The last known person to see missing Saranac resident Donald Dietz alive was his barber, who testified Dietz “was afraid to go home,” in the jury trial of Rami Saba Thursday.
Saba, who is representing himself, is charged with 12 counts for his alleged role in the kidnapping and alleged death of Dietz, to steal his roughly $500,000 in life savings.
During the government’s opening statement, United States Attorney Don Davis stated that the last known person to see Dietz alive was his barber, Allison Leland.
Leland, who cut Dietz’s hair for roughly 20 years, testified that Dietz would come every six months to have his hair cut, and the last time she cut his hair was Sept. 4, 2007.
She explained Dietz was very frugal with his money, and that the last time she saw him, he was concerned about a financial transaction he was wanting to get out of.
During cross-examination, Saba asked Leland if there was anything troubling Dietz, and Leland stated that Dietz was afraid.
“He said he was considering investing with someone, and he was thinking about changing his mind but he was worried,” said Leland. “He said these people wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was afraid of the people. He was afraid to go home, that someone would be there waiting for him.”
Leland explained that Dietz was so frightened about going home, she remembered him shaking as he talked to her about it.
Leland could not remember if Dietz talked about there being more than one man, or if Dietz ever described the individual he was afraid of.
She testified she gave Dietz some advice, but that Dietz thought it may have been too late.
“I said check them out at the Better Business Bureau to make sure it was legitimate,” said Leland. “I said, ‘Don’t give them too much information’. He said, It may have been too late, and that he may have given them too much information (already).”
Family and friends of Dietz testified in the case against Saba, giving jurors a brief glimpse of who Dietz was.
Those who knew Dietz described him as a shy, quiet man, who did not like crowds or to drive his car. He liked the outdoors, and would walk the state game area near his house, and in the fall pick apples at the Michigan State University Extension apple orchard.
“Donald was reclusive; he preferred to keep to himself,” said Dietz’s sister, Karen Segavac.
She explained Dietz did not like to talk on the phone that much, and when he would he would have written down questions to prepare himself.
“He was quiet,” said Segavac. “He would think before he would speak.”
Dietz’s brother, Marvin Dietz, last saw Donald Dietz in early May 2007. He would check on his brother a couple times a year to make sure he was doing all right.
“I was concerned about him because he was always alone,” said Marvin Dietz, adding he regrets not seeing Donald Dietz more often.
Donald Dietz rode his bicycle most of the time, because he would get nervous when he would drive his car. He would ride his bike to a health store in Cascade, and while he worked at AmWay, would occasionally peddle the 18 miles to and from work.
He was also very concerned and protective of his money, and one time was worried for four months over a tax return mistake totaling $4.
Donald Dietz’s neighbor and friend, Walter Powell, would drive Donald Dietz to the grocery store in Ionia at times, and would look up interest rates for Donald Dietz on his computer.
During the cross examination, Saba asked Powell if Donald Dietz ever mentioned a financial investment in the fall of 2007. Walter said he recalled Donald Dietz talking about one earlier in the year, but not around fall.
During their testimony, family members discussed how they were trying to get a hold of Dietz for a family reunion in September, but they could not reach him.
After not hearing from Donald Dietz, and brother Gene Dietz receiving a call from Lake Michigan Credit Union about his brother Donald Dietz’s bank account, family members’ concern grew.
They searched around the trailer and the state game area thinking Donald Dietz may have had a medical problem, but when there was no sign of him, they went to the Michigan State Police to file a missing person report.
In Donald Dietz’s mail box were two checks: one for roughly $3,000, the other for nearly $9,000 from his Capital One bank account.
Family members gained access into Donald Dietz’s trailer, and gathered any documents they could find for police investigators.
Other testimony Thursday included bank employees who knew Donald Dietz as a client, and Michigan State Trooper Michael Fink.
Fink testified that during his role in the investigation, he was not able to procure fingerprints or DNA from Donald Dietz’s residence or Saba’s Lowell residence. He also checked Donald Dietz’s bicycle for fingerprints, and did not find any.
Source http://www.sentinel-standard.com/
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