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Sabine Buehler, an environmentalist and ideal citizen of the small community on Anna Maria Island, was killed in an act of rage in 2008 by her then-boyfriend William "Bill" Cumber. Her remains weren't discovered until October 2015, when the accused pleaded guilty and led authorities to the victim's buried remains.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will revisit the 49-year-old's gruesome murder and a case that eventually led to the discovery of the victim's remains years later buried on the beach. The episode will air this Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 8 pm ET on Oxygen.
The official synopsis for the upcoming episode states:
"Sabine Buehler moves to an island off the coast of Florida for her own slice of paradise; when she vanishes, friends know she hasn't left on her own; finding out what happened to her leads police down a long and winding path in the sand."
It all began when Sabine Buehler openly started dating Bill Cumber. It was revealed that her marriage to husband Tom had turned into one of convenience as the two remained business partners and good friends even after losing affection for each other.
Cumber met her when he started working at Haley's Motel in 2006, co-owned by the Buehlers, as a handyman, and soon after, their blazing affair began. The lovebirds moved into a Magnolia Avenue apartment in Anna Maria and about a month later, Sabine mysteriously disappeared in November 2008.
A stolen car and forensic tests led authorities to Sabine Buehler's alleged killer
Sabine Buehler's missing report was only filed two days after her original disappearance in the early morning hours of November 6 when her car was discovered in Bradenton in the possession of one Robert Corona, a man with an extensive auto theft background. The 38-year-old man confessed to stealing the car. He allegedly found the car unlocked near the Gator Lounge pub.
Forensic reports revealed that Sabine's blood was found in the car regardless of the perpetrator's attempts to get rid of the bloody evidence. Authorities claimed that someone cut out a part of the padding from the car's backseat, digging a roughly shaped hole in it.
Manatee County Detective John Kenney reportedly said,
"Whoever did it used a knife and cut it around, and then took out the padding and the leather. We surmised that they tried to clean up the car the best they could and cut that part out."
In an earlier interview, Bill Cumber reportedly claimed to have last seen Sabine on the night of her disappearance when the two got into a heated argument over the former's smoking habits, which the victim firmly despised. But the boyfriend soon became a person of interest when forensic results showed the victim's blood in their Magnolia Avenue apartment, which matched the DNA found in the stolen car.
An arrest was made for Sabine Buehler's murder without any physical evidence
Days after the discovery, William "Bill" Cumber was arrested for driving without a license and attempting to leave the country without informing the authorities. It was also revealed that, Bill had previously been arrested after he started working at Haley's Motel in connection to a 2006 arson case when he set his former girlfriend's house on fire with people still inside.
The state determined that the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to prosecute Cumber with second-degree murder, although the case lacked any physical evidence to support Sabine's murder. Her remains were yet to be found. After a series of delays, Cumber eventually pleaded guilty in October 2015 and led authorities to where Sabine Buehler rested.
He confessed to committing the murder and detailed the events of that night, saying,
"She said she couldn’t do this relationship anymore because of certain issues…I lose control…I hit her in the head. She gets scared and covers her face with her hands…I reached and grabbed her throat…until she wasn’t moving."
He added:
"I couldn’t believe what I did. I stared down at her, and I couldn’t believe what I had done. I decided I didn’t want to go back to prison. So I thought of a way to dispose of her."
Tune into Dateline: Secrets Uncovered this Wednesday at 8 pm ET to learn more about Sabine Buehler's 2008 murder case.
