3 Teens Facing Multiple Murder Charges
Three teenagers , including the adopted daughter of the vicitms, are locked up without bond in the stabbing attacks in Yale that left one man dead and his wife seriously injured.
17-year-old Tia Marie-Mitchell Skinner and Jonathan Kurtz and James Preston, both 18, are all being held without bond at the St. Clair County Jail.
Meanwhile, members of the community gathered at Yale High School Sunday night in the wake of the brutal attack.
Residents came together hours after the three teenagers were arraigned on multiple charges, including murder.
Jessie Simmons is a student at Yale High School and says she knows all three suspects. And Mara Skinner was her 8th grade teacher.
"She was such a great teacher. She was one of my favorites. She always made us laugh, always had a joke. Any day that you were feeling bad, if you just went and talked to her, she always made you feel better," Simmons told WWJ Newsradio 950.
Investigators say Mara Skinner had more than 20 knife wounds, including a punctured lung. Michigan State Police Detective-sergeant Patrick Young told WWJ Newsradio 950 that she's surrounded by family and friends.
"It's my understanding that she's awake and she's aware and, of course, is ... medicated. And, she's ... being comforted by family members," Young said.
Young says the motive appears to be a conflict over Tia's relationship with Kurtz. If convicted, the teens face life in prison.
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