Murder Cases that Rocked the LP Industry
The D&D Daily looks back at
two murder cases that
rocked the loss prevention industry
As Timothy Krueger, a former Regional Loss
Prevention Manager with the Ascena Retail Group, awaits trial in Georgia, we
look back at both the Krueger and Bernard Grucza
incidents that rocked our Loss Prevention profession.
Timothy Krueger Sr., 49, awaits trial in the Gwinnett, Georgia Superior Court
for the murder of Sarai Llanos Gomez at his home on June 16, 2022. Bernard
Grucza, 48, a former Regional Loss Prevention Manager with Toys R Us is
currently remanded to the NY Correctional Facility at Sing Sing, for
First Degree Manslaughter of Larry Wells, a TRU Store Manager.
Timothy Krueger - Duluth, GA -
June 16, 2022
Krueger
is awaiting trial for the murder of an escort, Sarai Llanos Gomez who
came to his home on the evening of June 16, 2022. After stabbing and slitting
the throat of the young woman, her body was discarded in a field in Flowery
Branch, GA. Krueger was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail on 8/4/2022 on
charges of Aggravated Assault and Felony Murder.
Krueger appeared in court on Aug 19, 2022 with Defense Attorney Scott Drake for
charges of felony murder and aggravated assault. Magistrate Court Judge Anna
Pearce bound the charges over to Superior Court. Judge R. Timothy Hamil, County
of Gwinnett Georgia Superior Court has yet to hear the case, the first attempt
was postponed due to Krueger’s attorney filing for a Leave of Absence. As of
this writing , no new trial date has been set.
With
phone records, Gwinnett County Police Cpl. John Jorstad said they were able to
determine that Krueger’s number communicated with Sarai Llanos Gomez's number
more than 70 times between June 10 and June 16. When interviewed by police after
his Aug. 4 arrest, Krueger said he did not know Gomez’s name and was expecting a
different woman to show up at his house that night. Krueger told police he
thought the woman he was communicating with and Gomez “were trying to play some
kind of trick on him,” Jorstad testified.
Jorstad said there was a language barrier between them during a disagreement, as
Krueger thought he was being swindled. At one point, Gomez became fearful and
grabbed a kitchen knife from the knife block, Jorstad said. “He said he just
remembered kind of tussling with her, grabbing the knife from her and then she
turned to walk away, at which point he stabbed her in the back,” Jorstad said.
Gomez fell to the ground, and Krueger “stated he just wanted it to be over, so
he stabbed her a few more times and then he cut her throat,” Jorstad said.
“When my client was talking about the stabbing, did he indicate that he was
acting in self defense?” Drake asked “It did not seem that he was acting in self
defense,” Jorstad said. “He said that she had turned her back to him and was
walking away.”
Krueger told law enforcement he was in a panic and started driving, ending up in
the Flowery Branch area, Jorstad testified. Jorstad spent most of the hearing
laying out the police work that led to Krueger being identified as a suspect.
Gwinnett
County, Hall County, Georgia Bureau of Investigations and Homeland Security
(because Gomez was on a work visa from Ecuador) are currently involved in this
case
Krueger was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail on 8/4/2022 on charges
of Aggravated Assault and Felony Murder.
In Georgia, the penalty for a Felony Murder conviction is either life in
prison with or without parole or the death penalty.
gainesvilletimes.com
Bernard Grucza - Toys R Us -
Hamburg, NY - June 29, 2013
In
the early morning of June 29, 2013, TRU Store Manager Larry Wells opened the
store around 4am, letting in 4 fellow associates. By 5:45, Wells would be
fighting for his life on the way to the hospital. Wells died on his way to the
hospital, suffering multiple stab wounds to the chest.
Police reviewing store video discovered a man moving around inside the store at
4:30 am, but shortly after the power to the DVR was turned off.
Police had little to go on, only a baseball cap left behind and the help of
Regional Loss Prevention Manager Bernard Grucza, who was quickly at the store to
assist and console the TRU store associates.
The Grucza case gained national media attention.
The Oxygen Network ran a follow-up investigative story titled “Murdered by
Morning” in 2020 covering the 109-day investigation. Grucza had played a key
role in ‘assisting’ the Police during the investigation, but always shied away
when Police would ask for a DNA sample to exclude him as a possible suspect.
With the murder of Store Manager Larry Wells going cold, investigators finally
obtained a DNA swab from Grucza, that swab matched a baseball cap left behind at
the scene.
They arrested Grucza that day and charged him. While searching his house,
authorities found stockpiles of electronics and toys. Grucza was selling the
merchandise on Ebay, according to the
Buffalo News. He “was uniquely well suited to rip off the company that
employed him,” U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul told the outlet.
As part of a later plea deal, Grucza admitted to using his role in Loss
Prevention to steal more than $200,000 worth of merchandise from the Toys “R” Us
store. Grucza also pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, admitting that
he had entered the store that June morning with the intention of robbing the
safe. Grucza had been living well beyond his means, according to “Murdered by
Morning.” He had debts totaling $1.2 million, a $450,000 home, and a late-model
Cadillac Escalade, the
Buffalo News reported.
In July 2014, a judge handed him the harshest penalty available in the state on
the charge: 25 years in prison and five years of probation.
Bernard Grucza is currently at the New York State Maximum Security
Correctional Facility, Sing Sing, located about 30 miles from New York City.
Being found guilty, he is scheduled to serve all 25 years, with earliest
possible release date of 04/09/2035. Grucza turned 48 years old on March 23,
2023.
wbfo.org
