Man Gets Life In Prison In Fatal Stabbings During Home Invasion
YORK TWP., Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty in the fatal stabbings of a 12-year-old boy and his adult half-brother during a southeastern Michigan home invasion.
The sentence was ordered Monday for Joseph Hall in Washtenaw County Trial Court. He pleaded guilty last month to two counts of felony murder and other charges related to the June 13 deaths of Timber Brown and 26-year-old Jon Brown at a York Township home, south of Ann Arbor. Three others were stabbed — including Timber's mother, Vicki Moore, who sustained 14 wounds.
Police believe Hall and 34-year-old Jesse Spurlock intended to rob Hall's drug dealer. Spurlock's trial is scheduled to start next month.
Hall said his drug and alcohol use shouldn't be an excuse for his crimes. He added he prays for forgiveness and accepts "any punishments."
Authorities said the victims just happened the be at the wrong place at the wrong time. They were traveling from Indian River in northern Michigan's Cheboygan County to the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn to attend a car race when a storm hit. They became concerned about the rain and decided to stay overnight at a friend's home in York Township.
Victim Nicole Skinner, who was slashed in the hand and neck, described the nightmarish attack to WWJ's Ron Dewey shortly after the incident, saying: "Nobody knew it was going to happen. We all felt safe."
"Me and Jon Brown were downstairs, sleeping on separate couches. We both heard a scream and I ran upstairs first, he was behind me," Skinner said. "I come to the top of the stairs, the guy swung, I lifted my hand up — that's when my hand got cut. I seen Vicki and Timber in the bedroom on the floor, so I ducked; that's when he got my neck…I'm lucky even to be alive."
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