ST. LOUIS — The man accused of killing a St. Louis plumber on Tuesday was involved in a "love triangle" with the victim and his wife, according to court documents.
Erik Seitz, 36, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection to the fatal shooting of 44-year-old Dennis Bieg.
St. Louis police responded Tuesday to a shooting on the 4700 block of River Des Peres Boulevard, near River Des Peres Park. Officers arrived to find Bieg dead from gunshot wounds.
Several witnesses at the scene identified Sietz as the shooter. One of them was Bieg's wife, who said she had been in a love triangle with Sietz and her husband, a probable cause statement said.
Another witness who identified herself as Sietz's ex-girlfriend told police that Bieg had sent her texts urging her to come to the park. When she arrived, she saw Sietz with his arm out, heard gunshots and saw Bieg bleeding.
A man who was with Sietz's ex-girlfriend said he saw Bieg get shot in the back as he was walking away and posing no threat.
Sietz claimed during police questioning that Bieg had hit him with an unknown object and he blacked out and woke up while being taken into custody.
"When confronted with witness accounts of what they had witnessed, defendant stated those accounts were inaccurate, denied having shot the victim, and claimed he did not even possess a gun," the probable cause statement said.
Investigators at the scene Tuesday night focused much of their attention on a red Bieg Plumbing Company work van. The vehicle was eventually towed away.
On Wednesday, Bieg Plumbing said in a statement that Bieg had been killed in an "unexpected incident" Tuesday that was unrelated to his work with the company.
