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New revelations come forth in case of Toys R Us
Regional LP Manager charged with murder
Suspect was hard to find as police sought DNA in murder
case
Yesterday the Daily
reported the shocking news that the man responsible for
the June 29 murder of Laurence Wells, assistant store
manager of the Toys R Us in Hamburg, NY, was in fact his
co-worker -- Regional Loss Prevention Manager Bernard
"Bernie" Grucza. Today, we learn that Grucza was elusive
in the days, weeks and months following the murder -
despite the fact that he was present at the store in the
immediate hours after Wells was stabbed to death, consoling other employees and talking
with police. Employees found Wells mortally wounded in a
chair in the manager's office, with multiple stab
wounds.
Other co-workers of the victim came forward to give DNA
samples, but it took months for police to find Grucza,
38. He took a leave of absence from his job as Regional
LP Manager for the toy store chain. “It was the
proverbial haystack of information, and we were looking
for that needle,” Hamburg Detective Capt. Kevin A. Trask
said Thursday. “He was on the radar, but we were
following up on so many leads and he was kind of put on
the back burner.” When it came time to obtain a DNA
sample from Grucza, he was nowhere to be found. He had
moved out of his $450,000 home in an upscale section of
Elma because of an ongoing divorce dispute and an order
of protection placed against him by his wife, Heather,
in the weeks prior to the June 29 homicide at the
Hamburg store.
He was keeping a low profile. Detectives were able to
locate a relative of Grucza’s in North Tonawanda, who
provided information that helped them locate him. Trask
declined to elaborate on how his detectives obtained a
DNA sample from Grucza, but authorities said the sample
matched a DNA specimen obtained from a University of
Florida Gators cap that the killer had left behind when
fleeing the store after the predawn stabbing of Wells,
35. The DNA obtained from the cap did not come from a
hair, but apparently from a body secretion found on the
cap, which had helped hide the killer’s face in the
grainy footage recorded by the store surveillance
cameras, the police official said.
On Wednesday, Grucza pleaded not guilty to second degree
murder charges. This morning, the man was back in
Hamburg Town Court for a pre-trial hearing. He was
transported back to the Erie County Holding Center,
where he is currently being held without bail.
Grucza also
faces sentencing on his guilty plea to a reduced charge
of fourth-degree attempted criminal possession of a
weapon in Elma Town Court in late November. That charge
stems from his arrest in early June in a domestic
incident.
Toys R Us release a statement Thursday night about the
arrest, thanking Hamburg Police and saying they will
cooperate in the investigation to bring justice to
Larry. (Source
buffalonews.com) (Source
buffalonews.com) (Source
wkbw.com)
Here's what we know about Bernie Grucza,
according to industry sources:
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He graduated from Canisius College, a Jesuit Catholic
University in Buffalo, in 1997 with a degree
in Criminalistics and Criminal Science. |
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Bernie was a Toys R Us store
manager in Florida before he was promoted to
Regional Asset Protection Manager in Buffalo
approximately 3 years ago. |
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He was previously a store
manager for Gap Inc. |
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According to those who
worked with him, Bernie got along well with
others and would often joke around at
meetings. No one suspected him, and when
they heard he was arrested earlier this week
in connection with the murder they were
shocked. |
Grucza has history of Run-ins with the law
While Bernard Grucza's homicide
arrest this week was a shock to many, the Regional Loss
Prevention Manager does have a criminal past. In
addition to his second degree murder charge, the Erie
County Sheriff's Department tells us Grucza was arrested
June 8 at his Kettle Run home in Elma just three weeks
before Wells' murder. They also say Grucza was charged
in that domestic incident with harassment and illegal
possession of a 9 mm handgun. They also confirm there
had been a series of domestic calls at that address in
the past. The Sheriff's Department says Grucza's wife
took out an order of protection against him following
that June arrest. "He was always on the radar, but it
was a matter really of having too much information to
pour through until it finally got it focused on him,"
says Trask. (Source
wgrz.com)
Investigators looking into recent Toys R Us robberies in
the Pennsylvania and Buffalo area - Grucza may be
connected to those too
Investigators and industry sources say Bernard Grucza is
a suspect in a string of other burglaries that occurred
at Toys R Us stores in western New York and northern
Pennsylvania in the past couple years. Regional Asset
Protection Managers for Toys R Us have master keys that
can access all the stores in their region. On the
morning of June 29, Grucza allegedly entered the Hamburg
Toys R Us, dismantled the store's video-surveillance
system, then attempted to break into the store's safe -
before he was caught in the act by Laurence Wells.
(Source
buffalonews.com)
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The Daily has been on top of this story from
the beginning.
Below is a timeline of our investigative
reporting:
July 1 —
Police
search for a suspect in Toys "R" Us homicide in Hamburg,
New York; surveillance pictures released.
Hamburg Police were called to the Toys R Us on McKinley
Street just before 6 a.m. Saturday morning. Officials
say that a male employee of the store was assaulted
inside and taken to Mercy Hospital. The victim, Laurence
Wells, 35, of Blasdell was in grave condition at the
hospital where he was later pronounced dead. He was the
Assistant Store Manager at Toys R Us. Hamburg Detective
Thomas Best says that the doors to the store were locked
while three employees were inside prior to the store
opening at 9 a.m. stocking shelves. Police say it’s hard
to determine if the attack happened while employees were
still inside or if the incident happened before they
arrived. The victim was inside his office at the time of
the incident where the intruder found him. The body of
Wells was found by an employee who was looking for him.
(Source
wkbw.com)
July 15 —
Toys R Us offers $25,000 reward in June 29
killing - investigators search for motive
Toys R Us has put up a
$25,000 reward for information leading to
the arrest and conviction of the person
behind Wells' homicide. CrimeStoppers
also added its
maximum amount of $1,000 to the reward.
Detectives still are trying to determine
whether the killing was a robbery or
targeted attack. “We have equal evidence for
both sides of that argument,” Capt. Kevin A.
Trask said. “We don’t have a clear-cut
motive.” Investigators also haven’t ruled
out the possibility that the attack was
carried out by a disgruntled employee or
ex-employee. Police have said Wells, 35, was
stabbed two or three times by a man who had
entered his tiny office when it was empty,
shut the door behind him and then dismantled
the video-surveillance system about seven
minutes later. Wells was attacked when he
entered the office.
(Source
buffalonews.com)
October 17 —
Retail Murder Mystery Solved
Toys
R Us Regional Loss Prevention Manager kills a Buffalo store manager
who caught him breaking into safe Bernard Grucza, a
Regional Loss Prevention Manager with Toys R Us has been arrested in
the stabbing death of an assistant store manager in the store’s
office in suburban Buffalo. Investigators believe the Grucza was
attempting to steal money from the store when the manager walked in
on him in the early morning hours. Hamburg police Wednesday
announced the arrest of Bernard Grucza, 38, of Elma on a charge of
second-degree murder. Grucza is accused of killing Laurence Wells,
35, before the store opened June 29. Grucza, pleaded not guilty and
is being held without bail. Investigators said they believe Grucza
was robbing the safe at the store when he was caught by Wells. News
video following the slaying showed Grucza at the scene consoling
fellow employees. Investigators also said Grucza was also a suspect
in break-ins at Toys R Us stores in southern Pennsylvania.
(Source
wivb.com) (Source
buffalonews.com)
 
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As your #1 trusted LP information source, the
Daily will continue
monitoring this story. Stay tuned for further
developments.
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