DA: Suspected killer caught while allegedly strangling woman
Man arrested, accused of killing Daniel Niles whose body was found in a shopping cart
A man was charged Monday with the killing of 61-year-old Daniel Niles after Niles' body was found wrapped in plastic in a shopping cart on March 12. Timothy Wayne Wiechert, 48, of Chico is believed by the Butte County District Attorney's Office to have killed Niles. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a 28-year-old woman on March 12.
District Attorney Mike Ramsey said the two cases appear to be linked as Wiechert, the woman and Niles were all homeless and staying in the area near FoodMaxx where the incidents occurred.
According to a press release issued Monday by the DA's Office, a resident on Chandese Lane in Chico came home to find an unknown pickup in her driveway and upon further inspection found a man strangling a woman on the ground in the driveway who was identified as Wiechert. A neighbor attempted to get the man off of her by use of a baseball bat.
Officers arrived at the scene and arrested Wiechert. The pickup in the driveway was allegedly registered to Niles, the man found in the shopping cart. Inside the camper shell of the pickup, officers found “a good deal of blood” as well as a dog that also belonged to Niles. The dog, Tank, was taken to the city's animal shelter but recovered by Niles' son. It was later that day on March 12 that Niles' body was found near FoodMaxx.
Wiechert was charged with attempted murder and the Butte County Probation Department filed a probation violation as he allegedly cut off his ankle monitor in relation to an arson conviction.
The woman was kept at Enloe Medical Center for three days and released. Ramsey said Wiechert could be sentenced to up to two life terms if convicted.
The release said detectives initially attempted to get security footage from FoodMaxx, but the corporate office overseeing the store wouldn't allow it until a search warrant was served. Upon serving the warrant and reviewing the footage, the release said it appeared a man matching Wiechert's description was pushing the cart with the body inside. The cart was pushed inside the store by the man seen in the footage and later pushed out by a store employee. The cart, with Niles in it, sat for two days before being moved to allow for a customer in a wheelchair to enter.
Wiechert is scheduled to be in Butte County Superior Court for a mental competency hearing April 20.
FoodMaxx did not reply to multiple attempts to contact by deadline.