8-15-17 MichiganHALE, MI -- Before being killed and buried in his backyard in rural Michigan, a 72-year-old man served time for sexually assaulting a minor.
The Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry states Roger L. Knickerbocker II in July 2000 was convicted of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim 13 or younger. The charge is a life offense and involves penetration.
Since 2006, a person convicted of the crime when the victim is 13 or younger must serve a mandatory minimum 25 years in prison.
The crime occurred in Pontiac. The conviction was handed down in Oakland County Circuit Court. He was paroled of May 2009 and discharged from parole in May 2011, said Chris Gautz, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Knickerbocker had to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He last registered on June 26.
Police unearthed Knickerbocker's body the night of Thursday, Aug. 10. He had been buried several yards behind his secluded house at 5851 Snyder Trail in Hale, underneath a dog house. The property is difficult to get to, surrounded by woods and a scattering of other cabin-style houses.
Michigan State Police troopers learned of the body's location after arresting a woman the evening of Aug. 9 on domestic violence charges. While en route to the Bay County Jail, the woman complained of her luck at being arrested while she knew of others getting away with murder. She went on to provide the troopers with Knickerbocker's address.
She was lodged in Bay County due to outstanding warrants in that jurisdiction.
Troopers after midnight on Aug. 10 went to the house and saw evidence that a violent crime had recently occurred. A cadaver dog summoned to the scene immediately hit on the spot where Knickerbocker's body was later exhumed.
On Thursday, police arrested 20-year-old Daniel J. Olar, formerly of Pontiac. Olar had been living with Knickerbocker, but was not related to him, police said.
"They had known each other for a very long time," said Special 1st Lt. David Kaiser. He added Olar was not the victim in Knickerbocker's 2000 sexual assault convictions.
Detective Sgt. Craig Johnson of the West Branch Post said it's believed Knickerbocker was killed on or about Aug. 3. An autopsy has been performed, results of which indicated Knickerbocker was killed via multiple methods, Johnson said. He did not elaborate on what those methods were.
Olar on Friday was arraigned in Iosco County District Court on one charge of open murder, punishable by up to life imprisonment without the chance of parole. The judge denied bond.
That same day, police arrested 24-year-old Christopher R. Grinnell. On Monday, Aug. 14, Grinnell appeared in Iosco County District Court for arraignment on one count of accessory after the fact to a felony, itself a five-year felony.
The judge set a $1 million cash-surety bond in Grinnell's case.
Court records list Grinnell as residing within the 1400 block of North Lincoln Street in Bay City. The documents also give an alternative address in the 3500 block of Channel Road in Hale, described as his brother's home. That residence is 1.3 miles from Knickerbocker's.
Police have said Grinnell and Olar are friends. They are both to appear for probable cause hearings at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22.
Police do not believe the woman who tipped them off to Knickerbocker's slaying was present when the killing occurred. ..Source..
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