Inset: Bonnie Tietgens (from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The suburban residence in Fort Pierce, Florida, where Tietgens is alleged to have killed her husband. (Source: Google Maps).
A Florida woman is behind bars after killing her husband with a billy club and a cleanup effort gone awry, Sunshine State police say.
Bonnie J. Tietgens, aged 60, is facing charges of second-degree murder and evidence tampering as obstructing justice, as announced by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident happened late on Wednesday night at a home situated on Birch Drive in Fort Pierce, a middle-sized city on Florida’s Treasure Coast, which consists of three southeastern counties.
Around 10:30 p.m. on that night, deputies responded to calls regarding a potentially deceased man and discovered William Tietgens, 64, dead inside the suburban home, according to the sheriff’s office statement.
“Investigators found that earlier that evening, the suspect tried to reach her adult son by phone, who then returned Bonnie’s call. She then revealed to him that his father had died,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro stated in a Thursday press conference. “She confessed to hitting him on the head with a wooden billy club.”
The suspect’s son returned her call approximately at 9 p.m., as sources from the sheriff’s office reported to West Palm Beach-based NBC affiliate WPTV. He then reached out to his sister, and together they went to their parents’ home after being unable to contact their father. Upon arrival, they verified the tragic situation and contacted emergency services.
After finding the victim, deputies attempted lifesaving measures, but the severe head trauma rendered such efforts for naught. Then, deputies found the defendant in what appeared to be something of a compromising position, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Deputies located Bonnie Tietgens in the garage, standing near a washing machine. A blood-soaked blanket was on the ground beside her, and the machine was found fully loaded,” Del Toro said during the press conference as reported by Tequesta-based ABC affiliate WPBF. “She was in the process of basically pressing the start cycle on the machine, apparently attempting to destroy the potential evidence.”
The washing machine itself contained “blood-soaked clothing and towels,” the sheriff added during the press conference.
News of the alleged brutal bloodletting was a shock to residents in the community.
“I see them occasionally,” a neighbor told WPBF. “He walked his golden retriever, said ‘Hi’ or ‘Good morning’ and that’s it. That never crossed my mind.”
Another neighbor offered some insight into the marital situation.
“They definitely had their history, you know, drinking and fighting,” the second neighbor told WPTV. “It’s just it was kind of just a common occurrence for years.”
The sheriff’s office did not offer a motive for the alleged crime. The homicide investigation is said to be ongoing.
Law&Crime reached out to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office for additional details on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
The defendant is being detained in the St. Lucie County Jail on $250,000 bond, sheriff’s office records show. She is also currently subject to a mental health hold under Florida law.
