Jury finds Weed man guilty of murder in 1st degree

YREKA, CALIF —A Siskiyou County jury finds a Weed man guilty of first-degree murder and elder abuse. The victim, Donald Hobrecht, lived in the Carrick Addition area of Weed. Police say Robert Henry Tessmer performed yard work at Horbrecht’s home.

In September 2020, Horbrecht’s friends began contacting the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office when they hadn’t seen or heard from Hobrecht. Friends and neighbors said Tessmer was living in Horbrecht’s home.

A month later, SCCSO searched Hobrecht’s home and found him buried in the backyard, and says Tessmer confessed to the crime.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 1st. Tessmer faced 25 years to life in state prison for first-degree murder, which could be doubled, because of a prior strike conviction.

© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.

Jenna King is the 6pm and 11pm anchor for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.
Skip to content