Troy Man Pleads Guilty In Father's Killing
TROY (WWJ) - A 21-year-old Troy man has pleaded guilty to second degree murder in his father's death.
Patrick Mikes Jr., a former University of Notre Dame honor student, is accused of beating his father — Patrick Mikes Senior — to death last July.
The 55-year old father of two was reported to have left on an evening bike ride and never returned home — but it later became clear Mikes made up that story.
After an intensive search, the elder Mikes' body and his bike were found in a field Genesee County's Montrose Township, northwest of flinty. An autopsy showed he died from blunt force trauma to the head.
The medical examiner reported he'd been struck at least four times with an "oblong blunt object" like a pipe or baseball bat.
At the time of Mikes' arrest, Troy Police Capt. Robert Redmond said DNA evidence at the family's home — including blood found in the basement — implicated the young man in his father's killing. Evidence presented at a pre-trial hearing last fall included a video of the defendant at a Meijer store buying stain remover, ammonia and rubber gloves.
Defense attorney Christopher Andreoff said there may have been a struggle at the home, but there was no intent to kill.
He said Mikes, a double major in psychology and pre-med, had suffered from untreated manic depression since high school. The plea agreement means Mikes will receive some mental health care while in prison.
Sentencing is set for Sept. 10.
