Case delayed for man accused of 2016 murder
By: Joshua Gordon | Macomb Township Chronicle | Published February 7, 2018
MOUNT CLEMENS ? The court proceedings of a man accused of murdering his 19-year-old Macomb Township friend have been dragged out as his lawyers appeal a recent court ruling.
Andrew Fiacco, 20, of Ray Township, was accused in the death, mutilation and disappearance of Stephen McAfee in March 2016. Fiacco?s case was bound over in December from the 42nd District Court Division 1 in Romeo to the Macomb County Circuit Court.
Fiacco?s attorney, David Griem, was hoping to have his client?s police interrogation thrown out as evidence in August because he said Fiacco asked for a lawyer during the interview. Griem said in August that Fiacco admitted to shooting McAfee during the interrogation with the Macomb County Sheriff?s Office on April 27, 2017.
Griem was unsuccessful in that motion, but it is being reconsidered in the Michigan Court of Appeals. Because of this, Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Faunce set an April 19 pretrial conference date during the Jan. 22 arraignment to give the appeal process time.
Fiacco was accused in the death of McAfee, along with Eevette MacDonald, 19, of Shelby Township.
McAfee was last seen around 2:30 a.m. March 10, 2016, at his Macomb Township home with his parents. Police had very few leads until April 26, 2017, when a woman told the Sheriff?s Office that MacDonald allegedly told her Fiacco shot McAfee the night he went missing and the two dismembered the body and hid the remains in various locations at a later date.
McAfee?s remains were found outside of Fiacco?s family home in Ray Township the next day. Detective Sgt. Mark Morfino testified in August that he interviewed Fiacco and MacDonald in 2016, but both said they had no information on McAfee?s wearabouts.
After the woman came to the Sheriff?s Office, MacDonald was once again interviewed and she indicated the circumstances around McAfee?s death, including a location in the area of 34 Mile Road and Van Dyke in Bruce Township where Fiacco showed her McAfee?s body about a month after his disappearance.
MacDonald told police Fiacco was in possession of a gun at the time and allegedly told her he shot McAfee three times.
A month later, MacDonald accompanied Fiacco back to the site with an ax and helped to dismember McAfee?s body and hide the remains because she was fearful for her and her family?s safety, she told police.
Fiacco is charged with first-degree murder, a life felony; disinterment and mutilation of a dead body, a 10-year felony; lying to a police officer in the investigation of a violent crime, a four-year felony; and using a firearm in the commission of a felony, a two-year felony.
MacDonald is charged with accessory after the fact to a felony murder, a five-year felony; disinterment and mutilation of a dead body; and lying to a police officer in the investigation of a violent crime. She is scheduled for a pretrial conference on March 8 at the Macomb County Circuit Court.
Griem did not return a request for comment by press time.