Page 24 - Delaware Lawyer - Summer 2023

FEATURE
Trial
Richard R. Wier, Jr.
The Steigler
A landmark case in the First State
On October 19, 1968, a fire swept rapidly through a suburban home in Wilmington, Delaware, killing three sleeping victims: a retired couple and a six-year-old girl.
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The Talleyville Fire Company, located on Concord Pike, re- sponded to an alarm about the fire and reached the burning home in less than two-and-a-half minutes. The home was located just off Con- cord Pike at Murphy Road and the quick response was instrumental in preserving evidence and preventing any further deaths. Immediately, the Delaware State Police and the State Fire Marshal’s Office began an inves- tigation into the fire and the three deaths.
As a result of the criminal inves- tigation, Herbert F. Steigler, the owner of the home, was indicted for first degree murder of his six-
year-old daughter and his mother and father-in law, Henry and Emma Swertfeger. He was also indicted for assault with intent to murder his wife Arlene. Jerome O. Herlihy was also a young attorney in the Attorney Gen- eral’s Office and a fellow classmate of mine at Wilmington Friends School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He handled the case ini- tially until John Mulford and I were assigned to prosecute the case in the Superior Court.
Our efforts are set forth in my book, They Had to Die That Night. This case presented significant issues for the prosecution and illustrated the interplay between the state court