LAPD Unravel Murder Cover-Up In Sylmar, Discover Backyard Grave
SYLMAR (CBSLA) -- Marcel Gradvohl is accused of killing his uncle and burying him in a Sylmar backyard, then killing his mother and staging it as a suicide all to collect a life insurance settlement.
The 38-year-old was almost in the clear until one officer looking at the man's property noticed evidence of a freshly dug grave,
Patrol officers were called to the home on Monday for a possible suicide after finding a 67-year-old woman hanging.
According to officers, her injuries weren't consistent with Gradvohl's description of suicide.
"The information and the story that was initially presented to the officers was not consistent with the injuries they observed at the crime scene," said Dep. Chief Alan Hamilton.
Officers then brought in homicide detectives to investigate, who located a possible grave in the backyard from a neighbor's tip.
"Prior to the staged suicide, our suspect had engaged in a confrontation with another family member, committed a murder and attempted to conceal the body by burying it in the backyard," Hamilton said.
Gradvohl was later arrested for the murder of his mother, Maureen, who police say was strangled. Detectives also say he shot and killed his uncle, 58-year-old Edward Steckel, and buried the body.
Investigators say Gradvohl ended up confessing to the double murder. He is being held on $4 million bail.
