California DOJ criminalists processed and examined evidence, as well as testified at the trial

“It takes dedicated public safety and criminal justice professionals who never waver despite the passage of time between the committed crime, a trial, and sentencing to keep our communities and the public safe.  We thank them for their public safety service.”

CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

BUTTE COUNTY – On August 15, 2025, a Butte County Superior Court Judge sentenced Timothy Wayne Wiechert, 51, of Chico, to serve 32 years to life plus 4 years in state prison.

Butte County Superior Court Judge Kristen Lucena handed down a sentence of 25 years to life for the March 2023 murder of Daniel Niles Sr, 61, and seven years to life for the March 2023 attempted murder of a Chico area homeless woman. The court also sentenced Wiechert to an additional one year for using a deadly weapon to commit the murder and 3 additional years for causing a 2022 fire outside the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.

In July of this year, a Butte County jury found Wiechert guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder after a three-week jury trial. As a result of the verdicts, Judge Lucena also found Wiechert had violated his probation for the 2022 fire.

The case gained notoriety because, after killing Niles, Wiechert wrapped Niles’ body in a tarp, stuffed the body into a shopping cart, and wheeled the body into the Chico FoodMaxx grocery store, where it was left. Before the body was found, Wiechert attempted to strangle to death a Chico homeless woman but was thwarted by good Samaritans and the quick response of the Chico Police Department.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Wiechert submitted lengthy oral and written statements to the court before the sentencing. Wiechert continued to deny responsibility for his crimes and expressed no remorse. Instead, Wiechert criticized the jury, the court, the witnesses, and the prosecutor and claimed he was persecuted for being homeless. On the back of his jail coveralls in court, Wiechert had drawn a target over the word “homeless.”

Numerous members of Niles’ family submitted letters to the judge prior to the sentencing hearing, and two members of the family spoke during the hearing. They remembered him as a kind and caring person who, despite suffering some bad breaks in his life, including losing his home and all his possessions in the Camp Fire, was always willing to help anyone in need.

The trial prosecutor, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Marc Noel, told the judge that it was this willingness to help others that led to Niles ’death: “On a cold rainy night in March, Daniel offered Wiechert a ride and Wiechert murdered him as a result.” In support of giving Wiechert the longest possible prison sentence allowed under California law, Judge Lucena cited Wiechert’s long criminal history, that included seven prior felony convictions and 20 misdemeanor convictions in multiple states, as well as Wiechert’s complete refusal to take any responsibility for his actions and refusal to take advantage of any of the resources and assistance offered to him by the Butte County Probation Department, Butte County Behavioral Health, the Chico Police Department and various agencies dedicated to assisting the homeless in the Chico area.

The court also noted that at the time he committed the murder and attempted murder, Wiechert was on felony probation for causing a fire at the base of a tree outside the Butte County Sheriff’s Office after being released from the Butte County Jail in August of 2022.

Homeless Man Found Guilty of Murder and Attempted Murder

Posted on July 21, 2025