MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A son was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday in the strangulation of his 89-year-old father inside his Macomb Township home.
Gregory Lynn Nieman, 55 at the time of arrest, was found guilty by a jury of first-degree premeditated murder in May.
Nieman called police at about 10:30 a.m. on December 27, 2015, to report his father was not breathing and was cold to the touch. Deputies responded and found the 89-year-old man dead inside his condominium in the 45000 block of Warwick Drive. Nieman initially was released after being questioned at the home.
The Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Donald Robert Nieman's death a homicide and the cause of death as manual strangulation.
Neighbors had said Gregory Nieman was abusive to his father and called social services to investigate. Residents in the area said police had previously been to the condominium.
Sentencing hearing turns into rant of conspiracies
Nieman fired his attorney right before the sentencing took place. He represented himself during the sentencing hearing.
Prior to sentencing, both prosecutors and the defense has an opportunity to make changes to the sentencing report. Nieman tried telling the judge that many of the things in the report were inaccurate and said the feds were corrupting his trial.
“There should be a lot of changes, first of all not guilty of this charge,” Nieman said.
Nieman chose not to be present during part of the trial because the court would not allow him to wear his own suit but instead tried providing him with one. He was given the opportunity to watch the trial with live audio and video.
“Three of four times I’ve fired this attorney and you hire him back to pick my jury,” Nieman said. “It’s not my own suit. It’s the wrong colors and doesn’t fit you right.”
Nieman said that several members of the jury were “people he would see in the world.”
The sentencing continued to spiral out of control, with rants about the three branches of government and real estate leases from 1998.
“Judge let’s be absolutely clear that everything the defendant has just said is blatantly false,” the prosecutor said.
Nieman continued his rant about the prosecutor lying and about the embalming of his father.
Watch the full sentencing hearing below: