GUILTY FL - Sabine Musil-Buehler, 49, found in shallow grave, Bradenton, 4 Nov 2008

[JusticeWillBeServed]

November 2016:

8 years later: Revisiting murder

Sabine Musil-Buehler loved to help the less fortunate.

William J. Cumber III was someone she believed needed a second chance.

On Nov. 4, 2008, only two months out of prison for arson, he killed her. He broke seven ribs, crushed her sternum, bound and likely strangled her.

Evidence sets up 2015 Cumber deal, murder plea

What would the evidence have shown in a trial had William J. Cumber III not confessed a year ago to murdering an Anna Maria Island hotel owner?

The confession shelved a mountain of evidence collected by investigators, including crime scene and lab technicians — all pointing to his guilt.

In an sworn statement, Cumber abandoned his story of Musil-Buehler leaving their Anna Maria apartment on her own accord and admitted to killing her by striking her twice in the head and choking her to death.

Her autopsy, however, showed even more trauma. Seven ribs were fractured and her sternum was crushed. Her hands were crossed “as if previously held/bound by a ligature, which has since likely decomposed,” associate medical examiner Daniel L. Schultz wrote in a March 2016 report.

With gain time, his earliest release date is less than 13 years — Oct. 11, 2029, according to Florida State Prison officials.

Musil-Buehler autopsy details extensive trauma - May 2016