Hinting marriage, undercover cop elicits slaying confession
CLEVELAND (AP) — There wasn’t much doubt in the minds of police in the Ohio village of Hartville, best known for its fertile muck farms, that Phil Snider killed his wife of 53 years.
But it took an undercover female officer who played her role so convincingly that the 73-year-old man proposed marriage over numerous cups of fast-food coffee and he revealed in gruesome detail how he had bludgeoned 70-yearold Roberta Snider to death and disposed of incriminating evidence.
Along the way, after his wife went missing in January, Snider spun different versions of what happened to her when questioned by police about how Roberta died and what happened to her body during what he initially said was a trip to Memphis to visit Elvis Presley’s Graceland.
The undercover officer surreptitiously recorded all of their meetings, including their final coffee date on April 20.
Snider had offered marriage and the promise that she would receive his pension when he died.
The officer said Snider would have to be honest about what happened to Roberta if he wanted their relationship to continue.
“Scenario-wise, if you hit her in the head, what did you hit her with?” the officer is heard asking Snider as they played cards at a McDonald’s.
“I can’t tell you that,” Snider replied. “Why?”
“We aren’t married,” Snider said.
She continued pressing Snider for details, which he provided while punctuating most of the revelations with the words, “Just scenario.”