Recently obtained court documents reveal new details and hint at the possible motive in a suspected murder in East Long Beach that investigators originally believed was a suicide.
The case began on Nov. 1 when authorities found Steven Stingley, a 72-year-old retired engineer, with a fatal bullet wound to his head in his home on Greenmeadow Road, just west of Long Beach City College’s Liberal Arts Campus.
They found the front door was unlocked and there were no signs of forced entry. Stingley still had $200 cash in his wallet and his Apple watch remained on his wrist, according to a search warrant filed in Long Beach Superior Court.
Detectives initially thought Stingley shot himself, but further examination of the scene revealed two bullet casings. A coroner also told detectives that the bullet’s entry wound was to the back of Stingley’s head.
According to the search warrant, the coroner also said Stingley had likely been dead for “well over 12 hours” before his body was discovered. The last person there also left loud music blaring at the scene, the warrant said.
About two weeks after Stingley’s death, Riverside County sheriff’s deputies arrested his nephew, 39-year-old William Altpeter, at his RV in Idyllwild on suspicion of murder.
Surveillance footage from near Stingley’s home showed him returning from a bike ride with Altpeter on Oct. 30, according to the search warrant. No one else was seen coming or going from the home until Nov. 1, when Stingley’s girlfriend had come over to meet Stingley for dinner and found him dead, the warrant said.
Upon reviewing other surveillance cameras in the area, detectives spotted a car registered to Altpeter heading southbound on Clark Avenue from Candlewood Street on Oct. 30 at about 1 p.m., according to the search warrant.
Stingley’s girlfriend told detectives, according to the search warrant, that she believed Altpeter was the last person to see Stingley alive.
She also told detectives that Altpeter “would inherit everything” if Stingley died, according to the search warrant.
Stingley had previously helped out his nephew with money troubles, even paying “several hundred dollars” in late storage fees so Altpeter could keep possession of the storage unit, according to the account from Stingley’s girlfriend contained in the warrant.
Stingley was a retired aerospace engineer and “very smart about anything electrical,” according to a comment one of his nieces wrote on his online obituary.
He also had many interests, including music, ham radio, DJ work, water sports, dancing, tennis and bike riding, the niece wrote.
Altpeter pleaded not guilty to murder at an arraignment on Dec. 4. He was being held without bail and was due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 27.
If convicted, Altpeter could face 25 years to life, according to prosecutors.
Altpeter’s attorney did not respond to multiple requests for comment.