The sad story of George Weber; murdered newsman had stint in SF

George Weber was, by all accounts, a very funny, talented, and "extremely good" newsman. A career radio man, he had several stints in various cities, including KGO in the eighties.

On March 20, 2009,  Weber was killed in his Brooklyn apartment. Weber was stabbed multiple times by a teen charged with his murder in an apparent s and m act that was initiated by Weber in a NY Craigslist ad.

Needless to say, his colleagues were stunned. Said one longtime staffer, "Frankly, I thought it was the cigarettes that would do him in, not this." Indeed, Weber was a heavy smoker and drinker and often wrote and talked about his vices.

Weber's tragic death, sordid as it was, surprisingly has had very little coverage here in the Bay Area even though he worked at KGO and developed a loyal, albeit brief, following.

Nobody, apparently, had any idea of Weber's dark secret life, outside of his frequent visits to a Brooklyn watering hole. He often reported on his blog about his neighborhood in New York and his two dogs were featured in some of his stories.

"He worked very hard and was extremely talented--he had a knack for looking for the best story and working nonstop on it," said Jim Willson, a close friend, who worked with Weber in Denver at KIMN.

Like many others, Willson had no clue about Weber's personal life other than "the cigarettes and booze."

Weber's body was discovered by police, with his hands and feet bound. He'd been stabbed more than 50 times in the neck, chest and arms, and his apartment had been ransacked.

The trial in NY is expected to wrap up soon.