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An investigation into the early 1994 missing case of Paul Gruber, a retired teacher from Sandpoint, Idaho, led detectives to a local man named Darryl Kuehl. The lengthy probe concluded when DNA, along with other crucial pieces of evidence, was used to link Kuehl to Paul's disappearance, whose body was found buried in the crawl space of his own house in August 1995. He was shot four times.
Reports state that Darryl was suspected of posing as Paul for months, siphoning money from his accounts, sending cards to his family members, and writing cheques to cover up the murder. The suspect was charged with murder and forgery. He was found guilty in 1997 and sentenced to life without parole.
According to the Idaho Department of Corrections, Darryl Kuehl is currently serving time at the Idaho State Correctional Institution.
ID's A Body in the Basement will further delve into Paul Gruber's murder case, in an episode titled Missing Means Murder. The official synopsis for the all-new episode says:
"A man vanishes from a small town, leaving behind a trail of strange clues that stumps detectives and leads his neighbors to believe that a deadly imposter is living among them; when his body is found, the truth is more shocking than anyone imagined."
The upcoming episode is scheduled to air on ID this Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at 9:00 pm ET.
Prosecutors alleged that Darryl Kuehl was motivated by greed and jealousy to shoot paul Gruber four times
The Spokesman-Review reported that in May 1997, Darryl Kuehl was convicted of murdering the retired teacher Paul Gruber in Sandpoint, Idaho. After a three-week trial, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder for shooting Paul four times in January 1994, stealing his belongings, siphoning money from his accounts, and then posing as him to cover up his tracks.
Paul Gurber went missing in January 1994, after returning from Reno, Nevada, where he celebrated Christmas with his daughter Shellie Kepley. He was reported missing on February 28 when Shellie failed to get in touch with him for weeks. This was followed by a welfare check when officers realized that most of his belongings were missing. However, at the house, there were no signs of a break-in.
According to The Cinemaholic, Paul's Ford pickup truck was found abandoned about an hour's drive from his house, but there was still no sign of him. Months later, police discovered that large transactions were being made from his bank account. Shellie claimed that he did not use ATMs, which seemed concerning because about $22,000 had been withdrawn from multiple ATMs.
Authorities soon found that the missing man's mail was also being picked up from the post office. This was the first time when Darryl Kuehl was named in the disappearance case. At the time, Darryl claimed that he and Paul were involved in business ventures, which seemed like reason enough for him to pick up the mail.
About 17 months after he went missing, Paul Gruber's body was found in the crawl space beneath his house on August 23, 1995. His decomposed remains were discovered after Detective Harvey Thompson and a contractor, while walking through his house, noticed an unusual depression on the floor. An autopsy revealed that the victim had died of four gunshot wounds.
Detectives, who were suspicious of Darryl's involvement in the murder, kept investigating him, and uncovered large deposits being made into his bank account, which was consistent with Paul's missing money. The suspect also acknowledged paying the latter's bills. Moreover, while searching Darryl's house, they also found Paul's missing belongings, including his tools, boat, and truck.
The final piece of evidence was the DNA collected from the stamps that Darryl sent to Paul's daughter for her son's birthday, which matched a sample taken from the suspect. The handwriting was also a precise match.
Darryl Kuehl's conviction came years later in May 1997. He was found guilty of first-degree murder, forgery, and grand theft after prosecutors proved that he was motivated by greed and jealousy to murder Paul Gruber. Darryl was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
ID's A Body in the Basement will further delve into the case.
