Exactly six years after the death of Sierra Ceccarelli, her suspected killer has been arrested for murder — again
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 12/16/2022 - 11:56am
Exactly six years after Sierra Ceccarelli, a 29-year-old mother of two who grew up in Carson City, was murdered in the home of Robert Paul Eikelberger, her alleged killer has been arrested.
After the case was transferred from Washoe County to Lyon County due to a potential conflict of interest, Lyon County determined not to file charges against Eikelberger, who, until now, has been living as a free man.
On Dec. 9, Eikelberger was re-arrested for the murder of Ceccarelli.
December 2016
The night of Dec. 9, 2016, Ceccarelli was found shot to death in the home of Eikelberger, who was 41 at the time of her death.
When officers arrived on scene, they found Eikelberger standing in the driveway.
Eikelberger initially claimed that he did not know Ceccarelli, and told investigators she had entered his home and shot herself.
Police noted that Eikelberger was making strange statements, and he told officers that he was intoxicated.
The autopsy later revealed that suicide would have been physically impossible, and investigators learned that Eikelberger and Ceccarelli had been in a relationship prior to her murder.
During investigations, police located a receipt of purchase from a store earlier that day in Eikelberger's possession. Officers reviewed the surveillance footage from the store, which showed Eikelberger and Ceccarelli together.
Investigators also later discovered that there had been fourteen attempted calls to 911 from Ceccarelli's cellphone within the hours before police were called to her murder, but none of the calls were completed.
Investigators stated that the scene in which Ceccarelli was found was suspicious, and that the trajectory was consistent with a suspect standing in front of the victim and shooting — not suicide.
The gun and magazine had been found in Ceccarelli’s lap in a manner which also seemed suspicious, as if it had purposely been placed in that position, police said.
It was later determined that Eikelberger’s clothing contained gunshot residue.
Eikelberger told police that Ceccarelli had “just shot herself” only a short time before the police arrived on scene. The police, however, noted that Ceccarelli had been dead for some time and was already “cold to the touch.”
February 2018
A little over a year after Ceccarelli’s murder, Eikelberger was arrested on an open murder charge by the Reno Police Department.
The case was immediately transferred to Lyon County due to a conflict of interest: Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks’ family was friends with Eikelberger’s family.
Only five days after Eikelberger was arrested for open murder and Lyon County was handed the case, Lyon County released Eikelberger, stating they would not be filing any charges against him at that time.
At the time of his arrest, Lyon County Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Reichenberg said that the office wasn’t ready to charge the case, and refused to release any further information on their decision.
Multiple news agencies have continuously questioned the decision for years, but Washoe County, the Reno Police Department, and Lyon County have all remained tight lipped on the decision not to charge Eikelberger with murder.
December 2022
On Dec. 9, 2022, Eikelberger was again taken into custody for the murder of Ceccarelli.
He was arrested by the Reno Police Department after a Grand Jury Indictment granted a warrant for arrest.
No further information has been released regarding the arrest.
We will continue to follow this story as new information is revealed.
