Charles “Zeke” Goldblum maintains that he had no knowledge of or participation in the land fraud scheme until several days prior to the murder, when Miller came to him, disclosed the fraud, and asked Goldblum to assist Miller in resolving the problem with Wilhelm. Goldblum agreed to help resolve the matter because he feared that if Miller got into trouble with the law, Miller might reveal the arson.
Goldblum now acknowledges that he arranged to have his restaurant burned down. However, the ‘torch’ for this arson was Clarence Miller- not George Wilhelm. In fact, Goldblum and Wilhelm did not meet until February 8, 1976, the day before the murder when Goldblum met with Miller and Wilhelm to assist in resolving the fraud by attempting to arrange restitution to Wilhelm.
When this meeting failed to resolve the problem (due to Miller’s failure to ‘come clean’ to Wilhelm and arrange to make restitution), there was a second meeting the following evening, February 9, 1976. In the course of that meeting, Wilhelm stated that he wanted to move his car, which was parked on the street in downtown Pittsburgh.
Wilhelm drove his car about one block to a public parking garage accompanied by Miller (seated in the front passenger seat0 and by Goldblum (seated in the rear seat).
As Wilhelm drove his car up to the eighth floor of the garage, (which was the uncovered top floor of the garage), the argument between Wilhelm and Miller became more heated. Miller and Wilhelm began to fight in the car. When Wilhelm opened his door and fell out of the car fleeing from Miller, Goldblum realized that in fact, Miller was stabbing Wilhelm.
In a panic, Goldblum fled to the other side of the garage as Miller continued his attack on Wilhelm outside of Wilhelm’s vehicle. The attack lasted several minutes and ended when Miller heaved Wilhlem over the outer rail of the top floor of the parking garage. Wilhelm’s fall was broken one floor below when he landed on the roof of a pedestrian walk way leading from the parking garage to another building. Goldblum, who had come back across the garage deck, looked over the railing and observed Wilhelm lying on the walk way roof below. Believing Wilhelm was dead, Miller and Goldblum fled from the parking garage.
Fearing that Miller would expose the arson he would be embarrassed by his presence at the scene, Goldblum agreed to help Miller and provide a false story for the police. Goldblum drove Miller home. Goldblum has consistently maintained throughout this that he did not kill Wilhelm, and that he was not an accomplice to the murder.
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