Bernhardt Tiede II (/ˈtiːd/; born August 2, 1958) is an American mortician who was convicted of the November 19, 1996 murder of his companion, wealthy 81-year-old widow Marjorie "Marge" Nugent, in Carthage, Texas.
These events are the subject of the critically acclaimed film Bernie (2011), a dark comedy directed by Richard Linklater and starring Jack Black as Tiede.
[5] In addition to his work as a university professor, the elder Tiede also served as church music director and as a vocal performer.
[7] Tiede’s father, who was driving the car in which Jester died, never forgave himself, and started drinking frequently.
[11] By 1993, Bernie left his job to work for Nugent full time as her business manager and travel companion.
When he appealed his sentence, the appellate courts ruled that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to have found premeditation, a condition of the charge.
He told the Globe-News: “It appears this Bernie Tiede kind of systematically estranged my mother from all these people one at a time ... At some point, they became angry with my mother.”[11] When interviewed, Panola County District Attorney Danny "Buck" Davidson said that the town of Carthage was “split up” in regards to their opinion of Tiede.
[19][20] Cole theorized that Tiede shot Nugent while in a brief dissociative episode brought on by her abusive treatment of him,[21] a theory backed by forensic psychiatrist Richard Pesikoff.
Her granddaughter expressed shock that the release was granted, and claimed that Richard Linklater's 2011 film Bernie had influenced the legal system.
During the resentencing trial, Marjorie's granddaughter, Shanna Nugent, spoke directly to Bernie, and stated, “You are nothing to me.”[27] Shanna and her father, Rod Nugent, both asserted that Marjorie was a kind woman on good terms with her family (in contrast to the portrayal in the film), whom Tiede conned in order to spend her fortune without her knowledge.
For instance, Gregg County Commissioner Darryl Primo testified that in a conversation he had with Marjorie between 1991 and 1996, she spoke favorably of Bernie's spending, as she proclaimed, “I’ll spend every dime [of my money] before I leave it to my family.” Merrell Rhodes, the victim's sister, recalled of Marjorie, “I was always afraid of her...
I always loved her as a sister, actually, even when she did ugly things, and she did.”[29] Merrel's son, Joe Rhodes, attested to the movie's accurate portrayal of his aunt.
Tiede was the subject of the 48 Hours episode titled “The Mortician, the Murder, the Movie,” which discussed his crime, as well as his brief re-entry to society and subsequent resentencing.
[37] Tiede is currently the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice regarding the lack of air conditioning in its prisons, which the suit estimates kills 14 inmates every year.