Man Gets Life Sentence In Plot To Kill Teen Girlfriend's Family

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A man convicted of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in a plot to kill his teenage girlfriend's siblings and her parents in metro Detroit has been sentenced to life in prison.

Michael Rivera, 24, made a brief statement Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court before receiving his sentence, saying "I'm sorry for my family, for them having to go through this."

Rivera is still facing another trial on September 16 on third-degree criminal sexual conduct charges -- accused of having sex with the girl, who is now 16-years-old.

The girl, who is not being named because she's considered a victim of sexual assault, is facing trial on October 26. She is charged as an adult with attempted murder and conspiracy in the Oct. 17, 2014, attack on her family in Plymouth Township.

Prosecutors say the then-15-year-old girl stabbed her 12-year-old brother multiple times in the neck while Rivera was outside her family's home, on Glenmore Court, sending her instructions via text message.

According to investigators, Rivera guided the girl, advising her on whether the knife she had was enough to do the job. Other messages included a diagram of the neck, instructions to cut it "like a tomato," and to make sure the victims stopped breathing, according to reports.

The boy's screams alerted family members, who interrupted the stabbings as Rivera and the girl fled. The boy was hospitalized, but survived the attack.

Investigators believe the pair plotted the attack as part of a plan to run away together. The girl's parents have said she and Rivera, whom she met on Facebook, were involved in a sexual relationship.

Attorney Leslie Posner said the girl suffers from RAD or reactive attachment disorder, a rare but serious condition that occurs in children who have been neglected and are unable to form a healthy emotional attachment with their caregivers. Posner said the girl was just was 4-years-old when she, along with her sibling, was adopted from Poland where she suffered abuse.

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