Larry Dinwiddie pleaded guilty Monday, Nov. 15 in the death of his wife, whose body was found inside a freezer two years ago the week of Thanksgiving. Dinwiddie faces up to 25 years imprisonment for the charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. He took the stand and waived all rights before confirming the details of a night around Thanksgiving. The evidence was detailed by Prosecuting Attorney Ben Berkstresser.
“This was a thorough investigation with the assistance of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, we made sure that we went down every path both to protect the deceased, Cynthia Dinwiddie, but also the rights of Mr. Dinwiddie in that he got a good investigation and fair treatment in this case,” he said. “It took a long time to get to this point but I think I’ve made the right decision for the state in this case, the stipulation is that I will ask for no more than 25 cumulative years in the plea deal.”
Law enforcement were called to a storage unit on Highway 38 just outside of Marshfield on Nov. 25, 2019 when employees reported a deceased person inside of a freezer. An employee had cut off a lock that was on the freezer, discovering the remains. The corpse was later identified as Cynthia Dinwiddie.
According to Berkstresser, the remains were visible upon opening the freezer but at the time were not identifiable. A recorded conversation between an employee of the storage unit and the suspect confirmed to authorities that Dinwiddie owned the freezer and was the renter of the unit in question. He also had the key to the lock on the deep freeze. During the call, the employee encouraged Dinwiddie to remove the freezer and hurry back as it was omitting an odor.
At the time, Dinwiddie claimed he was working in the Denver, Co area but said he’d return the following day. It was discovered that the suspect no longer worked for the trucking company and the suspect was in fact in Webster County, not Colorado.
On Nov. 26, 2019, Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole prompted Dinwiddie to come to the storage units and he did. Cole along with Webster County deputies and highway patrolmen interviewed Dinwiddie, described his wife as an abusive alcoholic. Dinwiddie told investigators that on or about Nov. 25, 2015, the deceased threw a hammer at Dinwiddie and he couldn’t take it anymore. That’s when he ‘hit her with everything he could’ in the face with a hammer prior to strangling her.
“There were so many other choices besides this one and it’s not justifiable at all but in his mind he didn’t see any other way out,” said Berkstresser.
Dinwiddie claimed he didn’t know what to do with the body so he stored it in the freezer at the address he killed her, 213 North Street. He had his friends help him move the locked freezer carrying his deceased wife from the home on North Street to the storage unit without them knowing the victim was inside.
According to Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole, no one ever reported that Cynthia Dinwiddie was missing.
Dinwiddie was initially charged with second-degree murder, abandonment of a corpse and armed criminal action. Per the plea agreement, the state dropped the second charge of abandoning a corpse. Therefore, Dinwiddie will serve no longer than 25 years; up to 20 for the murder charge and up to five for armed criminal action.
“In this case we knew that there were multiple folks that were aware of the abuse that was going on,” Berkstresser added.
“It’s time whenever we see that to not be passive; to care enough about people, to be brave and be comfortable enough to assert yourself in a position where you can help… We need to draw on each other and protect each other even when it puts us out of our comfort zone.”
It will be at the courts discretion whether the sentences will be served consecutively or congruently. Sentencing is currently set for Jan. 25, 2022.
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