When police first encountered Robert Seger months before his death, they saw bruising on his face, heard him speak nervously about his roommate and watched him hesitate when asked whether he feared for his own safety, but at the time they had no way of knowing how important those moments would later become.
EWU Crime Storytime revisited the case of Seger, a 59-year-old Maine man whose roommate, James Fowler, called 911 on November 21, 2024, after finding him unresponsive inside their Westbrook home. Seger was rushed to a hospital with devastating facial injuries and later died, setting off an investigation that would force detectives to reexamine earlier police encounters and eventually study the home’s own security cameras.
What emerged, according to the channel’s narration and the police footage, was a picture of a man who had repeatedly shown signs of fear and injury long before his death.
Fowler Said Seger Had Been Attacked Elsewhere
When first responders entered the home, Seger was lying on the floor of his bedroom with severe injuries to his face.
Fowler told officers that Seger had gone out and returned home “all beat up,” claiming he had found him near railroad tracks and that Seger said he had been jumped.
The timeline quickly became confusing.
At one point, Fowler said the injuries had happened two nights earlier, while also telling officers that Seger had seemed well enough the previous night to help clean out the basement.
He said Seger had trouble walking upstairs but otherwise did not appear to be in immediate danger.
Investigators were already struggling to reconcile that description with what they could see.
Seger’s face had suffered multiple fractures, and officers noticed blood inside the home that did not fit neatly with Fowler’s explanation that Seger had simply come back injured from somewhere else.
The EWU Crime Storytime narrator said home security footage soon became an important focus because it could establish whether Seger had really returned home already badly hurt.
Old Bodycam Footage Changed The Investigation
As detectives dug deeper, they discovered that Westbrook police had dealt with Seger and Fowler before.
One encounter occurred on October 22, 2024, just about a month before Seger’s death.
Police had responded to an argument between the two men on a public street, where an officer immediately noticed that Seger had a black eye.
Seger said the injury resulted from an argument in which he had failed to respond quickly enough when Fowler spoke to him.
When an officer asked what he meant by “not showing respect,” Seger explained that he had not answered Fowler promptly.
He even seemed to blame himself.
Seger initially said he wanted to go to a homeless shelter for the night to get away from the situation, but once Fowler entered the conversation, his tone changed and he backed away from that plan.
The detective later reviewing the footage told Fowler that Seger looked frightened.
“You know what it reminded me of?” the detective said. “It reminded me of like a battered wife, like a domestic violence person who’s in a domestic violence situation.”
Fowler rejected that interpretation and insisted Seger had loved him.
The footage is difficult to ignore in hindsight because Seger did not speak like someone describing an ordinary disagreement between roommates; he appeared to be carefully managing his words while also taking responsibility for behavior that, on its face, did not justify violence.
Seger Had Asked Police For Help Months Earlier
Investigators then found another encounter from June 2024, when Seger walked into a police station seeking help after an argument with Fowler.
His face again showed bruising.
When an officer asked how he had been hurt, Seger said he had walked into a door.
He also told police that Fowler had thrown him out of the apartment, even though Seger himself was the person whose name was on the lease.
When the officer asked why he would leave his own home, Seger said he did not want the situation to become physical.
He eventually admitted that he was “kind of sort of” afraid for his own safety and said he was simply done with the situation.
“I just want to leave, period,” he told the officer.
That earlier encounter became even more significant once detectives compared it with Seger’s later injuries and the testimony of people who knew both men.
One acquaintance told investigators she had previously seen Fowler strike Seger in the face and choke him during an argument.
She also said Fowler constantly monitored Seger using cameras throughout the house, checking them from his phone and rarely allowing Seger to be out of sight.
The Cameras Eventually Told A Different Story
The same surveillance system described as a tool of control ultimately became some of the strongest evidence against Fowler.
Fowler had told police that he cared deeply for Seger, describing himself as a kind of caretaker who made sure Seger ate, rested and had what he needed.
The home recordings showed something far more troubling.
In one clip, Fowler could be heard speaking with Seger’s sister, Teresa, and saying that he only controlled Seger “when he pisses me off.”
He then made remarks about beating Seger in the head and said there was no reason to do it at that particular moment because he could “beat him later.”
Those recordings stood in sharp contrast to the version Fowler had given investigators, in which he portrayed himself as worried about Seger’s condition and eager to call for medical help.
The footage also showed Fowler carrying what appeared to be a hammer or mallet through the home, while detectives later found blood spatter on walls and empty bleach containers inside the residence.
Fowler denied using bleach to clean blood and continued insisting he had not assaulted Seger.
Investigators were unconvinced.
The Autopsy Ruled Seger’s Death A Homicide
After Seger died at the hospital, an autopsy determined that his death was caused by blunt force trauma and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
According to the EWU Crime Storytime report, Seger suffered fractures to his nose, cheekbone, the roof of his mouth and his left eye socket.
A detective confronted Fowler with the severity of those injuries and told him plainly that investigators no longer believed the railroad-track story.
“There’s no other person from where I sit right here,” the detective said, unless Fowler could provide some logical explanation for who else might have inflicted the injuries.
Fowler continued to deny responsibility.
Investigators also heard another disturbing allegation from someone who knew him, who claimed Fowler had once punished a dog by tying it in a shower with almost no slack on its leash and later found the animal dead.
That allegation ultimately became relevant to the criminal case as well.
Fowler Was Arrested Less Than Two Weeks Later
Police obtained a warrant and arrested Fowler on December 3, 2024.
Bodycam footage showed officers calling him from outside the apartment and asking him to step out for a brief conversation before taking him into custody.
He was told he was being arrested for Seger’s murder.
According to court documents cited by EWU Crime Storytime, Fowler was initially charged with depraved indifference murder but later accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to manslaughter, along with a separate count of cruelty to animals.
He received a 30-year sentence with eight years suspended, leaving 22 years to serve, followed by three years of probation.
Seger’s sister Teresa was not charged in connection with his death, although investigators challenged her account and confronted her with evidence that Fowler had been abusing her brother.
The case is especially disturbing because police had already seen fragments of what was happening months earlier, even if they did not yet have enough information to understand the full danger.
Seger had appeared with bruises, talked about being afraid, tried to leave his own apartment and repeatedly minimized what was happening to him.
Only after his death did those earlier encounters, witness accounts and the cameras inside the home fit together into a much clearer picture of the life he had been living.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
