After a three-week trial, it took a Maricopa County jury a little over four hours Jan. 26 to find David Roy Eidson guilty of the murder of former Sedona resident David Ian Wile.
The 50-year-old Glendale man was convicted on one count of second-degree murder and one felony count of abandoning or concealing a dead body.
The jury recommended Eidson, Wile’s former roommate, face extended sentencing for aggravating circumstances.
Wile was last seen at his home in Glendale on the morning of Aug. 14, 2010. After Wile failed to arrive at a ballroom dance competition in Tempe, Wile’s family in Sedona filed a missing person’s report with the Glendale Police Department.
The family also hired a private investigator who testified against Eidson during the trial.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Wile’s body Aug. 24, 2010, in a trailer towed by a truck driven by Eidson. Deputies were responding to a call from a driver reporting a foul smell reportedly coming from the trailer.
After he was pulled over, Eidson was reportedly very evasive and did not give the deputies many details, according to William FitzGerald, a public information officer with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Deputies found Wile’s body wrapped in a garment inside the trailer. Eidson was booked on one count of abandoning or concealing a dead body and held on a $20,000 cash bond.
According to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Forensic Science Center, Wile’s cause of death is homicide, caused by multiple stab wounds to the neck and chest with perforation of the right external jugular vein, the heart and right lung.
A grand jury indicted Eidson on second-degree murder charges Sept. 2, 2010, and his bond was raised to $300,000.
The trial began Jan. 5 and the prosecution rested Jan. 23. Over the two days of the defense’s testimony, Eidson’s attorney argued he acted in self-defense.
Deliberations began the morning of Jan. 26 and the jury presented its verdict by 3:40 p.m.
Eidson is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, March 16. He faces anywhere from 10 to 22 years on the murder charge and six months to two-and-a-half years for the felony concealment, said Jerry Cobb, a public information officer with the MCAO. The prosecution is asking for the maximum 24.5 years.
