Bernie Tiede, the inspiration for Richard Linklater’s Bernie, a biopic of a lovable convicted murderer, is returning to court to find out if he will be sent back to jail for life or freed from his sentence, according to CBS News.
Tiede, of Carthage, Texas, has been free on bond for almost two years after serving 17 years of his sentence. In 1996, the former mortician shot and killed 81-year-old Majorie Nugent four times in the back before stuffing her body into a freezer. He was released in May 2014 after his appeals attorney, Jodi Cole, uncovered new evidence that Tiede had been sexually abused as a child and might have experienced a dissociative episode at the time of the shooting. Cole became involved with Tiede’s case after seeing Linklater’s film.
The film, which stars Jack Black, portrays Tiede as a sweet-natured man who’s friendship with Nugent (played by Shirley MacLaine) crumbled after Nugent, who was not well liked in Carthage, was persistently abusive to Tiede. The film details the complicated relationship between the pair. Nugent, a widow who first met Tiede after he assisted on her husband’s funeral, grew so close to him that she made out her will, covering her $5m estate, to Tiede, disinheriting her son. Tiede became her business manager and personal assistant, and many residents in Carthage testifed that he was a positive influence on her life.
The Nugent family have long maintained that Majorie Nugent’s murder was pre-meditated. They point to money that Tiede took from Nugent’s account after her death, but before he confessed to the crime several month’s later. Cole countered that this was part of Tiede’s dissociative episode.
The Nugents have also suggested that Linklater’s film, which details how well-liked Tiede was in Carthage, had swayed the appeals judge, who upon granting Tiede’s release made it a condition of his bond that he live with Linklater in an apartment above his garage. Linklater, Black and Bernie co-star Matthew McConaughey, who plays prosecution lawyer Danny Buck, have been long-time supporters of Tiede, hosting a fundraiser for him in December 2015. Tiede currently works as a paralegal in Austin.
