On February 9, 1995, Markus Mueller, 29, was found shot to death in his Bonita Springs, Florida home. Markus answered his door and was shot three times in the doorway of his own home. His girlfriend Danielle found his body and informed authorities that she thought fellow bodybuilder David Bieber shot her boyfriend. David Bieber, 29, and Markus Mueller were both involved in an illegal steroid smuggling business; they made a lot of money. Apparently Bieber wanted to take over the business and he wanted Mueller’s girlfriend too. Danielle wanted to be with Mueller but he was married to a woman in Germany who he was not going to divorce. Danielle married Bieber on February 3, 1995 just a few days before the murder, and immediately began questioning her decision. She wanted to go back to Mueller but Bieber wasn’t having it. David made several statements to friends that he wanted Markus dead. David was brought into the police station for questioning but denied being involved in the murder. The Lee County Sheriff’s Department still believed that David was involved because he had the motive but they did not have the evidence to charge him.

In August 1995, a random shooting occurred involving Michelle Stanforth. She was shot at four times by an identified gunman but all the bullets missed her. Police learned that Michelle dated David Bieber in 1993 and that one day David showed up to her work and threatened Michelle and told her if she left him, she would be sorry. Michelle broke up with him and filed a restraining order. Police also learned that David had a history of violence against women dating back to 1989; he dated a sixteen year old that he later sexually violated. The Lee County Sheriff’s Department continued to investigate the murder of Markus Mueller and the attempted murder of Michelle Stanforth. They began by learning more about David Bieber. What they learned is that David appeared to be the all American boy until he began using steroids in his teens. After this David became more aggressive and violent. He joined the US Marine Corps to help him channel some of his aggression. Instead he rebelled against authority and ultimately found himself AWOL, facing charges, and dishonorably discharged. The aggressive ex-Marine remained a prime suspect in the murder and attempted murder cases but police still didn’t have enough evidence to charge him.

In September 1995, detectives learned from an informant that David Snipes was involved in a murder-for-hire scheme. David Snipes admitted that he was hired for $1,250 to kill Michelle Stanforth and hired for $1,000 to kill Markus Mueller. Snipes informed authorities that John Saladino hired him to kill them. When John Saladino was arrested, police learned that he was roommates with David Bieber. It didn’t take long before Saladino admitted that Bieber hired him to kill Michelle Stanforth and Markus Mueller. Saladino also admitted that Bieber put a hit on the lead homicide detective and his two sons. Police obtained a warrant to apprehend Bieber on first degree murder charges but instead he vanished. David Bieber became the focus of a nationwide manhunt. Both John Saladino and David Snipes were locked up for their role in the murder for hire schemes. Saladino was found guilty of second degree murder and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. David Snipes was convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to death by the electric chair but on appeal, it was commuted down to life in prison. David Bieber went missing for the next eight years. Police would later learn that Bieber altered his appearance, put on weight, and changed his name to Nathan Coleman.

In 1996, David was able to obtain a tourist Visa for England. He worked a few jobs and then met another woman who he married in March 1997 right before his six month tourist Visa expired. David found himself divorced again in May 2002 because of all his suspicious activity. David doesn’t resurface until he is confronted by two Leeds, England police officers on December 26, 2003. He was found sitting in front of a known suspicious gambling and betting location. The police ran his plates and placed David in the backseat of the cruiser while they awaited the information. At this point, they didn’t know David was a fugitive and had a concealed 9 mm; but they were concerned about his behavior and called for back up. The officers learned David’s car was stolen and were going to arrest him when he pulled out the gun. He shot and wounded one officer who was able to get away and shot Officer Ian Broadhurst in the shoulder and the abdomen initially. After back up responded, he shot and wounded another officer and then executed Officer Broadhurst, who was on the ground begging for his life. David Bieber was able to escape again.

The police were able to match fingerprints in the vehicle to David Bieber and that’s when they learned he was a fugitive on the run. David’s ex-wife in England was able to help the cops make the connection between David and his new alias Nathan Coleman; she was even able to give them an address. David had fled but he left behind evidence in his apartment and his storage locker that connected him to the crimes. On December 31, 2003, a SWAT team descended on a hotel after getting a tip that he had checked in. Initially, an armed and dangerous David refused to come out of his hotel room and things were tense, but police were able to apprehend him without a single shot fired. On December 2, 2004, David Bieber was found guilty and given three life sentences without the possibility of parole. But on appeal, Bieber’s sentence was reduced. Regardless, he is not eligible for parole until 2041; he will be 75 years old. In the event David is ever paroled from Great Britain, the State of Florida stands ready to extradite David Bieber and charge him with the murder of Markus Mueller and the attempted murder of Michelle Stanforth.

Related Links:
Wikipedia: David Bieber
Pc: ‘Please don’t shoot me’
The hunt for a policeman’s killer
Steroids changed obsessed body builder
Cop killer David Bieber branded ‘bestial and an escape risk’ by top judge
Bieber guilty of PC’s murder
Police murderer jailed for life
Police killer David Bieber wins appeal against ‘life means life’ sentence
Rage on the Run: An American Bodybuilder Becomes An International Fugitive (48 Hours)
Suspect in Bonita murder has life sentence reduced in England
Killer who shot dead police officer granted £12,000 legal aid to fight for a cushier life in prison
Pc killer David Bieber loses bid to sue authorities
In the line of duty: Ian Broadhurst’s murder, a decade on
Cop killer David Bieber ‘Britain’s most dangerous’
Cop killer’s reduced security request rejected
Convicted 1995 Lee County hitman wants life sentence reduced
£277,000 legal aid for police killer… which even helped him whine about his ‘uncomfy cell’: Widow brands decision to give him public money ‘absolutely disgraceful’
Leeds, England Police Officer Ian Broadhurst Gunned Down by Dishonorably Discharged Marine and Fugitive David Bieber During Routine Traffic Stop (2003)
Killer on the Run: David Bieber (Documentary)
David Bieber, The Bodybuilder Serial Killer (YouTube)