Livingston County sheriff: Defense attorney made call about victim’s body; Murder took place in Ossian

GENESEO, N.Y. — Livingston County sheriff Thomas Dougherty shared the latest on the investigation into the murder of 60-year-old Richard Fluegel Sr., saying the murder took place around Bonner Road in the Town of Ossian.

The victim’s son, 30-year-old Richard Fluegel Jr., is charged with the murder. Dougherty said Fluegel Jr. drove to the sheriff’s office on Monday night to turn in his father’s body and his defense attorney called 911 to let them know. The son and the defense attorney pulled up to the sheriff’s office in separate cars.

Dougherty said a defense attorney reporting a body is “from our experiences, very, very uncommon.”

Dougherty said Fluegel Jr., a Rochester resident, was trying to start “some kind of marijuana growth operation” through the state on Bonner Road. Dougherty didn’t get into further detail but said deputies did execute a search warrant on Bonner Road.

“What we believe to be the actual scene of the homicide was there, on Bonner Road. That was a lot of forensics, a lot of technicians, a lot of specialty teams. …All of that comes into how this plays out later in the prosecution,” he said.

Investigators say the body of Fluegel Sr. had gunshot wounds. The Irondequoit resident had been missing since Sunday afternoon and his family filed a missing person’s report. The next day, his car was found in the Village of Dansville but deputies couldn’t find him. After the body was dropped off, investigators identified the body as belonging to Fluegel Sr.

In addition to second-degree murder, Fluegel Jr. is charged with tampering with physical evidence and criminal use of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

You can see Wednesday’s full news conference and questions from reporters here: