge Ended Up in the Deep Freeze", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bernie_Tiede&oldid=1149843064, American people of German-Russian descent, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Texas, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing cleanup from August 2022, Articles with bare URLs for citations from August 2022, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from August 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from April 2023, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 14 April 2023, at 19:31. And I feel pretty good about it," said Davidson. Marjorie Nugent filed a new will leaving everything to Tiede and nothing to her family. And at least according to Bernie, feeling like Marjorie Nugent's prisoner reminded him of the abuse he says he suffered as a boy. [36] He currently resides at the Estelle Unit. Bernie Tiede was easy to find. "This idea that my grandmother was a monster is ludicrous," Alexandria Nugent said. "And Mrs. Nugent arrives," said Hollandsworth. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? It was there that the two met and forged their unusual bond. "He was definitely feeling the ecstasy of freedom," said Black. He then walks straight up to her body, puts the nuzzle to the gun to the back of her and shoots it two more times," Shanna Nugent explained. And the D.A. When he appealed his sentence, the appellate courts ruled that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to have found premeditation, a condition of the charge. [24] The Nugent family created a website to honor Nugent's memory, posting photos of her and articles relating to her murder. From the dusty dirt roads where Jack Paine and Ira Bounds live. He shoots her again. "Not as big as it once was, but it's here.". "And it's clear that no one's been there for a very long time.". My husband died this year, she says. He could do everything from makeup, hair. Marjorie Nugent was the richest widow in an eccentric town full of rich widows. Shortly after entering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 1999, Tiede was attacked by fellow inmates. Gregg County marriage records, book 35, page 229; cf. [14][15] The Texas Criminal Courts of Appeal approved the writ. Sixteen years after he shot Marjorie Nugent dead, Bernie Tiede painted a picture for defense attorney Jodi Cole about how he felt that awful morning. I'm just a people person. This might be where a normal true crime story would end, but not this one. Rod filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tiede, claiming he had embezzled more than $3 million from his mother.[16]. "Twelve when my Uncle began molesting me," said Tiede. "And I ended up attending the trial and started thinkin' maybe there's a movie here," he told Van Sant. He could sing he could preach. "This was just a straight up execution," said Tanner. "I had caused the death of somebody that I loved. "I deserved time," Tiede said. And he was sold. Bernie Tiede claims it pains him to recall how controlling and cantankerous Marjorie Nugent could be. He placed her body in a freezer used to store food at her Carthage home. After all, everyone loved Bernie. You dont ever expect anyone in your family to be murdered, Nugent says. Went to the pyramids. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. As a freelance writer, he spends his time writing about true crime. Bernie Tiede will be eligible for parole in 2029; he will be 70 years old. "My first thought is how is this happening?" Marjorie Nugent was a longstanding member of the richest family in Carthage after her husband had made his fortune as an oilman. On November 19, 1996, Tiede shot Nugent once in the back with her .22-caliber rifle as she stopped to pet the dog in her garage, then shot her three more times. Go by the house. "I've done a particularly horrible thing [cries] the worst thing in my life.". "When was the last time you saw your grandmother alive?" Make sure she was up. "She was," Alexandria Nugent replied. "This is a real case, with a real murderer. [23], Nugent's family learned about Tiede's release through media reports. "Rod" Nugent, who had made his fortune in oil and banking. . Critics loved it. Among the items taken from Tiedes house after his original arrest were four books on childhood sexual abuse. "Bernie Tiede is what?" The movie, "Bernie," also featured Matthew McConaughey as Danny Buck Davidson. "He was her man servant the guy hired to take care of her every need," Black explained. "I think the fatal mistake my grandmother made is she ended up buying a $30,000 headstone from Bernie Tiede, and from that moment he marked her," said Shanna Nugent. "It felt like this big weight had been lifted off my shoulder.". As nine months passed, Tiede said Nugent was in Ohio visiting her sister, or in the hospital recuperating from a stroke that left her speechless. "I think Danny Buck got enthralled with Hollywood," said Alexandria Nugent. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Cole brought the findings to the D.A. He said that after the murder, he had prepared the body, and placed it in a freezer. Nevertheless, when Tiede became the constant companion of the meanest woman in Carthage Marjorie Nugent, 40 years his senior it was certainly a surprise. "It happened so often," Hollandsworth said, "he asked for a change of venue.". Tiede met Nugent at her husbands funeral in 1990, Tiede sang a hymn and escorted Nugent to and from her husbands grave, offering her his coat in the chilly cemetery. "In '93, we went there and she opened the door and she hugged me and kissed me like eight times," said Shanna Nugent. "As I often do with the widows, widowers, check on 'em. The former Carthage mortician was convicted in 1999 of killing 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent, a wealthy Carthage widow. "And I think it took two days to thaw her out and for them to do an autopsy," said Davidson. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. "Could Marjorie be mean?" Her husband, Rod Nugent Sr., made a fortune as an independent oilman, a ruthless operator. He started purporting a sweetheart scam on her, Nugent says. And it's like, I don't know. "He's just a super generous sensitive guy, and is everybody's best friend and just very helpful," said Linklater. Taking great pride in his work, he was a consoling shoulder for the bereaved throughout the late 1980s and early 90s especially the elderly. You know, 'Nanny, who is this?' Tiede, a mortician, allegedly confessed to the 1996 shooting death of Marjorie Nugent, whose body he hid in a freezer . Marjorie Nugent [ edit] Tiede met the wealthy widow, Marjorie Nugent, in March 1990 at her husband's funeral, which Tiede had helped arrange as assistant director at Hawthorn Funeral Home. Danny Buck Davidson said. More from US The family of murder victim Marjorie Nugent, whose killer, Bernie Tiede, was the subject of a 2011 Hollywood movie, is glad that Tiede is back in prison for life. "He's back in prison for life. Van Sant asked the director. "So week after week, month after month passes, Marjorie's nowhere to be seen," said Van Sant. Case closed. "It's grim when, you know, you see an old lady on video being pulled out of her freezer. Tiede then wrapped Nugent snugly in a sheet and placed her into the bottom of a chest freezer, covering her in food items. "I think I'm pretty unconnable," Linklater told Van Sant. Marjorie Nugent had earned a reputation of being a cold, vile and antisocial woman whom not one person enjoyed being around. "She just wanted more and more and more of me around.". Until May 2014, he was serving a life sentence. Bernie is an assistant funeral director in East Texas who bonds with Marjorie after hosting the funeral of her late husband.
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