Kriti Mehrotra
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Bad Blood Brothers’ is a true-crime special delving deep into the realities of what transpires when bonds that are supposed to be loving break every bond imaginable. After all, it chronicles the harrowing summer 2012 homicide of Matthew John Graville, along with its ensuing investigations, the complex legal proceedings, and it’s equally baffling overall aftermath. So now, if you wish to learn more about the same — the sensitive details of his passing, his cruel perpetrators’ possible motives, as well as their current whereabouts — we’ve got you covered.
How Did Matthew Graville Die?
Although Matthew was 27 when he suddenly lost his life, the sad truth is things had never actually been easy for him because he not only had Asperger’s syndrome but also grew up in the system. The lack of proper guidance thus did lead to his dubious interests as an adult, as per the episode, yet his loved ones have maintained he was a kind soul whom people often took advantage of. Unfortunately, it was the latter that ultimately played a massive role in the hardworking, autistic individual’s atrocious murder on July 1, 2012, just for truly no one to know until months later.
Matthew was reported missing by his worried step-grandfather on July 23, 2012, followed by his mother on September 14, but it wasn’t until November that officials were led to his remains. He’d been buried in a shallow, unmarked grave on state land in the Wisconsin River, right near Lone Rock in Sauk County, which actually preserved his body from decomposing or losing evidentiary value. Therefore, Matthew’s cause of death was determined as blunt force trauma to the head — since he even had broken ribs, a punctured lung, and several injuries to his face, it was clear he’d been tortured.
Who Killed Matthew Graville?
Matthew’s assailant was none other than his then-28-year-old paternal half-brother Jeffrey Vogelsberg, whom he’d met for the first time around eight or nine years prior at the age of 19. The duo had quickly immersed themselves into a blended family dynamic back then, yet things soon evolved as the latter reportedly began abusing his 9-month younger brother on a constant basis. According to records, Jeffrey used to shoot him with a BB gun, wrestle with him, and beat him with a 2×4 he’d dubbed “Matt’s motivator” to ensure he stuck to the right path — facets officials didn’t initially know.
Everything hence came to heed near the early hours of July 1, 2012, when an argument between the two brothers led to a physical altercation wherein Jeffrey essentially beat Matthew to death. Their roommate/landlord Robert McCumber was the one who woke up to the bloody scene in the morning, with a body on the couch as well as bottles and pills scattered on the table nearby. However, instead of calling the police, he first called Jeffrey, who ended up ordering him to put Matthew in the big freezer they kept in the garage before threatening to kill him if he told anyone.
That’s because Jeffrey had immediately left for Missouri to attend his wife Shannon Remus’ graduation from basic Army training and did not plan on returning for at least four days. Once he did, he eventually decided to bury his brother with Robert’s help, following which he even drove Shannon to the area in an attempt to get a third party’s view on whether his tracks were covered or not. As if that’s not enough, after the missing person investigation began, he tried to mislead the police with false information concerning Matthew’s possible whereabouts for months.
Jeffrey’s deception was successful, that is, until his mother accessed Matthew’s bank as well as public assistance accounts to use his disability benefits to buy herself some groceries. Her subsequent interrogation led to the questioning of Robert, who ultimately cracked and told the detectives all about the way the tumultuous relationship between the brothers ended. With Jeffrey’s mother and Robert already in custody, he and his wife were arrested in Washington (where the latter had been stationed) in November 2012 before they were indicted on different counts.
Jeffrey Vogelsberg Remains Incarcerated
While Shannon received two years of probation for obstructing justice by denying Jeffrey ever took her to Matthew’s gravesite, his mother, Laura Robar, was handed a year behind bars for identity theft. On the other hand, Robert was sentenced to a total of 4 years in a state facility for his hand in hiding the corpse, whereas Jeffrey was given the maximum penalty for second-degree reckless homicide. In other words, the true assailant was sentenced to 15 years in prison, plus ten years of supervision, with the judge adding she wished she could give him more.
“There is something broken inside you and I’m not sure it can be fixed,” the judge told Jeffrey during his sentencing hearing in late 2014. “Your actions to cover up the crime are something out of horror fiction, not real life.” Therefore, today, Jeffrey remains incarcerated in a Wisconsin state facility as a convicted killer.
Read More: Elizabeth Sullivan’s Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
