STEROIDS PLUS LOVE TRIANGLE EQUALS MURDER --
"48 HOURS MYSTERY," SATURDAY, JAN. 29
An American Bodybuilder Becomes an International Fugitive
Once the golden child of his Ft. Myers, Fla. high school, David Bieber -- with his good looks, athletic abilities and nice car -- developed a love for bodybuilding and, with it, an appetite for steroids. A combination of steroids and a love triangle involving Bieber would lead to murder and ultimately turn Bieber into a wanted man on two continents. Correspondent Susan Spencer reports for 48 HOURS MYSTERY: "Rage on the Run," to be broadcast Saturday, Jan. 29 (10:00 -- 11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Bobby Ammons, a long-time friend of Bieber's, says that Bieber used steroids in high school and it continued into adulthood. Bieber began selling steroids to support his expensive bodybuilding career.
Eventually, Beiber went into business with fellow bodybuilder, Marcus Mueller, a German who was able to smuggle the drugs into the U.S. from Europe. While the two were business partners, they were also rivals.
Then, Bieber had an affair with Mueller's girlfriend, Danielle LaBelle. It was an uncomfortable love triangle. Surprisingly, only weeks later, Bieber and LaBelle were married. Then, in February 1995, Bieber drove LaBelle to Mueller's home to retrieve her purse while he waited in the car. LaBelle found Mueller dead in the doorway and frantically called 9-1-1. She had a strong hunch Bieber killed Mueller, and told that to the 9-1-1 operator and Bieber's former friend, Ammons.
The police had their own suspicions that Bieber was involved in the homicide. They knew about the love triangle and the fact that Mueller and Bieber were in business selling steroids. Police say that there were steroids in Mueller's home -- potentially thousands of dollars worth -- which they couldn't find. While working the case, the police finally got the lead they needed from two men who claimed Bieber had hired them to kill Mueller. When the police finally put it together, they were too late. Bieber had vanished.
Bieber tried to sidetrack police in their search. He bought the birth certificate of a deceased child, Nathan Wayne Coleman, and took on his identity. In September 1996, without police knowing, Bieber fled to Leeds, England, where he worked as a nightclub bouncer. He went undiscovered as Coleman for almost eight years.
Then, on Dec. 26, 2003, Leeds police approached a car that was parked strangely on the side of the road. The vehicle turned out to be stolen and there was a man inside. The man told police he was Coleman, a Canadian, and that he had not stolen the car. The officers did not know that the man they were about to take into custody was Bieber, wanted in the U.S. for murder. When the police began cuffing Coleman, he began shooting the three unarmed officers and escaped.
One officer died from his wounds. The last time a police officer had been shot and killed in Britain was seven years earlier. A nationwide manhunt was now on for Coleman. Will Coleman's true identity be revealed -- Bieber, American fugitive -- and will he be brought to justice?
48 HOURS MYSTERY: "Rage on the Run" is produced by Paul Ryan and Gayane Keshishyan. The senior producer is Anthony Batson and the executive producer is Susan Zirinsky.
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