5 shocking details about Bruce Firman's murder

Bruce Firman was found beaten to death in his St. Catherines, Ontario, home in November 2001 while his estranged wife and stepdaughter were out for the evening.

Once they returned, the two found his body in the garage in a pool of blood, lying next to the weapon that was used to murder him. An investigation later revealed that the stepdaughter, Elizabeth Gatenby, had hired her teenage son and one of his friends to commit the crime.

ID's A Time to Kill chronicles the brutal killing of retired realtor Bruce Firman in an upcoming episode, titled Death of a Lady's Man. The synopsis states:

"Niagara Falls detectives find 72-year-old real estate agent Bruce Firman bludgeoned to death with a pipe wrench in the home he shares with his estranged soon-to-be ex-wife; Bruce was also a serial monogamist with a long list of jilted ex-lovers."

Death of a Lady's Man airs on the channel this Thursday, March 23, 2023.

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A shocking confession, and 4 other facts to know about the beating death of Bruce Firman

1) Firman's body was found in a bloody crime scene

On November 27, 2001, the body of Bruce Firman, a retired real estate agent who shared a house with his estranged wife Margaret Benesch on Northend Tecumseh Street in St. Catherines, Ontario, was discovered in the garage in a bloody crime scene.

The discovery was made by Margaret and her daughter Elizabeth Gatenby, who were returning from an evening outing.

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2) The murder weapon was found next to Bruce Firman's body

Margaret and Elizabeth called 911 after finding Firman's body in a pool of blood in the garage. Authorities, who arrived not long after, found that he had been struck in the head with a pipe wrench, which was discovered lying right next to the corpse and was covered in hair and blood.

Following an examination, the medical examiner confirmed that he died of severe blunt-force trauma to the head.

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3) Authorities initially suspected Margaret Benesch in Firman's killing

Retired realtor Bruce Firman died of severe blunt force trauma to the head in November 2001 (Image via Real Crime/YouTube)

While investigating the murder, authorities found that the victim and his estranged wife Margaret Benesch were going through a contentious divorce and legal battle over property and that the two were living in the same house, but on separate floors.

Moreover, Bruce Firman's son told them that the retired realtor once told him that if anything happened, Margaret was to blame for it.

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4) They got their first lead from Elizabeth Gatenby, the stepdaughter

While authorities suspected Benesch of committing the crime, her daughter Elizabeth Gatenby unwittingly gave them their first lead. She mentioned a 19-year-old male named Dell, whom she met during her bus journey to St. Catharines during an interrogation.

Using surveillance video, they were able to establish a link between the two after finding that she not only met him on the bus, but gave him a ride in her rental car. When confronted with the discovery, Gatenby told cops that she gave the young man a ride to a hotel and also paid for his room, which struck them as unusual.

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5) Shocking confessions led to the conclusion of Bruce Firman's killing

Authorities then searched the hotel room in question and found similar food boxes to the ones seen at Firman's house. They also found out that a second teenager, who recently checked out of the hotel, may have been involved. They then searched Elizabeth Gatenby's case for fingerprints and the ones collected revealed a 17-year-old named Tommy Nicol.

Nicol immediately admitted to the murder once confronted with solid evidence and also led authorities to Gatenby's son and his accomplice in the crime, Byron "Dell" Gatenby, who then revealed that his mother had manipulated them into killing Firman in exchange for $400.