Steven M. Pieper is a 21-year-old male employed with the Pep Boys in Clay, New York and lived at 8237 Coconut Tree Drive, according to Syracuse.com, who has been charged with murder in the 2nd degree.
Pieper was born in October 17, 1989, per law enforcement records, and he was the on-again, off-again boyfriend to murder victim Jenni-Lyn Watson for approximately 18 months, when she chose to end their relationship this past October.
The suspect in the murder of Mercyhurst dance student Jenni-Lyn Watson is currently sitting in cell 5C015 in the Onondaga County Justice Center, where he is not going to get bail before Friday--and maybe not even then.
Not first arrest
Pieper has been arrested in the murder of Jenni-Lyn Watson, but it isn't his first brush with law enforcement, which took place in August of this year. Jenni-Lyn Watson's boyfriend was arrested at that time due to a petit larceny that occurred at Walmart in Cicero, according to the Post-Standard. He was charged with a misdemeanor then but is facing a felony Murder 2 charge now.
Jenni-Lyn Watson's estranged boyfriend drove a Black Volkswagen Jetta but police are still interested in the dark truck they were seeking information about during the course of their investigation.
That possibly means it was used in the transport of Jenni-Lyn's body after-the-fact and may or may not indicate an accomplice after-the-fact. However, DA Fitzpatrick told the Syracuse press that Pieper used his vehicle to transport Jenni-Lyn's body.
Black truck: witness, accomplice or fabrication?
The truck is potentially an eyewitness to the transport of Jenni's body--or of Pieper's presence at the home--or a red herring from Pieper that allegedly supports his statement of someone else coming to the home after he left.
Either way, police are still seeking information to that end. Finding the vehicle and the driver--if they exist--would lay to rest additional questions they obviously have or would allow them to nullify his statement alleging another presence.
No remorse, pleads "not guilty"
Steven Pieper is not expressing any remorse in the murder of Jenni-Lyn Watson, declaring his innocence and "lawyering up" at both interviews conducted by the police prior to the body remains being found or his eventual arrest on Saturday, Nov. 27th.
In addition, he pled not guilty before Justice Lauri shortly after his 7:49 p.m. court appearance on Saturday evening, hours after his alleged beloved was found in the marshy part of Clay Central Park, behind a storage shed.
Jenni-Lyn's body had been covered with debris, an attempt to hide her whereabouts. Law enforcement await the conclusion of an autopsy scheduled for Sunday in order to determine exact cause of death. However, with no presence of blood at the scene--and no evidence of violence in the home--it is highly likely the death was due to strangulation, also known as asphixyation, but that has not been determined at this point.
Next court date for Steven Pieper
Justice Lauri has scheduled the next court appearance for the defendant to be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3rd. Pieper's attorney was not present at his appearance Saturday night, but was with him when he was interviewed previously by police during the investigation, per Syracuse.com.
Steven Pieper spoke little, refusing to comment to waiting press as he entered the court building, and few that know Jenni-Lyn Watson are speaking out with any real knowledge of the young man now accused of killing the girl who said, "I love my boyfriend he is [the] best thing thats ever happened to me."
Comments
What is it with these pathetic "men" who think killing their gf or ex is a viable option? If he did it, I hope he rots in prison..
This is so sad she was an adorable young woman who loved life you can tell from just looking at her myspace and to think someone could do something like this is just disgusting,Absolutely heart breaking we love you Jenni! i hope this guy gets beat in jail everyday because he deserves it.
I am curious- Jenni-Lyn's myspace page seems to have been virtually untouched/updated in almost a year prior to her disappearance, although the "last login" states 10/20/2010. One might assume that perhaps a friend or family member logged into her account- but left it intact, even the professing of love for SMP - I have seen no mention of this oddity anywhere
Actually she added pictures back in March and April of 2010.
finally someone besides me noticed her myspace page ! i was thinking maybe noone changed her page yet because they didn't have the password. the girl obviously had no desire to change it. something is weird about the whole case. i don't know any of the people involved. only what the police say and haven't seen any consistency in any of the police statements other than the girl was found deceased , and now that her boyfriend/exbofriend did it. there was another person found in a "marshy area" today. a hunter that fired shots for help. the same police on the watson case handled the hunter. the cops apparently thought that the 3 shot distress signal was "indicative of deer hunting". silly me would have thought that firing a gun would scare the deer away. anyway, apparently , the hunter fired shots for help last evening , then proceeded to wander through a marsh into 4 feet of water where he was found dead this morning when they decided to go look for him. personally , those cops have demonstrated complete idiocy in everything they've done concerning the watson case and the dead hunter case.
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