A Murder at Toys R Us: The Larry Wells Case
For this case, I watched an episode of See No Evil. It’s season 11 episode 7, titled ‘Toying With Us.’
A beloved father, husband, and manager is killed inside a New York Toys R Us store.
Background
Larry Wells lived in Hamburg, New York. He was married to his high school sweetheart, Jill, and together they had a 4-year-old daughter and another baby on the way.
Larry was the assistant manager of the Hamburg Toys R Us store and had worked there for about 6 years. He was like a big kid and loved toys, so the job was perfect for him. Larry was described as a devoted father, husband, and all-around good person.
Larry Wells
Larry and Jill
The 911 Call
On June 29, 2013, a 911 call came in at 5:47 am. The caller explained that she had arrived to unload the trucks at the store and that her manager had been shot.
The Hamburg police and a SWAT team arrived at Toys R Us. The killer had already fled the scene.
Larry was found slumped in his chair. There was blood on the chair, walls, and floor. Larry had a faint pulse and was rushed to the hospital.
While he was being put into the ambulance, the EMTs determined that Larry had actually been stabbed, not shot. He succumbed to his injury and passed away.
The Surveillance Footage
In the manager’s office, the police found a black and tan 2007 Florida Gators championship hat. They collected the hat and sent it in for testing in hopes that it belonged to the killer.
The police interviewed Larry’s co-workers. Larry and his co-workers arrived around 4 am to do inventory and stock the shelves. They had locked the doors when they came in, but around 5 am, they found one of the doors was unlocked. The 911 caller had discovered that Larry had been injured when she went to inform him of the unlocked door. The 4 co-workers were ruled out as suspects.
The store had an extensive surveillance camera system. The DVR was located in Larry’s office. It had been unplugged, but the police were hoping that something had been captured on the cameras.
The police traveled to another Toys R Us store. The Loss Prevention Manager, Bernie Grucza agreed to show them the footage.
Larry arrived at the store at 3:55 am. The other 4 employees radioed Larry from a walkie-talkie to unlock the door for them. At 4:08 am, Larry could be seen unlocking the door for the delivery truck driver. The truck driver left the store around 4:30 am.
The police turned to the front of the store. They were looking for why the front door had been left unlocked. A figure appeared near the front door and had jimmied the door open. The video was very grainy.
The figure is followed around the store. He appears to be “snaking” down the aisles. The figure was wearing dark clothing, dark sweatpants with lettering on one leg, the Florida Gators hat, and a scarf or cover over his face.
A still of Larry’s killer
At 4:39 am, the DVR was unplugged. The figure had walked into the office and shut the door. It was later determined that Larry had walked in shortly after the DVR had been unplugged. The DVR cord was collected and sent in for testing.
The Search for a Killer
The police reviewed the surveillance footage again in hopes that they could identify the killer. The killer had a very distinct gate and was bowlegged. It also appeared like the person had knowledge of the store.
The DNA from inside the hat and from the DVR cord was a match to the same person. However, the DNA wasn’t found in any of the police databases.
The police obtained a list of past and present employees from the Hamburg Toys R Us store. They collected DNA from them, and anyone else involved in Larry’s life.
The Hamburg PD requested help from the FBI to develop a profile of the killer.
The police knew that they had a knife-wielding killer that wasn’t in the system. They searched their local database and came up with a name of a possible suspect. The individual had just been released from jail. He had been arrested while driving a car owned by an employee of Toys R Us. A large knife had been found in the car when he was arrested.
A team was sent out to obtain this person’s DNA. The police followed him to Buffalo, New York. He was observed tossing a cigarette out of a car window. It was collected and sent in for testing. It wasn’t a match, and he was ruled out.
A So-Called Friend
The police went back to the list of employees. There was one individual who had an excuse every time for not giving a sample of his DNA. It was the Regional Loss Prevention Manager, Bernie Gruzca. He was the manager that had shown the police the surveillance footage. He also had told the police that Larry was a friend of his.
Bernie’s latest excuse was that he had a conference and couldn’t come in to provide his DNA. Bernie’s boss was contacted but said there was no conference.
The police found Bernie at his father’s house. The police noticed that Bernie’s dad had a Florida Gators bumper sticker on his car. This time, Bernie gave his DNA sample. It was a match to the DNA on the hat and DVR cord.
The police went out to speak to Bernie again on October 16. This time they recorded it on their police body cam.
The police confronted Bernie about the evidence they had. He was shown stills from the surveillance footage and a photo of the Florida Gators hat. Bernie claimed that his DNA was probably found on the DVR cord because he worked with the equipment. He was asked about the DNA inside the hat. Bernie was very defensive and said he was not involved. He asked for a lawyer and was arrested.
Bernie had also made a comment to the police about knowing about the cameras. He said if he had done it, he wouldn’t have left behind so much evidence.
The Confession
The police obtained search warrants for Bernie’s home, his father’s home, and his girlfriend’s home.
At Bernie’s home, the police found several items from Toys R Us. They were high-priced items and electronics. An SD card was also collected.
There was footage of Bernie walking around his house. He had the same bowlegged walk. He was also seen wearing the same exact sweatpants from the day of the murder with the lettering on the leg.
The police learned that Bernie had been stealing items from several Toys R Us stores and selling them on eBay. He then used his job as the loss prevention manager to cover it up.
Bernie did eventually tell the police what happened in the Toys R Us store. He went to the store to rob the safe due to his mounting debt. He went into the manager’s office and unplugged the DVR. Larry then entered the office. Larry wasn’t going to let the store get robbed. He fought back and tried to get the mask off of Bernie’s face. He was killed for protecting his store and the employees he worked with.
Bernie pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and 5 years of probation.
Bernie also admitted to stealing about $223,000 worth of items and money from various Toys R Us stores.
Bernie Grucza
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s truly so sad that Larry was protecting the store and his employees. Bernie was a desperate man and killed his friend just for some money and to avoid getting caught. Larry won’t get to see his children grow up which is the saddest part of all of this.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/larry-wells-murder-where-is-bernard-grucza-now/
https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/crime/grucza-sentenced-for-killing-toys-r-us-manager/71-272907103
