CHICO, Calif. — A Chico man is facing multiple charges, including murder, after 61-year-old Daniel Niles was found dead inside a shopping cart at a grocery store.
The Butte County District Attorney’s Office identified the suspect as 48-year-old Timothy Wiechert and said Wiechert is also charged with the attempted murder of a 28-year-old woman.
CASE HISTORY
Surveillance footage shows a man matching Wiechert’s description rolling a cart with a large white tarp into the FoodMaxx store around 6:20 a.m. March 10. Niles’ dog, Tank, is seen following the cart.
The cart was rolled near the store’s bathrooms and left behind. A store employee later rolled the cart outside the front entrance of the store where it was unmoved for two days until a customer in a wheelchair needed it moved.
Around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, March 12, police were called to Chandese Lane in Chico after a woman came home to find a truck parked in her driveway and Wiechert strangling a woman on the ground.
The district attorney’s office said officers arrived to find Wiechert strangling the woman and they were able to detain him and save the woman, who was taken to a hospital.
Officers found the truck in the driveway belonged to Daniel Niles and a search found "a good deal of blood" in the camper shell in the back of the truck. Tank, Niles' dog, was also in the truck and taken to the pound.
It wasn’t until around 4:30 p.m. that a security guard spotted the shopping cart at the FoodMaxx front entrance. The guard looked inside the tarp, saw Niles’ body, and called 911.
The district attorney’s office charged Wiechert with attempted murder on March 16 and his public defender told the judge he didn’t think Wiechert was competent to stand trial.
A psychologist’s report is due April 20. Niles’ son picked up Tank from the pound.
Investigators believe Niles, Wiechert and the 28-year-old woman he’s accused of trying to kill were homeless together near the FoodMaxx.
If convicted of both crimes, Wiechert faces two life terms in prison.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10: DA leading Trump case says rhetoric won't intimidate office
