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Son charged in slaying of father in robbery

Detectives say a man, also charged with first-degree murder, told them the son asked him to kill his father.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published January 10, 2006

PALM HARBOR - When Christopher D. Lunz showed up at his father's front door in early March 2003, it wasn't to pay him a visit, authorities say.

It was to get money, detectives say, and when his father put up a fight, he and an accomplice killed him.

Lunz, 38, was being held in a Macon County, N.C. jail Monday on charges of first-degree murder in the death of his father, David J. Lunz.

William Westerman, who detectives say shot David Lunz during a struggle, is being held on the same charge.

Details about Lunz's death and the investigation that led to his son became public Monday after Westerman was extradited from North Carolina and was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Sunday.

In the days leading up to the slaying, authorities say, Christopher Lunz and Westerman traveled from Jackson County, N.C., in a silver 1997 Oldsmobile Eighty-eight LS to the elder Lunz's home in Palm Harbor.

They intended to rob Lunz, 56, for money, according to a sworn statement from Pinellas County sheriff's Detective Michael Holbrook.

The younger Lunz hadn't expected his father to put up a fight, but he did, according to Holbrook's statement.

A couch in David J. Lunz's living room was moved from its original position and a table was knocked over during the fight, said sheriff's Cpl. Tom Klein. Blood was found on the couch and table.

During the fight, Westerman, 25, stood by with a sawed-off shotgun.

At some point, Christopher D. Lunz was handed the gun, but was unable to shoot his father, sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen said.

Lunz gave the gun to Westerman and told him to shoot his father, according to court records. Detectives say Westerman then shot the elder Lunz in the head, killing him.

On March 8, detectives found Lunz's body in the doorway to a bedroom and an empty box in a dresser drawer for a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber handgun. He had been dead for about two days.

A day later, back in North Carolina, Westerman went to pick up a former girlfriend.

The woman, Sarah Martini, noticed a gash on Westerman's forehead, according to court records. Westerman told Martini about the slaying. In shooting Lunz, Westerman said the shotgun recoiled, striking him in the head, according to court records.

Despite his father's death, Christopher Lunz did not stop trying to get his father's money, investigators say.

Almost two weeks after the shooting, Lunz called his father's attorney, Beth S. Wilson, to inquire about how much money his father had left him in his will, according to Holbrook's statement.

The answer was none.

The elder Lunz's estate was valued at $130,000, according to county records. He had intended to leave it all to his wife, Laura Lunz, according to a will dated December 2000.

In February 2003, however, Laura Lunz died of breast cancer. David J. Lunz's estate then went to five family members and friends who live in California and New York.

Christopher D. Lunz's name did not appear in his father's will.

The elder Lunz worked in the machine shop of Aerosonic, a Clearwater company that builds aircraft instruments. He was described as friendly, according to residents in his quiet neighborhood of Sunshine Estates near Lake Tarpon.

Clues were hard to come by for detectives on the case. There were no signs of forced entry at Lunz's home. Detectives talked to more than 100 people early in the investigation.

The break in the case came in October 2005 when detectives in North Carolina recovered a .38-caliber handgun at the bottom of Cedar Cliff Lake in Jackson, N.C. Authorities verified that the gun was stolen from David J. Lunz. They later linked the gun to Westerman, who shared a home with Christopher D. Lunz.

Westerman was taken into custody on Dec. 20. Lunz was arrested by U.S. marshals while leaving a restaurant on Jan. 4 in Franklin, N.C.

--Nicole Johnson can be reached at njohnson@sptimes.com or 727 445-4162.

[Last modified January 10, 2006, 01:52:17]