2 accused of hiding body appear in court
Man accused of killing Mazomanie man fighting extradition to Wis.
MADISON, Wis. — Two people accused of hiding the body of a Mazomanie man with Asperger’s syndrome appeared in Dane County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Not all the suspects connected to the homicide of Matthew Graville made it to court, and attorneys said it will take time to lay out the course of this complex case.
Robert McCumber, 28, one of the suspects connected to the case, waived his right to a preliminary hearing. McCumber is accused of hiding Graville’s body.
“We don’t have any evidence yet. All we have is an allegation,” said Chris Van Wagner, McCumber’s attorney. “I don’t know if there’s any inconsistencies or not. I’ll obtain the evidence at its earliest opportunity, which will be probably in the next few weeks, and look at any video, listen to audio.”
Dane County sheriff’s deputies found Graville’s body last week buried in a 5-foot-deep grave in a wooded area of public land near Highway 130 and south of Lone Rock.
Graville’s stepmother, Laura Robar, appeared in court without a lawyer Wednesday and asked the judge for more time to find an attorney. She’s accused of hiding a corpse in addition to identity theft. Investigators said Robar abused Graville’s disability support funds.
17412260McCumber’s attorney said he’s waiting for the man accused of killing Graville to return to Wisconsin. Jeffrey Vogelsberg, 28, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with Graville’s death. Vogelsberg is Graville’s half-brother.
“In this particular case, while the allegations are serious about my client, I think there are things in the complaint that make it clear that the person who is still wanted and not apparently coming back willingly, allegedly, is a person full of malice and forethought.” said Van Wagner, referring to Vogelsberg
Court documents detail McCumber telling police Vogelsberg had repeatedly beaten and tortured Graville before beating him to death.
Vogelsberg is currently in custody in Washington State fighting extradition.
