California DOJ criminalists processed and examined evidence, as well as testified at the trial
“If witness statements and surveillance video can’t completely tell a story, forensic evidence and the criminalists at California DOJ sure can. It’s hard to argue with science. This case is an example of how California DOJ criminalists assist local law enforcement and district attorneys’ offices to keep the public safe from harm.”
CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
BUTTE COUNTY – On July 18, 2025, a Butte County Superior Court jury found Timothy Wayne Wiechert, 51, a homeless man in Chico, guilty of the first-degree murder and attempted murder of two other Chico homeless individuals. He now faces 34 years to life in state prison.
Wiechert was convicted of using a railroad spike to kill Daniel Niles Sr., 61, on March 10, 2023, and then attempting to kill Madeline Ridpath, 30, on March 12, 2023.
According to the evidence, Wiechert killed Niles Sr. by repeatedly striking Niles in the head with a railroad spike at an unknown location sometime in the early morning hours of March 10, 2023. During the trial, a forensic pathologist testified to finding 10 separate injuries to the skull of Niles, each caused by a separate blow from the railroad spike.
After killing Niles, Wiechert loaded the body into the cargo bed of Niles’ pickup truck and drove the body to the parking lot of the Chico Crossroads shopping center. After parking the truck, Wiechert wrapped the body in a tarp, placed the body into a shopping cart, and wheeled the body into the FoodMaxx grocery store. Wiechert left the shopping cart containing the body in an alcove off a hallway near the exit of the FoodMaxx store. Wiechert then took Niles’ dog and the pickup. Much of this was captured on surveillance tapes shown to the jury.
A few hours later, FoodMaxx employees discovered the shopping cart. Assuming that a homeless person had left the shopping cart in the store, an employee pushed the shopping cart out of the store without checking the contents. The shopping cart was left on the sidewalk between FoodMaxx and a neighboring store, where it sat for approximately 56 hours.
On the morning of March 12, 2023, Wiechert used the Niles’ truck to drive himself and Madeline Ridpath, his claimed “girlfriend”, to a house on Chandese Lane in Chico. Wiechert parked the truck in the driveway of the residence. Shortly thereafter, the resident came home and discovered Wiechert, Ridpath, and the truck on her property. After asking Wiechert and Ridpath to leave, the resident told the jury she watched in horror as Wiechert grabbed Ridpath by the neck and dragged her into the bushes. That resident immediately called 911. A next-door neighbor testified he heard the commotion and Ridpath screaming. The neighbor grabbed a baseball bat from his house and attempted to stop Wiechert from strangling Ridpath. Despite verbal requests and several blows from the baseball bat, Wiechert continued to strangle Ridpath. According to the testimony of the neighbor and several other witnesses, Ridpath was turning purple, and her screams had turned into a gurgling noise. Responding Chico Police officers arrived shortly and were able to pry Wiechert off Ridpath. Jurors were shown body camera videos from the responding officers. Ridpath was subsequently transported to Enloe Hospital where she recovered from her injuries. Wiechert was immediately arrested.
While at the residence on Chandese Lane, the Chico officers told the jury, they observed a “suspiciously large” amount of blood on a tarp in the cargo area of the truck. As a result, the Niles’ truck was towed to the Chico Police Department so it could be properly searched. Chico Detective Sergeant Alex Fliehr testified he interviewed Wiechert at the Chico Police Department, where Wiechert immediately admitted that he had been trying to kill his “old lady” by strangulation. When he was asked about why he had the truck, Wiechert said the truck belonged to “Daniel” and that Daniel had left with some “hillbillies” and had never returned, so he kept the truck and Daniel’s dog.
While police were interviewing Wiechert, the body of Daniel Niles was found in the shopping cart at FoodMaxx. According to his testimony, Sergeant Fliehr then interviewed Wiechert for the second time. During the second interview, Wiechert continued to state that Niles had left several days earlier with two “hillbillies” and never returned. When the sergeant informed Wiechert that the body of Niles had been found at FoodMaxx, Wiechert replied, “Isn’t that a little twist?” and continued to deny any involvement in the death of Niles.
Criminalists from the California Department of Justice searched and processed Niles’ pickup truck with its bloody bed and interior. During this search, a railroad spike was found in the passenger compartment of the truck. During the analysis of the railroad spike, the criminalists testified they found blood, human tissue, and hair on the railroad spike. A DOJ DNA expert analyzed all of the samples and determined that the blood on the railroad spike and the blood in the bed of the truck all belonged to Niles. The DNA expert also found that DNA on the head and shaft of the railroad spike belonged to Wiechert.
During the trial, Wiechert testified on his own behalf. During his testimony, Wiechert denied attempting to kill Ridpath. He told the jury he was merely holding and hugging Ridpath because he knew he was going to be going to jail. Wiechert then, for the first time, admitted to the jury that he did kill Niles with the railroad spike, but that he killed Niles in self-defense. Wiechert claimed he had previously known Niles and was friendly with him. He said Niles gave him a ride in the truck and then, for some unknown reason, Niles attempted to sic his dog on Wiechert. When the dog did not react, Wiechert testified he saw that Niles had his hand in his pants’ pocket, and fearing that Niles “might” pull a knife or gun from that pocket, he launched a preemptory attack with the railroad spike.
The jury ultimately found Wiechert’s self-defense tale was not to be believed and that he had willfully and deliberately killed Niles with malice aforethought. The jury also rejected Wiechert’s claims that he was merely holding and hugging Ridpath and found him guilty of willfully and deliberately attempting to kill Ridpath.
Wiechert faces 27 years to life on the murder and 7 years to life on the attempted murder. Wiechert is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, August 15, 2025.
