New details came to light Wednesday at the plea hearing in a gruesome double murder last year that left law enforcement scouring Lincoln's landfill for remains of one of the victims.
William T. Wright, 56, will face 20 years to life in prison on each of two counts of second-degree murder at his sentencing next month for killing 61-year-old Ronald George Jr. and 49-year-old Ronnie Patz.
Wright pleaded no contest in a deal with prosecutors, who reduced the charges from first-degree murder.
People are also reading…
Wright's crimes began to come to light early Aug. 31 when police were called to a field at Third and P streets, near the City Mission, about a possible dead person.
Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Greg Ariza said police found George lying dead in the grass with cuts to his neck, stab wounds to his upper chest and a hunting knife stuck in the ground next to his body.
Lincoln police were called to the nearby City Mission, where Wright, a transient, had been telling people he "slit his throat," according to court records.
Ariza said officers took Wright to the police station where, during a recorded interrogation, he made a surprising confession: "I killed two people in two days."
He said Wright told them he had been at the Motel 6 near Northwest 12th and Bond streets the day before drinking with Patz and that Patz was "starting to annoy him," so he struck him on the head with a bottle of scotch while Patz sat on the bed.
Wright told police he didn't want Patz to report the assault to the police, so he strangled him, then put his body under the bed.
Ariza said Wright took a bus to a Lincoln Walmart the following morning to buy several items, including a camping survival kit with a hatchet and serrated knife, Clorox, extra-strong garbage bags, drop cloths and a duffel bag.
Ariza said Wright returned to the Motel 6 and dismembered Patz's body and placed the body parts in separate plastic bags.
The next night, a woman found Wright stumbling near the west end of the Harris Overpass bridge and took him to her transient camp, where George was sleeping on blankets.
She left the camp for a time and returned to find Wright gone and George covered in blood. She found some friends who called 911.
Ariza said Wright spent the night at the nearby mission, then returned to the Motel 6, where he was seen on hotel video pulling a duffel bag to the dumpster and throwing it in.
Then, Wright returned to the mission, where police arrested him that night.
Ariza said he told them George had rolled into him, "and he was not going to take that any more," so he stabbed him three times with his knife.
After the confession, police found Patz's torso in the dumpster and a massive amount of blood in the bathroom and under the bed.
When he was done, Lancaster County District Judge Darla Ideus addressed Wright.
"Mr. Wright, you've just heard what the state believes its evidence would be should this matter proceed to trial," she said. "Do you still wish to plead no contest to these charges?"
"Yes," Wright answered.