Naman Shrestha
In October 2018, a horrific site was discovered by restaurant employees in Tampa as they found 28-year-old Laura Pietscher’s body. As she was found 90 miles away from her Sebring house, the investigators left no stone unturned to get to the bottom of the case. Meanwhile, a wave of concern and grief engulfed the entire community, especially the loved ones of the victim. The episode titled ‘The Girl in the Silver Truck’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘See No Evil’ profiles the entire case in detail, thanks to the exclusive and in-depth interviews with Laura’s family and friends and the officials connected to the investigation.
Laura Pietscher Was Found Dead Behind a Restaurant in 2018
It was sometime in December 1989 when Laura Marie Pietscher entered the world of Art and Linda Pietscher. According to her father, on the day of her birth, the city of Livonia in Wayne County, Michigan, was lashed by relentless, harsh cold winds. She was raised amid the love and care of her parents in La Selle, Michigan, alongside her siblings — an elder sister and brother. Right from an early age, Laura had to navigate certain challenges as she was born with a left hand that had no forearm and three fingers. Yet, she never let it define her and always made light of the same. Her strong-willed nature and fighting spirit were always evident in the way she handled the ebbs and flows of life.
She grew up to become a free-spirited individual who loved life and inspired everyone to enjoy it to the fullest. In the fall of 2016, she relocated to Michigan Avenue in Sebring to look after her grandmother. Though the latter reportedly passed away in 2017, Laura decided to continue residing in the neighborhood and work towards achieving her dream of becoming a Correctional Officer. Her father revealed that while training at the pump shotgun course, her trainer purportedly didn’t think she’d make it but she proved them wrong when she managed to use her left hand to load the gun and fire it with the other.
The 28-year-old also served as a job coach at Goodwill and lived with her dog Junior. On October 19, 2018, the Sebring police department received a call from a person who worked at a restaurant located at 3712 North 15th Street at a food market in Tampa. The employee reported spotting the remains of a woman in a dumpster stuffed in a bag hidden under a wooden board. The detectives rushed to the location and concluded that it had been at least over a day since the remains laid there. The fingerprints were used to identify the woman as Laura Pietscher, who was last seen alive in Sebring. Along with her body, the police also found her clothing, purse, mail, and wallet. The cause of her death was announced to be ligature strangulation.
An Acquaintance of Laura Pietscher Was Responsible For Her Death
The investigators also noticed that her vehicle was missing. Once they were done collecting potential evidence from the scene, the police began the interrogation process. They got in touch with the family, friends, and other acquaintances of the 28-year-old victim in an attempt to learn more about her life and the circumstances under which she was killed. During their investigation, the missing truck of the victim was seen on the afternoon of October 17, 2018, near 111 County Line Road in the Plant City area, before getting spotted on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa.
Upon finding the truck, the detectives noticed blood on one of the doors, the floorboard, and the seat. When the blood was identified to be of Laura Pietscher, the man driving the truck, Calvin Gary, was arrested under suspicion of murder. However, he claimed that he got the truck from a man named Gary Tyrone Danielle, AKA “Hot.” As they dug deeper into the life of the new suspect, they learned that he was from Sebring but was staying in Tampa. Fortunately, the suspect was captured in the surveillance footage of Circle K and another business in the area as he entered the store and drove off in the victim’s truck.
When the prime suspect was shown the crime scene photos, he straight away denied knowing Laura and the site where she was found. However, the DNA found under her fingernails and a couple of other evidence told a whole different story. Moreover, Laura was last seen with him, making their case even stronger. So, after they had found enough incriminating evidence against Gary, in March 2019, they finally arrested and charged the 48-year-old killer with first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
Gary Tyrone Danielle is Incarcerated at a Florida Prison Facility Today
More than a couple of years into his arrest, Gary Tyrone Danielle pleaded guilty on August 24, 2021. In return, he received a 30-year imprisonment sentence for second-degree murder. At the sentencing, Laura Pietscher’s father, Art Pietscher, talked about his daughter rather than lashing out at the fugitive. He said, “Laura could do anything she put her mind to.” Art also talked about how the 30-year sentence was not enough for the crime that Gary had committed.
He addressed the court, “We were very happy that this part of it is finally over, disappointed, 30 years is, not enough. Laura wasn’t even 30 when she was killed. With his good behavior, he will get off in less time than what she ever live.” At present, Gary Tyrone Danielle is serving his sentence behind bars at Okeechobee Correctional Institution at 3420 Northeast 168th Street in Okeechobee, Florida.
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