GUILTY MI - Frances Craig, 28, murdered by mistake, Summit Township, 10 Aug 2014

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SUMMIT TOWNSHIP, MI — A woman found dead in her Summit Township home by her boyfriend Sunday has been identified by police as 28-year-old Frances Marie Craig.

The death was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner, said Jackson County Sheriff Steve Rand.

Deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office responded to the 5200 block of Timbercrest Trail on Sunday, Aug. 10, where Craig was found dead.

Rand said investigators do not believe that Craig's death was a random act of violence. No one is in custody and the police investigation continues.

(More at Link): http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2014/08/summit_township_homicide_victi_1.html



**I did a search to see if there was a thread on this case already but I couldn't find one.
 
The murder of a 28-year-old mother of two, who was found dead in her home by her fiancé, has shocked the Michigan community where she was a popular waitress and known for being the life of the party.

Frances Craig was due to be married in just a month and a half when Eric Wolfe found her dead in their house in a quiet neighborhood of Jackson, Michigan, last Sunday.

Detectives haven't said how Miss Craig died, but say they don't believe her murder was random, the Jackson Citizen Patriot reports.

(More at link): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726132/Mystery-mother-two-28-murdered-home-fianc.html
 
You know the first thing I think when I hear that this wasn't a random attack :(
 
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2014/08/firecracker_frances_craig_kill.html

"She was full of life, always smiling always joking," said Heather Schaffer, a friend of Craig's. "She was one of those people that no matter how bad of a mood you were in, she would make you feel better."


Craig would have turned 29 on Friday, Aug. 15. Instead of celebrating with her friends and family, her former co-workers at The Chase sports bar will pool their tips to help pay for her funeral costs.

Happy Birthday, Frannie
 
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2015/01/person_of_interest_in_death_of.html

Just over five months after 28-year-old Frances Craig was found dead in her Summit Township home, Jackson County Sheriff Steve Rand said a person of interest in her death is in police custody but has not been lodged at the Jackson County Jail.

Rand said the person of interest is not a Jackson County resident but he declined to comment further on the person's description. The person has not been charged in connection to Craig's death but is in custody on unrelated charges...

Rand said he hopes to resubmit the investigation report to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office in the next few weeks but added the prosecutor's office will likely require some time to thoroughly review the report before determining whether to issue charges.
 
This just popped up on MLive.

Three men charged in 'murder for hire' homicide of 28-year-old


JACKSON, MI -- Three people have been charged in the "murder for hire" homicide of 28-year-old Frances Craig, who was found dead in her Summit Township home more than a year ago.

Clifford McKee, 49, and Rodney McKee, 27, have been charged with open murder, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, solicitation of murder, and first-degree home invasion, a news release issued by the Jackson County Prosecutor's office said.

In addition, a third man, Cortez Bulter, 43, has been charged with open murder, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, and first-degree home invasion.

The charges stem from more than a year ago, when Craig, 28 was found dead in her home in the 5200 block of Timbercrest Trail in Summit Township on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014.
 
So she was not even the target? The plot was to kill a witness to an arson, and she happened to be there?
 
Another update this morning:

Timeline of events in death of Frances Craig

JACKSON, MI – Clifford McKee, 49, Rodney McKee, 27, and Cortez Bulter, 43, have all been charged with killing 28-year-old Frances Craig.

After more than a year of investigation, all three will be arraigned early Thursday, Oct. 8, on charges of open murder, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree and first-degree home invasion.

In addition, Clifford and Rodney McKee will be arraigned on an additional charge of soliciting murder.

So she was not even the target? The plot was to kill a witness to an arson, and she happened to be there?

That is correct. A victim for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The target was not at the location when the hired killers went in to do their 'hit.'

I do not think these men are professional hit-men, just hoodlums with guns.
 
Friends of 'murder for hire' homicide victim waiting for answers

JACKSON, MI – When 28-year-old Frances Craig was found dead in her Summit Township home last year, her co-workers asked questions.

"Who, what, why?" asked Liz Donner, who worked alongside and befriended Craig at the Chase sports bar in Jackson. "Everybody was sad, taken aback, and shocked," she added.

After more than a year of investigation and a secret grand jury trial, three men were charged with open murder in connection to Craig's death Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here...
 
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/i..._dna_link_suspe.html#incart_2box_news_jackson

Wednesday's testimony in the trial of three men accused of murder in the stabbing death of 28-year-old Frances Craig Aug. 10, 2014, inside her Summit Township bedroom highlighted crime scene DNA and cell phone evidence tying the defendants to one another...

Rezmierski in her opening statements said Rodney McKee, fearing he might go to prison for a long time, called his uncle, Clifford McKee, asking for help.

Investigators say Clifford McKee contacted Butler and offered to pay $10,000 if Butler would kill the witness crucial to his nephew's conviction.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2016/04/live_updates_murder_for_hire_t_1.html

The trial of three men suspected of a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the Aug. 10, 2014 death of 28-year-old Frances Craig enters its fourth day of testimony Friday...

The prosecution argues Clifford McKee hired Butler, a 43-year-old twice-convicted murderer from Detroit, to kill a man who witnessed an alleged arson committed by Rodney McKee, Clifford McKee's nephew.

The witness was a former school friend of Eric Wolfe, Craig's fiance. Wolfe allowed the witness to live in the couple's Jackson townhouse for a brief period... Butler, thinking the witness still lived with the couple, broke into their home, tied up Craig and stabbed her at least 20 times, the prosecution says.
 
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/i...Feed:+detroit-news+(Detroit+News+-+MLive.com)

From inside a Jackson County courtroom Friday, the alleged target of a murder-for-hire plot faced the suspected hit-man and his employers...

Wearing glasses, an orange thermal shirt and jeans, 31-year-old Ryan Marshall swiveled occasionally in his chair and talked about how it began, how he believes an attempt to kill him -- because he witnessed and was the victim of an arson -- led to the death of his one-time roommate and good friend's fiance, 28-year-old Frances Craig.

"Horrible," is how Marshall said he feels about what happened.
 
Three men convicted of first degree murder for the 2014 death of a 28-year-old Jackson woman have been sentenced to life in prison.

(...)

But only two of the men were in court to hear the sentence. Clifford McKee was not in the courtroom for today’s sentencing.

Last week he had told his attorney that, under no circumstances, would he be in the courtroom today.

According to court officials McKee was so belligerent that he was kept in a cell to keep anyone from being injured by the man.
http://wlns.com/2016/05/26/murder-for-hire-trio-sentenced-in-strange-jackson-courtroom-scene/
 
The three defendants went in knowing they were supposed to kill a man (abhorrent enough) & kill a woman who has two children in the house. Once they realized the person they wanted was not there, just leave. She likely did not know them. Can we not just keep people in prison once we know what and who they are? RIP Frances.
 
Fortunately the convictions of Cortez Butler, Clifford McKee and Rodney McKee have been upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

'Murder for hire' trio's convictions upheld by Michigan appellate court

Murder For Hire' Trio's Convictions Upheld By Michigan Appellate Court

Updated Jan 30, 2019

"Three men appealing their convictions for conspiring to kill a witness to an arson and killing an innocent woman instead will remain in prison for the rest of their lives.

The Michigan Court of Appeals reaffirmed the murder convictions of Cortez Butler, Clifford McKee and his nephew Rodney McKee, in an opinion penned Feb. 27, according to court records.

All three men were found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree and first-degree home invasion on April 7, 2016, after prosecutors made their case that Clifford McKee hired Butler for $10,000 to kill a Jackson man who witnessed Rodney McKee commit arson.

Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wilson sentenced the three to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of 28-year-old Frances Craig, who was killed in 2014 by mistake; she was not the intended target.

Ryan Marshall, the intended target, was a friend of Eric Wolfe, Craig's fiance, and lived with the couple before they moved into a home in Summit Township.

Prosecutors said Butler thought Marshall still lived with Craig and Wolfe when he broke into the home through the unlocked garage door, tied Craig up and fatally stabbed her at least 20 times."
 

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