Willie Tyler, Witness Tampering by Murder, Pennsylvania 2021

HARRISBURG, Pa. – In a shocking turn of events, Willie Tyler, a 69-year-old resident of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in witness tampering by murder and witness tampering by intimidation.

According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Tyler was involved in the brutal murder of a law enforcement confidential informant from the Carlisle area on an unknown date. The victim was scheduled to testify in Cumberland County Court against David Tyler, the brother of the defendant, on the day of her murder. Tyler had planned to murder the victim, along with four other individuals, who were convicted for their role in the murder in previous federal and state court proceedings.

Tyler’s history with the law is as complicated as it is disturbing. He was first tried in state court in 1994 and acquitted of the murder. However, the case was later adopted for federal prosecution, and Tyler was convicted after a federal jury trial in 1996. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit overturned Tyler’s conviction, and he was convicted again following a re-trial in 2000.

In 2013, the Third Circuit overturned the 2000 conviction in light of a change in the law and remanded the case to the district court for a new trial. Tyler was then tried and convicted for the third time in July 2017. The jury returned its verdict after only two hours of deliberation following a four-day trial.

In February 2018, the district court vacated the jury’s verdict, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions. The government appealed, and in April 2020, the Third Circuit reversed the district court’s decision and remanded with instructions to reinstate the jury’s verdict and proceed to sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli handled the most recent appeal and sentencing. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Police with cooperation from the Carlisle Police Department.

As a result of his conviction, Tyler has been sentenced to life in prison. He is expected to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on June 4th, 2021, to commence serving his sentence.

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