MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were arraigned Friday afternoon on charges in the murder of 19-year-old Stephen McAfee.
Andrew Michael Fiacco, of Ray Township, and Eevette Renee MacDonald, of Shelby Township, are charged with multiple felonies.
Fiacco, 19, is charged with first-degree murder, disinterment and mutilation of a dead body, lying to a police officer and felony firearms violations.
MacDonald, 18, is charged with accessory after the fact to a felony, disinterment and mutilation of a dead body and lying to a police officer.
Both were video arraigned Friday at the 42nd District Court in Romeo. Fiacco is being held without bond.
MacDonald's attorney argued for a $10,000, 10 percent, bond because she is a high school senior who is already enrolled in classes this fall at Macomb Community College. Her bond was set at $20,000. If she posts bond, she will have to wear a GPS tether and have no contact with McAfee's family.
Human remains were found Thursday buried behind a home in Ray Township. The remains later were identified as McAfee.
MORE: Human remains found in Ray Township identified as Stephen McAfee; 2 charged with multiple felonies
McAfee went missing in March 2016
McAfee was last seen March 10, 2016, leaving his home on Walden Drive in Macomb Township, the Sheriff's Office said. Attempts to locate him through his cellphone were unsuccessful, the Sheriff's Office said.
READ: Stephen McAfee murder: Timeline of events
Here is the statement released from the Sheriff's Office that week:
"His current whereabouts are unknown. Attempts to locate him through his cellphone have been unsuccessful. The Sheriff’s Office has been working with the family to locate Mr. McAfee, however, there has still been no contact with him and he remains missing. He has had no contact with his family or friends since March 10."
Detective says body was dismembered with ax month after murder
Macomb County Sheriff's Detective Mark Morfino spoke about the case during the suspect’s arraignment. Morfino said a witness first came forward and told investigators MacDonald told her Fiacco killed McAfee at a location in Bruce Township. Fiacco was interviewed about McAfee's missing persons case twice and denied knowledge of it both times, Morfino said.
MacDonald also was interviewed in September 2016, but she denied knowledge of the case, too, Morfino said. However, during a subsequent interview MacDonald told investigators Fiacco killed McAfee and showed her the body about a month later, Morfino said.
"She indicated both of them took an ax recovered from Mr. Fiacco's house and cut the body in half," Morfino testified. "They retrieved the lower extremities of Mr. McAfee and also his skull, placed it in a duffel bag and transported it to (Fiacco's) residence. After that they buried the skull and lower extremities at Mr. Fiacco's residence."
Morfino said MacDonald later burned the duffel bag.
Ultimately, according to Morfino's testimony, Fiacco said during an interview that he shot McAfee three times, once in the stomach and twice in the back, when they were in a wooded area in Bruce Township.
"(Fiacco) did admit that he drove Mr. McAfee from a Macomb Township location to an address and area at 34 Mile Road in Bruce Township, and they both walked to a wooded area. At one point during their travels he alleged that Mr. McAfee attacked him and (Fiacco) was in possession of a firearm at the time. He did admit that he fired three shots, one into the stomach of Mr. McAfee. And he stated after Mr. McAfee remained on the ground he fired two more shots into Mr. McAfee's back. He subsequently left the scene," said Morfino.
Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said McAfee was shot at a vacant plot of land at 34 Mile Road and Van Dyke in Bruce Township..
Some of the remains were then transported to the Ray Township home, where the skull and lower extremities were buried.
Case went cold for more than a year
Before investigators learned any of this, McAfee's family had hired a private investigator. The Macomb County Sheriff's Office said all leads "were exhausted" and the case went cold.
However, more than a year later the witness Morfino testified about, and her father, went to the Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 to provide information on McAfee, the Sheriff's Office said.
"The female stated that MacDonald, ex-girlfriend of Fiacco, confided in her that (MacDonald) helped dispose of McAfee’s body. ... the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office arrested Macdonald of Shelby Township shortly after the female’s interview. She provided investigators with information to assist in the investigation," according to a statement from the Sheriff's Office.
Fiacco was arrested this week, too, and led investigators to the human remains in Ray Township, investigators said.
Fiacco and MacDonald are due back in court May 23.
