Bay City man charged with killing and dismembering man

BAY CITY (WWJ) – A Bay City man accused of killing and dismembering a local school custodian he met on the dating app Grindr allegedly pushed the victim down the stairs, strangled him and then inside have cut pieces, says a new report.

Severed arms and legs were found in the Saginaw River in Bay City on Wednesday, September 18th. The Bay City Department of Public Safety identified the victim the following day as 41-year-old Justie Stilwell, who was reported missing after he failed to show up for his custodial job at TL Handy Middle School.

Robert Tweedly was charged Sept. 27 with open murder and digging up or mutilating a corpse.

New details about the case emerged on Friday when MLive reported that Stilwell met with Tweedly on Saturday, September 14th.

After police identified Tweedly as a suspect, he confessed to killing and dismembering Stilwell. According to the MLive report, he then disposed of his body parts at various locations in Bay City. MLive said it obtained the information through a Freedom of Information Act request it filed to obtain the transcript of Tweedly's probable cause hearing.

According to the MLive report, Tweedly told authorities that when Stilwell said he wanted to leave his home shortly after he arrived on Sept. 14, he pushed him down the basement stairs. He followed him down the stairs and strangled him, Tweedly told police, according to the transcript.

He allegedly tried to carry Stilwell's body upstairs but couldn't, so he went to Walmart to buy a rope to help him pull the body up. The next morning, he went back to Walmart, bought an ax and bags and dismembered the body, the report said.

He then threw the legs and arms into the Saginaw River and dumped the head and torso in the Golson Nature Area, the report said.

According to police, Stilwell's arms and legs were originally found in the river after they were spotted by a teenage girl walking past the Edward M. Golson Boat Launch. They were able to identify Stilwell using his fingerprints.

Tweedly remains jailed on a $1 million bond. His next court date is scheduled

According to MLive, a celebration of life for Stilwell will be held on Saturday, October 5, at 5 p.m. at the Skorupski Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 821 N. Pine Road in Hampton Township.