Teens Plead Guilty in Death of Mich. Dad Killed by Rock Thrown from Overpass onto Vehicle
Four teenagers pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday in the death of a Michigan father who was killed when a rock was thrown from an overpass onto his car — and the teens are expected to testify against a fifth defendant at his upcoming trial, according to multiple reports.
Kyle Anger, 17, Alexander Miller, 15, Trevor Gray, 15, Mikaydn Payne, 16, and Mark Sekelsky, 16, were all charged as adults with second-degree murder along with 10 other criminal counts in the Oct. 2017 death of Kenneth White, who was 32.
According to WXYZ.com, all five defendants appeared in court on Monday. Miller, Payne, Sekelsky, and Gray agreed to the plea deal, but Anger refused it.
The station reports that the four suspects who accepted the deal agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, and will testify against Anger at his trial.
Anger has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for next week, court records show.
White died after a rock weighing 6 lbs. — allegedly thrown by Anger from a highway overpass — crashed through the windshield of a van he was a passenger in.
The rock hit him in the head and chest; he sustained skull fractures and severe brain injuries.
Under the terms of the plea deal, the second-degree murder charge against the four defendants was reduced to manslaughter and the 10 other charges were dropped.
A judge will have to sign off on the plea deal and will sentence the teens. A date for that hearing has not yet been set, reports WDIV.
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White’s family told WNEM they are unhappy about Monday’s plea deal.
“They will never understand the pain and anguish they’ve caused,” said White’s aunt, Nancy Jobe. “I feel like they railroaded them all into thinking this was the right thing to do, to take this damn plea bargain. I don’t agree with this. I think it’s wrong. These kids are old enough to know what the hell they did.”
Jobe wants all five defendants to stand trial: “I feel like they gave up on my nephew,” she said.
Lawyers for the five defendants, who had previously entered not guilty pleas, could not immediately be reached for comment.
