However, theres a bit of relief now that an arrest has been made. Placentias historical Kraemer house sits abandoned with a broken balcony, boarded-up windows, a weed- and trash-choked lawn and broken glass strewn across the cracked driveway. FAIRFIELD, Ill (WEHT) Brodey Murbarger, 26, was found guilty of first degree murder on Thursday after the jury deliberated for only an hour. I had never had someone that I was close to that had died and, you know, that was traumatic," August said. The owners say theyve asked the city for demolition permits in the past, but all those requests were denied. Lee said the group of owners would like nothing better than to cut ties to the property. You have permission to edit this article. When youre hanging up a poster with your friends picture on it, thats when its like, Oh, this is real, August said. Built in 1918, the house now waits in a state of dire disrepair on its 1.5-acre Angelina Avenue lot while its owners and city officials wrangle over the next turn in its fortunes. Local radio news at noon stated that the Grand Jury indictments cant yet be released. A body was found - it was tragic, but maybe itll lead to something more. Judge Michael Molt handed down the sentence at the conclusion of a two hour hearing before a packed Wayne County courtroom. On July 3, 2014, 15-year-old Megan Nichols disappeared from her Fairfield, Illinois home. Police say Nichols was initially considered a missing person until her remains were found in a rural area in Wayne County, Illinois in 2018. According to authorities, prior to her disappearance, Megan withdrew money from a local bank while on her bicycle. Its really hard to process, August said. Theres no sense of closure and the families of the victims are left devastated. EVANSVILLE, Ind. Brodey Murbarger was arrested in 2020 and is facing a first-degree murder. For more than three years, state and local police along with the FBI followed up on hundreds of tips. Brodey Ian Murbarger, 24, was arrested Wednesday without incident and is in jail awaiting extradition back to Illinois. Then he was going to leave the house and build houses around it. Megans mother, Kathy Jo Hutchcraft, discovered her daughter missing from her room around 11 p.m. Dateline reported that she later found a note Megan reportedly left behind, telling her that she loved her, but she would never be happy at home. UPDATE: Brodey Murbarger found guilty of murdering Megan Nichols in 2014. When youre hanging up a poster with your friends picture on it, thats when its like, Oh, this is real, Holden said. The defense, however, argued the evidence is speculation and circumstantial. In reference to the varying stories, the defense states Murbarger was an awkward teen under a lot of pressure due to rumors circulating of his involvement in Nichols disappearance and would have been flustered during interrogations. Rosenthal said, however, that the requests were stalled because the city was waiting for acceptable renovation proposals from the owners. Her family didn't believe she was actually a runaway though and her disappearance was featured in Datelines digital series Missing in America.". We will continue to provide updates on the case. Jury moves outside to see suspects car on day 7 of Ill. murder trial, Evansville hotel manager accused of stealing from guest, Silver Alert canceled for elderly Evansville woman, Dispatch: Missing persons case underway after car found under Twin Bridges. Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/103.0.0.0 Safari/537.36, Shawn Parrs Backstage Country, Weeknights, President Biden announces new sanctions against Russia, countering Putins invasion of Ukraine, Three out of state residents arrested near Effingham for trafficking drugs. Murbarger was accused in the 2014 disappearance and killing of 15-year-old Megan Nichols. The man at the center of a high profile murder case out of Wayne County, Illinois, learned his sentence on Friday. According to Lee, the owners have lost a substantial amount of money on the property, which cost $750,000 in 1988. One month later, on January 26, 2018, authorities positively identified the remains as belonging to Megan. Speaking on behalf of the city, Rosenthal said the best possible scenario is that the house be restored and placed on the states list of historical homes. Brodey I. Murbarger has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder of his former girlfriend, 15-year-old Megan Nichols of Fairfield. Murbarger took the stand on Wednesday and testified that Nichols blood was in his car after a sexual encounter in which he used his shirt to clean the blood. There are reports that Murbarger and Nichols had at one point dated, but the FBI could not confirm that to Dateline because of the ongoing investigation. I think the Kraemer house has tremendous possibilities, Bass said. You have permission to edit this article. Holden August, a friend of Nichols, heard the news on Wednesday morning. Murbarger is awaiting trial for the 2014 slaying of 15-year-old Megan Nichols of Fairfield. His attorney, Christian J. Baril, told Judge Michael Molt and State's Attorney Kevin Kakac the review of discovery materials is going well. Its one of those things where you kind of always knew it was him," August said. We're told that the maximum sentence Murbarger faced for the crime was 60 years, and that the minimum possible sentence was 20 years. August says Nicholss disappearance took awhile to digest for him and his classmates. https://www.14news.com/2022/10/12/ill-murder-suspect-takes-stand-day-8-trial/?outputType=amp. We asked the city to condemn the property, but they refused to do that. The court also heard from an FBI DNA expert who confirmed the blood in Murbargers trunk came from Megan Nichols. Under that plan, new homes would have been built around the Kraemer house for a colony of resident artists. In the meantime, he hasnt done what we think is the proper maintenance on the site.. Megan was dating an 18-year-old named Brodey Murbarger, and the relationship had caused a rift between Megan and her mother. Copyright 2022 WFIE. [Previous: Im sick,' says woman who discovered Megan Nichols remains]. On 09-25-2020 an Illinois grand jury issued an indictment for Brodey Murbarger (11-27-95) in reference to the 2014 disappearance/murder of Megan Nichols. He apologized to the victims' family and raised $1.6 million for them, according to the New York Times.But the family insisted he . The remains were found in a rural location in Wayne County, Illinois, FBI Public Information Officer Brad Ware previously told Dateline. Search for Free Cell Phone Deals Without Paying, Datelines digital series Missing in America. The documents show hes accused of strangling and suffocating Megan and burying her in a shallow grave. The first-degree murder trial of Brodey I. Murbarger began this morning with jury selection in Wayne County Circuit Court in Fairfield. MURBARGER PRE TRIAL 3/19/22 The first-degree murder trial of 25-year-old Brodey I. Murbarger has been delayed until fall. Her whereabouts remained a mystery for three years until human remains were found on December 26, 2017. Murbarger was arrested in 2020 while working in Indiana. Updated: Oct 13, 2022 / 04:08 PM CDT FAIRFIELD, Ill (WEHT) - Brodey Murbarger, 26, was found guilty of first degree murder on Thursday after the jury deliberated for only an hour. Follow 44News on Facebook, or download the free 44News apps on Android or Apple devices. Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty of all four counts against him on Thursday in connection with the deaths of his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, near the dog kennels of. Its been six dark years for Nicholss family and friends, whose questions were left unanswered. Megan was dating an 18-year-old named Brodey Murbarger, an On September 29, a Wayne County Grand Jury indicted Murbarger on six separate charges. What happens when the murderer doesnt get caught? A farmer found the remains three years after the 15-year-old girl was reported missing. As we previously reported, Brodey Murbarger, the man found guilty of murdering Fairfield teen Megan Nichols, was scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday afternoon. The plans we submitted before had up to 10 to 14 homes, which was higher density. A pre-trial hearing was held yesterday (Tuesday) via Zoom in Wayne County Circuit Court for 25-year-old Brodey I. Murbarger. If your child will play baseball or softball this spring, youll need to stock up on appropriate clothing and equipment. [Exclusive: People who found remains in Wayne Co. talk to 14 News]. Nichols was 15 when she disappeared on July 3, 2014 from her home in Fairfield, Illinois. According to Lee, the owners continued to lose money on the property even when it was occupied because the monthly mortgage and taxes are about $4,500. She also left a note saying she loved her mother, but would never be happy at home. But in February 2014 the messages reflected a more tumultuous relationship, with Murbarger at one point calling Nichols annoying.. Nichols had gone missing in 2014 at the age of 15, but in 2017, her remains were discovered in a rural area of Wayne County, eventually leading to Murbarger's arrest. Members of the Kraemer family, for their part, apparently have distanced themselves from the dilapidated house that bears their name. An abatement order would require the houses owners to repair, rebuild or demolish the house. Bond has been set at $3 million. Please post information in the comments related to the case! Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The investigator also testified the two were planning to runaway together five months prior to Nichols disappearance. Sep 2019 - Present3 years 5 months. Brodey Murbarger was arrested at his place of employment Wednesday without incident. But FBI Public Information Officer Brad Ware could not confirm these details to Dateline due to the case being an ongoing investigation. The stain tested positive in the field for blood. Link has been updated, guilty verdict returned. They have been trying either to find a builder who would buy and clean up the site or pursue some other option that would make city officials happy while unloading the property. Murbarger was found guilty of the murder of Megan Nichols this afternoon after approx. The family, according to Lee and Bass, is not interested in paying to restore the home. The house is one of only seven historical homes in the city, according to Donna Bass, chairwoman of Placentias historical committee. That would allow the developer to build a road and more homes on the site without razing the historical structure. Police say Nichols was initially considered a missing person until her remains were found in a rural area in Wayne County, Illinois in 2018. Brodey Ian Murbarger, 24, of Evansville, Indiana, was taken into custody outside his place of employment and transported to the Vanderburgh County Jail, according to a press release issued by. FBI investigator William OSullivan testified Wednesday about the more than 7,000 text messages exchanged between Murbarger and Nichols between December 2013 and February 2014. Brodey Murbarger. Copyright 2020 WFIE. Bass, the Placentia historian, said city officials balk at taking over the renovation because it will be so expensive. There was a problem saving your notification. As Dateline previously reported, the 15-year-old was last seen on July 3, 2014, at her home in Fairfield, Illinois, where she lived with her mother and stepfather. But the bottom line is that something has to be settled with that property., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Look up: The 32 most spectacular ceilings in Los Angeles, L.A. County moves to require quake retrofits as Turkey-Syria death toll exceeds 50,000, Historic movie lot that gave Studio City its name to get $1-billion makeover, How renovation of an iconic Chinese mall represents a shift in L.A.s Chinese community. 4. Evansville, Indiana Area. RC Beverage Company. Now the price tag for renovation has reached $300,000. Some murders are so shocking and evil that they capture the mind of the general public and it wont let go until a killer is brought to justice. Nichols, 15 was reported missing from her Fairfield, Illinois home in the early morning hours of July 3, 2014. Three are for first degree murder. Brodey Ian Murbarger of Evansville, Indiana has been arrested in connection with the murder of his former girlfriend, Megan Nichols. OSullivan said the messages at first were romantic and sexual in nature and included several references to the couple planning a runaway in mid-2014. During closing arguments Thursday, the state of Illinois argued that Murbarger has changed his story several times through interviews with police, claiming all stories contradict one another. No further info regarding charges has been released. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Brodey Murbarger was arrested in 2020 and is facing a first-degree murder . Nichols was considered a missing person until her remains were found in a field outside Boyleston, Illinois in 2017. Call or Email Renovari Counseling for a free phone consultation now - (714) 248-0598. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Multiple agencies in Evansville, Indiana took Brodey Murbarger, 24, into custody Wednesday morning. One is for concealment of homicidal death, and two are for home invasion. The once-elegant 5,872-square-foot house, still flanked by birds-of-paradise bushes, is now a rotting shell. Brodey Murbargers attorney filed a motion on his clients behalf Tuesday. As they see it, there are only two options left: Sell the property to a builder for development or allow the city to take over the site and pay for the restoration. As we previously reported, Brodey Murbarger, the man found guilty of murdering Fairfield teen Megan Nichols, was scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday afternoon. It wasn't until 2017 that Nichols' remains were discovered in a rural area of Wayne County. Through those statements, the state says Murbarger places himself with Nichols on the night and time she disappeared. A month later, they were identified as those of Nichols. WAYNE COUNTY A Wayne County jury has started deliberations in the case charging 26-year-old Brodey Murbarger with the 2014 murder and disappearance of his high school girlfriend Megan Nichols. [Click here to see the indictment documents obtained by 14 News]. He was arrested Wednesday without incident and is in jail awaiting extradition back to Illinois. https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/closing-arguments-wrap-up-in-murbarger-murder-trial-jury-to-deliberate/. I would love to see that house be taken and refurbished and something decent made there.. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The Court on Tuesday issued a protective order for Megan Nichols medical records. 25-year-old Brodey I. Murbarger appeared in a status hearing via Zoom in Wayne County Circuit Court yesterday morning. The documents show hes accused of strangling and suffocating Megan and burying her in a shallow grave.