Cipriano Says He Took Several Drugs On Day Of Baseball Bat Attacks
PONTIAC (WWJ) - A judge has shot down an attempt by Tucker Cipriano to have his confession thrown out of court.
The young man accused of murder in the beating death of his father took the stand and said that he was stoned on "spice" and mushrooms before the murder of his father as wells as the next morning when he spoke to police.
"I was high ... I don't know explain that ... being high," a soft-spoken Cipriano said on the stand Thursday. He also testified he felt he had no choice but to speak to police after the detective "raised his voice."
But Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Megysi poked holes Cipriano's claim, saying after the murders he was lucid enough to drive himself to a friend's house, clean up and worry about where he parked his car.
The judge ruled against throwing the videotaped confession out, saying she watched it and he appeared even more coherent than he even did on Thursday.
Tucker Cipriano, 19, and his friend, 20-year-old Mitchell Young were ordered to stand trial earlier this month, accused of breaking into the Cipriano's Farmington Hills home on April 16 and attacking the family.
Tucker Cipriano's father, Robert, 52, was killed in the violent episode that left his mother and brother critically injured. Two other children, Salvatore's twin brother, Tanner, and 8-year-old sister, Isabella, hid during the brutal beating and escaped unharmed after calling 911.
Tucker Cipriano and Young face life in prison if convicted on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder, assault with intent to murder and armed robbery.
Prosecutors allege the attack was fueled by a desire to break into a safe to steal money to buy drugs. According to pre-trial testimony, Tucker Cipriano and Young had talked about murdering a family for about two weeks before they allegedly went berserk in the Cipriano home.
