The Murder of Phillip Lindemuth
- Posted
- March 26, 2022
- 1:34 pm
Phillip Lindemuth, 43, was repeatedly stabbed then dismembered and stored in a freezer in his Aloha, OR home. His roommate, Christian Delaurentiis, 32, pled guilty to the murder and additional federal bank robbery charges.
Phillip Lindemuth
Phillip Lindemuth was a 43-year-old single man, living in Aloha, Oregon. His sister, Phyllis Lindemuth stated, “My brother was a kind and loving soul, faithful and true.”
His generosity extended to a man named Christian Delaurentiis in the early part of 2012. According to news sources, Lindemuth invited the 32-year-old Delaurentiis to live with him. All too soon, Phillip discovered that Delaurentiis was a heroin addict and robbing banks was how he was supporting his habit. Delaurentiis convinced Lindemuth to help him in some robberies by driving the get-away car
The Crime
By May 2012, things had come to a head when Lindemuth informed Delaurentiis that he no longer wanted to assist in the bank robberies. On May 4, 2012, they had an argument. Lindemuth threatened to turn Delaurentiis into the police for the robberies. This enraged Delaurentiis to the point that he repeatedly stabbed Lindemuth with a hunting style Bowie knife. During the attack, Lindemuth’s lungs and heart were pierced.
Once Lindemuth was deceased, Delaurentiis decided that he would dismember Lindemuth’s body. He placed them in bags and stored them in the freezer, in the garage.
Delaurentiis continued living in Lindemuth’s home and driving his 2007 Ford Edge.
The Discovery and Investigation
Several weeks following the murder, Delaurentiis spoke with a cousin in New York. He confessed to the murder of Lindemuth. The cousin contacted Oregon family members in Oregon to tell them about the conversation he had, who immediately contacted police in Oregon.
The following day, investigators witnessed Delaurentiis driving Lindemuth’s vehicle and stopped him for driving with a suspended license. They questioned him about his roommate, Phillip Lindemuth. Initially, he said that Lindemuth was “alive and well.” He changed his explanation, stating that Lindemuth had committed suicide. He then stated that he had killed Lindemuth in self-defense.
On May 18, 2012, investigators obtained and served a search warrant for Lindemuth’s home on the 2100 block of SW 217th Place in Aloha. They found the remains of Phillip Lindemuth, placed in freezer bags and stored in the freezer, in the home’s garage. Lindemuth’s head was also found in the freezer, wrapped in a sweatshirt. Holes in the sweatshirt matched with stab wounds on Lindemuth’s body.
Further interviews with Delaurentiis revealed the aftermath of the murder. Delaurentiis explained that after repeatedly stabbing Lindemuth, he used handsaws, a Skilsaw, a Bowie knife, hammers, and screwdrivers to dismember him. At first, he had intended to flush Lindemuth’s dismembered body down the toilet, but he abandoned that plan when he realized the chances of the toilet becoming clogged. Delaurentiis then decided to remove the toilet and dispose of pieces directly into the drain, in the floor. Again, he abandoned that idea. Ultimately, Delaurentiis decided to freeze the body due to his fear of being discovered because of the smell created during decay.
According to news sources, court records stated that the two men “were fighting because Lindemuth wasn’t pulling his weight on bank robberies that they had been committing together, and because Mr. Lindemuth wanted to have sexual contact with him (Delaurentiis).”
During the execution of the search warrant, investigators also found written robbery demand notes along with elements of disguise including wigs and clothing.
The Aftermath
Delaurentiis pled guilty to aggravated murder and first-degree abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 41 years and four months. During this time, a federal grand jury in Portland, OR, found Delaurentiis guilty of seven bank robberies.
The indictment states in part that on March 19, 2012, Delaurentiis used an improvised explosive device to rob the U.S. Bank in Wilsonville, Oregon. He gained $9,533 from that robbery. The second robbery listed on the indictment states that it took place on April 3, 2012, at the Washington Federal Bank in Woodburn OR, in which Delaurentiis took $3,453 from the heist. Delaurentiis fingerprints matched the fingerprints from the Wilsonville robbery. Delaurentiis further confessed to the January 2012 robbery of the U.S. Bank in Medford, OR.
In a statement to the court, Phyllis Lindemuth stated that her brother was “a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy having served in the Persian Gulf War. He loved God, country, and family. I cannot forgive the defendant for what he did to my brother, my only sibling. He deserves no mercy and no forgiveness.”