CASS COUNTY (WKZO-AM/FM) — Investigators say he almost got away with murder.
Raymond Richmond has cut a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to the 1977 death of 25-year-old Robert Stasiak, who was shot once in the head.
Richmond was 18 at the time. Stasiak was his cousin and both were living in Edwardsburg.
Cass County’s medical examiner initially called it a suicide. It was only after Raymond made confessions over the years that the case was reopened, the victim’s body exhumed and reexamined, and charges filed.
Prosecutors claimed Richmond was drunk, high and upset because Stasiak had flushed his marijuana down a toilet.
According to the terms of the plea deal, the 56-year-old Richmond will be sentenced to 12-to-18 years in prison for second-degree murder Sept. 15.