Morgan City couple wanted for murder of bar owner

Morgan City Police have launched a nationwide search for two people accused of killing a local bar owner missing since July 21, whose body was found Sept. 12.

City Police Chief Jim Christy said Greg Daigle, 28, and Angelica Sauce, 27, both of Onstead Street in Morgan City, are wanted in the death of 57-year-old George “Tim” Thimmesch III, of 1621 Walnut Dr. in Morgan City.

Thimmesch was the owner of “Timmy T’s,” a long-time favorite watering hole for locals and visitors, located at 6815 Business 90.

Christy said officers found Thimmesch’s body around 5:30 p.m. Sept. 12, in a 33-gallon plastic trash can, located inside an abandoned shed near Front Street and Levee Road. He believes Thimmesch’s remains were placed there not too long after he was murdered.

The bar owner was last seen at midnight on July 21. The trash can was originally located behind Thimmesch’s bar, the police chief said.

The Morgan City man was reported missing July 22 after a customer found the door to the lounge propped open in the early morning hours. Upon investigating the call, police found no one, including Thimmesch, inside; however, they did find an undetermined amount of cash missing, along with a blood and hair-stained pool sticks. Outside, they discovered a trash can and Thimmesch’s vehicle, a 1999 Blue Chevrolet bearing the license number V796207, were missing.

Three days later, on July 24, police discovered the vehicle parked in Bayou Vista, behind the Wal-Mart Superstore auto repair center. They sent the truck immediately to the Acadiana State Police Crime Lab for processing.

Christy said the lab has still not released its report about the truck.

St. Mary Parish Coroner Chip Metz said LSU Forensic Anthropologist Mary Manheim identified Thimmesch’s remains “through dental records” because his body was in an advanced state of deterioration.

“The body is consistent of a human body that is exposed to our kind of heat and other elements over a six week period,” he said.

“But this was a homicide… we do not know the cause of death however, that is still under investigation,” Metz said. “ It’s fortunate that we have most of the remains, about 99 percent… but this is going to be some delicate, meticulous work.”

Christy said Morgan City police and the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office, as well as officials with the National Crime Investigation Center, had been searching for Thimmesch since his disappearance. The search extended to land and air, and included four-wheelers and helicopters with infrared cameras.

The police chief said he issued first-degree murder and armed robbery arrest warrants for Daigle and Sauce after they were initially identified as “persons of interest” from descriptions police obtained from witnesses who were in the bar the evening Thimmesch disappeared.

On the night police discovered Thimmesch’s remains, Christy said he was “informed” about the location of the body, but would not elaborate any further.

“Daigle and Sauce are still at large and are considered to be armed and dangerous,” he said.

Both subjects accused have prior local narcotics arrest records, according to the police chief.

Questioned as to whether either subject had family members cooperating with the police in their investigation, Christy initially said, “I’m not going to tell you that.” However, he admitted his office has gotten to this point by talking to people, “…who should be in a position to know.”

During a press conference he held Sept. 14 on the matter, he admitted to speaking with some of the subjects’ extended familiar members. When asked whether or not these family members reported having heard from the two accused, Christy said, “I’m not going to tell you that.”

The chief said Daigle and Sauce were last seen in the area in August.

“We want the word out that we’re looking for them for murder,” Christy said.

Persons with information on either subject are asked to call the Morgan City Police Department at (985) 380-4605 or the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office at (337) 828-1960.