Man pleads no contest to murder of woman in drum

DETROIT — The man accused of murdering his girlfriend and dumping her in a 55-gallon drum pleaded no contest Wednesday in an effort to spare his family and the family of Theresa DeKeyzer the pain of a criminal trial.

The unusual move was against the advice of his defense attorney, but Scott Wobbe entered his no-contest plea to first-degree premeditated murder and mutilation of a body.

The 38-year-old Westland, Mich., man was scheduled to stand trial Wednesday in the death of DeKeyzer, 22, of Warren, Mich., who vanished and whose body was found in a large drum last year.

DeKeyzer went missing shortly after a domestic violence incident in June 2014 involving Wobbe. Her decomposed body was found in September in a 55-gallon drum plugged or capped with cement and covered with plastic and wrapped with duct tape at a storage facility in Plymouth Township in Wayne County, Mich., Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green said last year.

The plea came after repeated talks with his lawyer, his mother and brother.

"Every time he met, each time we talked, he indicated he did not want to go to trial," defense attorney Raymond Cassar told the court.

Cassar said he has never had this happen in 31 years as an attorney and he believed he could beat the first-degree murder charge at trial. Instead, he will return to court June 30 when Wobbe is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

By entering the plea, Judge Mary Chrzanowski told Wobbe he wouldn't have the absolute right to appeal; he would have to file a leave to appeal for a court to consider.

DeKeyzer's family declined to comment after the hearing. About 10 of her relatives and supporters were in the courtroom in addition to Wobbe's mother and brother.

Cassar told Chrzanowski he has known Wobbe several months and met with him "many, many times." Every time, he said, Wobbe indicated that he did not want to go to trial.

"He does not want to put the DeKeyzer family through this. He does not want to put his family through this," Cassar told the court, adding that Wobbe was deemed competent to stand trial. "I have to respect his choice."

Chrzanowski asked Wobbe, wearing a blue jail jumper, whether he still wanted to enter a plea despite all of the advice and after consulting with his attorney and speaking with his mother and brother.

"Yes," Wobbe said, adding after another question, "it's my decision."

Cassar said Wobbe was pleading no contest because of a lack of memory. After the hearing, Cassar said there was "a lot of drugs and alcohol in this case. He did not have the perfect memory to give a factual basis" for a guilty plea.

After the hearing, Cassar said it's "always possible" Wobbe could withdraw his plea, but "I don't know if that's gonna be the case here."

Cassar said he thought Wobbe's decision "says a lot about him and his character," adding that the case involves a "tremendous amount of grief."

Prosecutor Eric Smith said he was happy DeKeyzer's family does not have to sit through a trial, hear the details and see the evidence. But, he said, he's happier that Wobbe "will be behind bars."