Crime & Safety
Detroit Man Guilty in Plot to Kill Teen Girlfriend's Family Sentenced to Life
Michael A. Rivera, 24, was convicted in connection with a plan to murder his 15-year-old girlfriend's family in their Plymouth Hills home.
The Detroit man who was convicted of conspiring with his teenage girlfriend to kill her family while they slept in their Plymouth Township home last October was sentenced Thursday to life in prison, according to a Detroit News report.
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Michael A. Rivera, 24, will spend the rest of his life in a jail cell without a chance for parole after he was found guilty last month in Wayne County Circuit Court on four counts of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of assault with intent to commit murder and one count of felonious assault.
Rivera will return to court Sept. 16 to face a criminal sexual conduct charge, the report added.
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Patch Coverage of the Michael Rivera-Roksana Sikorski Case
The case against Rivera stemmed from an Oct. 17 plot by Rivera and his then-15-year-old girlfriend, Roksana Sikorski, to murder the teen’s family in their home. Rivera texted instructions to Sikorski on how to kill her family, and the girl did slice her then-12-year-old brother’s neck. The boy was injured but has recovered.
Sikorski, 15, faces seven felony charges and will be tried as an adult. Her trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 26 but could be delayed pending an appeal concerning the judge’s suppression of a confession, the report stated.
The teen’s adoptive parents have said they think their daughter has been overcharged for her alleged role in the case. According to her parents, Sikorski suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression as a result of abuse she faced as a child in Poland. That made Sikorski emotionally vulnerable and susceptible to Rivera’s seductive charms, her parents claim.
Earlier this year, they asked for her charges to be moved to juvenile court in order to give her a greater chance to receive psychological counseling.
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