Overview
- Richard Werstine, 56, who vanished before a 1994 trial in the killing of roommate Rodney Barger, was arrested at a Panama City dog park on April 29, 2026.
- U.S. Marshals say he carried fraudulent IDs and was confirmed by fingerprint analysis, after which he admitted his identity and decades on the run.
- Investigators reopened the case in May 2022 and learned he had been arrested over the years under other names, which kept his link to the 1993 warrant hidden.
- Deputies brought him back to the United States over the weekend, and authorities say he will be turned over to Wayne County to face the outstanding murder charge.
- Barger, 23, known as “Rawn Beauty,” fronted Detroit hardcore band Cold as Life, and officials say the arrest offers a path to long-delayed court proceedings for his family.