Overview
- Authorities arrested Werstine, 56, at a Panama City dog park on April 29 and later extradited him to the United States, where he is now in Wayne County custody awaiting a court hearing.
- The U.S. Marshals Service reactivated the case in 2022 and, working with Detroit’s fugitive task force and Panamanian authorities, traced leads that pinpointed his location in Panama City.
- Officials say he carried fake identification during the arrest, and fingerprint analysis confirmed who he was after he admitted his name and said he entered Panama illegally in 2005.
- Werstine is accused of killing his roommate, 23-year-old punk singer Rodney Barger of the band Cold as Life, in Detroit in 1993; he was arrested then but skipped court, prompting a 1994 warrant.
- Investigators say he lived under many aliases and was even arrested several times in the U.S., including being shot in a 1999 police confrontation in Flagstaff, which shows how false identities can hide fugitives across jurisdictions.