They Had to Die That Night: The Inside Story Of The Investigation and Trial Of Herbert F. Steigler

By Richard R. Wier Jr.

In the early morning hours of October 19, 1968, a fire spread rapidly through a suburban home in Wilmington, Delaware, killing three sleeping victims: a six-year-old girl and a retired couple. The murderer spread ten containers of gasoline around the first floor of the home and up the stairs onto the second floor. The murderer deliberately blocked any escape from the second floor where the victims were sleeping. A fourth potential victim escaped by chance, having woken up and interrupted the murderer before he could complete his murderous plan.Richard R. Wier Jr. was a young deputy attorney general in the Delaware Attorney General's Office at the time of the murders. He and a fellow prosecutor, John Mulford, were assigned to investigate and prosecute the person responsible for the horrific crimes. It would become the longest criminal jury trial in a Delaware state court at the time. This is the true behind-the-scenes story of the prosecution's efforts to find out who committed these murders and the actual decisions made by the prosecutors in bringing the case to trial.This compelling story brings the reader face-to-face with the killer's motives and the aftermath of the criminal trial. It has such diverse characters as a professional arsonist for the mob and a world-renowned expert on flame dynamics who had no hands—his artificial hands covered with black gloves. It has adultery, misappropriation of funds, lie detector tests, unethical business practices, commercial crimes. At its centerpiece is a killer who appears to be a psychopath by his lack of remorse, conscience, and connection to the victims.You will ask the question, was justice done for the three deceased victims by their family's treatment of the murderer? Start now to answer that question.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662423642

Book preview

Chapter One

Marriage and Murder

On October 19, 1968, Henry and Emma Swertfeger were about to start a new life with their daughter, Arlene Steigler, and her husband, Herbert. Retired and in their early sixties, they had sold their home in Harrison, New York, and moved to Wilmington to be near their daughter and grandchildren: Sarah, twelve; David, ten; and Christine, six. They were staying with the Steiglers in their home at 206 Murphy Road while their furniture and possessions could be moved into their new home. Arlene was looking forward to having her parents close to her and Herb, both thirty-seven, and the children. She had been helping her parents move, and since they were moving into their new home the next day, this was the last night they would be staying with her. For Arlene, everything was pointing toward a long, bright future with her parents and her family.

However, a dark cloud hung over the family that evening. Unknown to Arlene, she, her parents, and her youngest daughter were targeted for death by a killer who concluded that October 19, 1968, would be their last day on earth. In the killer’s mind, they had to die that night.

This story begins long ago in Harrison High School in upstate New York, where Herb Steigler and Arlene Swertfeger were students and dated. They were king and queen at the junior prom and walked together at graduation.

Herb received a football scholarship to Syracuse University in 1950, played for Coach Ben Schwartzwalder, and appeared in the 1953 Orange Bowl game. Arlene joined him at Syracuse. Herb graduated in 1954 with a degree in business administration. Arlene graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, with a degree in psychology.

Arlene and Herb were married in December 1954, but what began as a storybook romance evolved into a relationship that led to betrayal and, ultimately, murder. After his marriage to Arlene, Steigler descended to new lows.

Chapter Two

The Scene of the Crime

The Steiglers moved to Wilmington in 1959, after Herb had served for five years as a navigator in the United States Air Force. In 1961 they purchased a small two-story home at 206 Murphy Road with a Cape Cod-design containing three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor; a living room, den, dining room, kitchen, small office / bedroom, and powder room on the first floor; a breezeway connecting the kitchen to a semi-attached garage and a full lower-level basement.

A small landing was located immediately to the left of the front door, at the foot of the only stairway leading to the second floor. The stairway was at the center of the home and divided the living room to the right and the den or family room to the left. The stairway was the only exit for anyone on the second floor. There was also a coat closet on the landing at the foot of the stairs.

In the living room were a fireplace and a piano. The dining room was at the back or south of the house, a kitchen just off the dining room, and an office off the kitchen that connected to a breezeway, which was attached to the garage. The office was temporarily occupied by the Steiglers’ son, David, on the night of October 19, 1968, since his maternal grandparents were using his bedroom. Sarah Steigler was not at home that evening, spending the night at a girlfriend’s home in nearby Graylyn Crest.

According to the fire marshal’s report, the home’s walls and ceiling were drywall, with attached frame studding, coated with rough plaster and a coating of finished plaster five-eighths inches thick. The living room, dining room, stairs and stairway, and upstairs hallway were covered from wall to wall with short pile, tightly woven carpet. The den floor was covered by wall-to-wall tiling, partially covered by a 14’ by 9’ 10" patterned short-pile, tightly woven carpet. All bedrooms were carpeted with short-pile, tightly woven carpet. The stairs, lower landing, stepped into the den, and all doors were of ordinary frame construction.

The basement was filled with numerous shelves and cabinets containing glass jars and containers of various sizes. The storm doors in the basement leading to the backyard were locked from the inside to block intruders. The only other entrances to the home were through the front door, the den door, and the downstairs office door that led to the kitchen and breezeway. They were all locked on that fateful October night.

Anyone driving by the home would not be aware of the evil which was hidden from the public. On October 19, 1968, the basement, garage, first floor, and second floor were filled with evidence of one of the most horrific crimes that I had ever encountered over forty-seven years as a prosecutor or defense attorney—the triple murder of a defenseless family.

This tale of betrayal and murder began when Arlene Steigler woke up and walked to her bedroom door.

Chapter Three

The Call for Help

In the early hours of October 19, around 2:25 a.m., Arlene Steigler was sleeping in the master bedroom of her home when she was awakened by a noise downstairs. She and her husband slept in twin beds attached to a headboard. She saw that her husband was not in his side and she should have noticed that it had not been slept in. Thinking that he had fallen asleep downstairs, she planned to go downstairs to awaken him.

As she walked toward the bedroom door, she heard two loud bangs. Upon opening the door, she was immediately hit by a wall of flame that shot up the stairs just outside her door. Her face and hair were singed. The shooting flames burned the door and the lamp next to her. She slammed the door shut, grabbed a blanket from the bed, and ran to the master bathroom to take refuge in the shower. After phoning to report the fire, she wrapped a wet blanket around her and stayed in the shower to protect herself from the flames. As it turned out, her phone call put in motion the investigation and discovery of a cold-blooded murder plot created and executed by her own husband.

There are three counties in Delaware: New Castle, the most populous in the north; Kent, in central Delaware and home of the state capital in Dover; and Sussex, the southernmost county whose beautiful beaches include the popular vacation town of Rehoboth Beach. The City of Wilmington is located in New Castle County and is the only jurisdiction with a fully paid fire department. Volunteer fire companies, some of which have a few paid members, handle fires outside the City of Wilmington and in all the counties. The Talleyville Fire Company was one of the oldest and most respected volunteer fire companies in the state. Founded in 1928, the firehouse has always been located on Route 202, or Concord Pike, just a few miles from the Steigler home on Murphy Road. In 1968, it had 125 uniformed members.

Daniel Kiley was an active member of the Talleyville Fire Company in October 1968 and was married to Patricia Malloy, the daughter of the former chief of the company, James G. Malloy.

On October 19, 1968, at 2:28 a.m., the New Castle County Fireboard was notified of an active house fire on Murphy Road from the Wilmington Bureau of Fire dispatcher, who then called the Talleyville Fire Company. Dan and Patricia lived in nearby Concord Manor, a stone’s throw from the firehouse, and Dan was home when he received a call on his home monitor alerting him to a house fire on Murphy Road. He drove the short distance to the fire company, suited up, and drove the first fire apparatus—a pumper, with hoses and ladders—down Concord Pike to Murphy Road. Riding with Dan was Assistant Fire Chief James R. Hague.

Fortuitously, there had been a meeting of the general membership of the Talleyville Fire Company that evening concerning the company’s fortieth anniversary, so members didn’t have to go very far to respond. Hague lived less than a mile from the company and immediately drove there after receiving the alarm on his home monitor. Assistant Chief Hague, who had been a member of Talleyville since 1956, was initially in charge of the efforts to rescue anyone trapped inside and to extinguish the fire. Incredibly, Deputy State Fire Marshal Richard Lynch, who had been at the firehouse for the meeting, was also on the first truck. Lynch was an arson expert who conducted investigations into the causes of fires and had the authority to enter burning buildings and homes and to arrest persons who committed arson.

The Talleyville firefighters reached the Steigler home in less than two and a half minutes. This quick response was instrumental in the investigation of the cause of the fire and the discovery of evidence of murder and arson.

Picture of the Talleyville Fire Company and fire apparatus. [Permission of James R. Hague].

Photo of James R. Hague, Talleyville Fire Company. [Permission of James R. Hague].

Photo and article of Daniel R. Kiley, State Fire Marshal. [Permission of Daniel R. Kiley and the Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Office].

Chapter Four

The Discovery of Arson and Murder

A. The Initial Entry into the Burning Home

As Dan Kiley turned onto Murphy Road, large trees blocked his view, but he soon saw black smoke billowing from a home on his right. As he and Assistant Chief James Hague approached the burning home, they saw people on the front lawn and were told there were people still inside. Hague saw flames through the living room and den windows. Chief Hague initially attacked the fire through the front door. The heaviest concentration of fire was to the left of the front door, which included the landing, a closet, and stairs. Hague was struck by the unusual color of the dark-red flames, a color not usually associated with dwelling fires. It had all the earmarks of a gasoline-fed fire.

Dan Kiley pulled hoses and ladders off the pumper and remained at the scene until daybreak. He never entered the home. Chief Hague spoke with a tall man, whom he later learned was Herbert Steigler, who said that people were trapped inside. He was struck by the man’s calm demeanor. Other equipment arrived, including two pumpers, a ladder truck, a rescue truck, and two ambulances.

Hague directed that two lines be pulled through the front door, but they were forced back by the heat and smoke. Firemen raised ladders to the rear window of the bedroom where Christine was sleeping. They tried to enter through the window but were driven back by the intense heat. Hague immediately circled around the house by way of the driveway and saw that ladders were placed upon the Bilco doors, which were closed.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Richard Lynch donned protective gear and an oxygen mask because of the intense heat and gases from the burning flames. He proceeded to the rear of the home and entered a breezeway between the house and the garage through an open door leading from the breezeway into the kitchen—a door Steigler had previously fled through. The office door leading into the first-floor hallway was closed. He made his way through this door, where heavy smoke and heat were first noticed. He crawled along the rear hallway where the heat was intense. He crawled through the kitchen and into the dining room, then the living room, and onto the first-floor landing.

Lynch crawled up the stairway to the second floor where the heat was also intense. At the top of the stairs, he encountered glass from a fractured container which had broken due to the heat. He then crawled to his right down the hallway toward the two bedrooms where the Swertgefers and Christine had been sleeping. Hague returned to the front of the house, after seeing the ladders placed on the basement doors under the bedroom where Christine was located. He entered the home and, on his hands and knees, ascended the stairs joining Fire Marshal Lynch. The two men conducted a search of the bedroom to their right, where Lynch discovered a bundle of blankets. In the blankets, they discovered the lifeless body of an elderly woman who was facedown.

Hague and Lynch then saw the lifeless body of an elderly man in the doorway of the back bedroom and, upon entering, saw the lifeless body of a young child on the floor on the far side of the bed. Her outline was etched in the rug. Hague saw firemen on the ladder outside the window, but they had not entered the back bedroom due to the extreme heat and noxious gases.

Other members of Talleyville continued to search for victims, including the basement, and observed that the basement doors were shut and locked—which prevented anyone from entering or leaving the home. Detective Roger Thomson, who was the first law enforcement officer on the scene, saw the locked and closed Bilco doors, which confirmed that no intruders had entered or escaped from the home through this exit.

Emma Swertfeger, Christine, and her grandfather had each been overcome by the heat and carbon monoxide. When Mr. Swertfeger opened the door to the bedroom where he and his wife had been sleeping and then opened the door to Christine’s room in an effort to save his little granddaughter, the intense heat, flames, and gases from the upstairs hallway were released into the bedrooms and overcame the three victims.

James G. Malloy, Talleyville fire chief, directed that the bodies of Emma Swertfeger, Christine, and Henry Swertfeger be removed from the home to the front lawn, where ambulances were waiting. According to one witness, as the three victims were removed from the home and onto the front yard, the light rain caused eerie plumes of smoke to rise from their fire-scorched bodies.

Lynch and Hague were the first firemen to reach the second floor. After discovering the bodies of the three victims, they accompanied the removal of the victims to the front yard. They reentered the living room and immediately discovered the evidence of arson.

B. Discovery of Arson

Upon his reentry into the Steigler home, Fire Marshal Lynch observed two metal containers and a glass jug. One of the firefighters told him of another container located in the den. Lynch promptly notified Chief James G. Malloy, the officer in charge, to limit the number of firemen to the absolute minimum needed and to advise his men to avoid disturbing anything in the house. Lynch then summoned Deputy State Fire Marshal Raymond M. Harrington and the Delaware State Police to the scene.

The odor of petroleum filled the first floor. Fire Marshal Lynch examined a metal container in the north center of the living room. The cap had been blown off, and a liquid product smelling of petroleum was in the can. Fire Marshal Lynch had limited the investigation of the Fire Marshal’s Office to the physical remains of the home. Upon agreement with the State Police, no interviews were conducted by the fire personnel of any survivors or witnesses other than firemen. Fire Marshal Lynch, together with Deputy State Fire Marshals J. Benjamin Roy, John M. Hurd, and Raymond M. Harrington and William Shortall, special agent of the American Insurance Agency, examined the scene but were careful not to touch any evidence, including the containers. That was left to the Delaware State Police investigators, who collected evidence for the next fifteen hours. Pictures were taken, and screens, carpet, containers, melted and burned objects, etc. were collected to be used as evidence in any future criminal trial. At this stage, no suspects had been identified. While determining who had committed the horrific crime would take time, finding the killer’s motive presented an even bigger challenge.

Evidence in the den. (Three containers of gasoline.) See diagram.

Three containers were present in this area: one in front of the exit to the outside driveway, one in the center of the den, and a third near the landing at the foot of the stairway. The fire marshals examined the den area, which revealed three definite burning patterns. First, a superficial flash fire resulted in surface burning of furniture and scorching of the den rug. Second, there were spot fires of low ignition temperature combustibles such as curtains and magazines. Third, there were deeper rug burns at locations where containers were found and flammable liquid was poured or trailed. One of the containers was placed directly in front of the only exit to the outside, clearly designed to prevent anyone from escaping the rapid fire.

The floor tiling between the den rug and the throw rug leading to the landing steps was blistered and disfigured. The carpet revealed substantial, unusual heat damage resulting from flammable material ignited by the flash fire. The fire marshals concluded that the door leading from the den to the rear hall and first floor office was closed during the fire.

The den door trim leading to the stair landing revealed that it was open during the fire. In addition, the door trim indicated a heavy fire path from the landing area into the den, a fact substantiated by the examination of the fire damage to the ceiling directly in front of this door opening.

Evidence in the living room. (Five containers of gasoline.) See diagram.

Five containers were discovered here. An examination of the living room area revealed three definite burning patterns: the first, a surface flash fire resulting in surface burning of furniture and scorching of the rug; the second, indicating spot fires such as curtains and lamp shades; and a third, suggesting deeper burning of the carpet where the containers were found. There was additional, deeper burning of the carpet area indicating that flammable liquid was splashed in a haphazard fashion.

Evidence in the dining room (no containers of gasoline).

There were no containers in this area, but the examination revealed heavy exposure to heat and smoke, with accompanying ignition of the drapes.

Evidence blocking the sole escape from the second floor. (See diagram.)

In the area of the stairs, landing, and closet, there were two containers: a melted five-gallon container on the landing and a broken one-gallon glass container at the top of the stairs outside the master bedroom door. Both containers contained flammable liquid.

THE PRESENCE OF A FIVE-GALLON CONTAINER ON THE FIRST FLOOR LANDING, WHICH HAD MELTED IN THE FIRE, AND A ONE-GALLON CONTAINER AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, WHICH HAD BROKEN AND WHICH DEPUTY FIRE MARSHAL LYNCH NOTED HE ENCOUNTERED WHEN HE FIRST ENTERED THE SECOND FLOOR, ESTABLISHED THAT WHOEVER SET THE FIRE INTENDED THAT ALL THE OCCUPANTS ON THE SECOND FLOOR WOULD NOT ESCAPE ALIVE.

Evidence on the stairway. This was the center of the fire, the focal point of the arsonist. The stairway had been saturated along its entire length with a petroleum product. Examination of the door trim, doors, bannister, railing, ceilings, and wall in this area revealed excessive burning.

Evidence on the second floor. The one-gallon container of gasoline at the top of the stairs was designed to block access down the stairs once the fire was ignited. Examination of the fire damage in the upstairs hall level revealed heavy, concentrated damage to the master bedroom door, which was closed at the initial point of ignition but momentarily opened during the fire. This was consistent with Arlene Steigler’s statement that she had opened her bedroom door, only to be met by a rapid surge of heat and fire rushing into the bedroom—burning the door, the lamp next to the door, and the exterior of the door. A distinctive burning pattern indicating flammable liquids was observed on the carpeting at the head of the stairs and extending under the master bedroom door.

Examination of the front northwest bedroom door, where Mrs. Swertfeger was discovered by Deputy Fire Marshal Lynch,