Watch CBS News

Trial Ordered In Death Of Billiards Player

PITTSFIELD TWP. (WWJ/AP) - A man accused of killing a competitive billiards player from the Ann Arbor area has been ordered to trial after a judge watched a videotaped confession.

AnnArbor.com reports that the confession was played in court Friday. Forty-four-year-old Gregory Noack confessed to killing Dawn Fital in their Pittsfield Township apartment last June.

Noack told police that he snapped after 45-year-old Fital refused to have sex. He said they had reconciled after she had broken up with him days earlier in a phone call from a Las Vegas billiards tournament.

Dawn Fital2
Dawn Fital

The day after Fital was reported missing, police arrested Noack behind a bank in Merrillville, Ind. Two days after his arrest, he led police to Fital's body, which was found stuffed in a suitcase submerged in a retention pond behind a Toys 'R' Us store in Hobart, Ind., on June 16.

An autopsy by the Lake County coroner's office found that Fital died from asphyxiation, and ruled her death an apparent homicide.

Although Noack confessed to the murder numerous times, defense attorney Christopher Renna claims Noack's right to remain silent was violated. Renna said officers violated Noack's Miranda rights when they continued to ask questions after Noack stated he didn't want to talk to them any more.

In addition to the charges of open murder and felony murder, Noack faces charges of kidnapping with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, unlawful imprisonment with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, tampering with evidence, unlawfully driving away in a motor vehicle and larceny from a building.

If convicted, Noack faces life in prison. He is currently being held without bond in the Washtenaw County Jail. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8.

Catch up on the case, here.

TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.