Bernie Tiede is an American mortician and convicted murderer. Tiede confessed to the shooting of a wealthy 81-year-old widow, Marjorie 'Marge' Nugent, in Carthage, Texas on November 19, 1996. For nine months, Tiede made up stories about why Marjorie wasn't around. Eventually, investigators went looking for her and found her body in the freezer. Tiede was sentenced to life in prison. Now Bernie Tiede is back in court to determine whether he will return to prison, or go free, for the 1996 murder - a crime that inspired the dark comedy 'Bernie' by Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater. Tiede has been free on bond for the past 23 months after the courts threw out his life sentence in light of new evidence of childhood sexual abuse - trauma that defense lawyers say explained his actions in killing Marjorie Nugent and hiding her body in the freezer. Jurors will consider a new sentence for Tiede, who has served 17 years in prison. His murder conviction remains in place.