Recordings part of evidence against Bechler

Greg Risling

NEWPORT BEACH -- An arranged meeting between 32-year-old murder suspect

Eric Bechler and his ex-girlfriend reportedly bolstered the evidence

against him in the disappearance and presumed death of his wife, Pegye,

sources have revealed.

The woman reportedly was wired with a recording device as the two

discussed various topics during an Oct. 29 meeting at a Mexican

restaurant. Bechler alluded to the disappearance of his wife and made

statements that authorities reportedly found to be incriminating.

The statements may have been the last piece prosecutors needed in the

complex puzzle of the Bechler case, which began more than two years ago

when the Newport Coast man told authorities his wife vanished during a

boating trip off the Newport Beach coast.

The restaurant meeting reportedly came one night after Bechler met his

ex-girlfriend at her Garden Grove home on Oct. 28.

The couple had a heated argument that prompted a neighbor to call police,

sources said. When authorities arrived, Bechler allegedly bailed out the

back door.

Bechler and the woman were involved in a topsy-turvy relationship that

had lasted nearly a year. Bechler was convicted in August of hitting the

woman in front of her two children at the Newport Coast townhome they

shared.

As part of his sentence, which included six months in county jail

following his April arrest, Bechler’s probation included a protective

order to stay away from the woman and to enter a batterer’s treatment

program.

Sources said Bechler was picked up by authorities the night of Oct. 29 at

a Del Taco restaurant in Seal Beach on a probation violation. The arrest

occurred after Bechler was dropped off by his ex-girlfriend.

He was held in custody last weekend on the probation violation, and the

Orange County district attorney’s office filed murder charges Monday.

The charges stem from a July 1997 boating trip during which Eric and

Pegye Bechler were celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary. Bechler

contends he was bodyboarding behind the boat when a wave took him under.

When he came up, his wife was missing, he said.

Rescue teams spent days searching the area for Pegye Bechler’s body. It

was never found.

Suspicion soon arose about Bechler’s story because his 38-year-old wife

was a triathlete and an accomplished swimmer. The 19-foot boat they had

rented was also equipped with a glass shield that would have prevented a

seated driver from falling overboard.

Prosecutors have their own version of the incident, based on evidence

they have accumulated over the last 2 1/2 years. However, they are

keeping tight-lipped about the details.

In the charges they filed, prosecutors accuse Bechler of killing his wife

for financial gain. There was a $2-million life insurance policy, which

Bechler allegedly sought to collect several times, but it has never been

paid out.