Hearn Pleads No Contest in Stabbing Death of Ex-Girlfriend Ranae Chupick
Plea could mean the Clinton Township man will one day walk free in the stabbing death of the Royal Oak woman.
Photos
Christopher Hearn, 24, pleaded no contest this morning to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of 41-year-old Ranae Chupick of Royal Oak, whose body was found by co-workers in her Rochester Road apartment Sept. 19.
Hearn had been charged with open murder, which encompasses first- and second-degree murder. Hearn's attorney, Steven Lynch, told the court his client was intoxicated at the time of the slaying.
Hearn faces 22-56 years in prison when he is sentenced March 28 before Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Nanci Grant, the Detroit Free Press reported, which means he may be paroled one day.
Hearn was arrested Sept. 21 at the Clinton Township townhouse of Kevin Kaminske after law enforcement officials received a tip from Kaminske that Hearn admitted he had killed Chupick, with whom he had an on-and-off relationship after working together at the Sky Club in Royal Oak.
Royal Oak Police said Hearn lived with Chupick briefly in 2010 and was arrested on a charge of domestic assault on Chupick, but was not convicted. Hearn was released from state prison in January 2010 after serving more than three years on a Livingston County home invasion conviction, state records show.
Worried co-workers found Chupick's body inside in her second-floor apartment on Rochester Road north of 13 Mile. The apartment showed signs of a struggle, and Chupick was found partially nude, beaten and stabbed at least 12 times,
Kaminske said Hearn told him that he had gone there for a sexual encounter, and that the two had been drinking when they began to argue.
drs
7:48 am on Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Hey defense attorney, lots of people get drunk every day and get mad but they don't stab someone 12 times. This guy should never walk the streets again. Please judge give him the max; she has a teenager that has to live a nightmare.
drs
7:52 am on Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Hey defense attorney, lots of people get drunk every day and get mad but they don't stab someone 12 times. This guy should never walk the streets again. Please judge give him the max; she has a teenager that has to live a nightmare.