A Warren man and Chesterfield Township woman accused of plotting to kill her estranged husband came to a jail-free resolution to their criminal cases.
Carmen Marchetti, 36, and Aaron Muterspaw, 37, reached plea and sentencing deals with Macomb County prosecutors and circuit Judge Richard Caretti, respectively, to plead guilty to a reduced charge and receive no additional time behind bars for their alleged plan to kill Justin Marchetti, according to court records.
Carmen Marchetti and Muterspaw pleaded guilty Jan. 22 in front of Caretti. Marchetti entered a plea to conspiracy to commit assault with intent to do great bodily harm while Muterspaw entered a plea to conspiracy to commit solicitation that will be reduced to conspiracy to commit great bodily harm if he complies with conditions, including testifying against Marchetti if necessary.
They had waived their preliminary examinations and were bound over to circuit court less than two weeks before their pleas, although their cases had been pending for over a year in 41B District Court in Clinton Township.
Muterspaw and Marchetti were initially each charged with conspiracy to commit solicitation of murder, a life offense, and malicious use of a telecommunications services, a misdemeanor. Marchetti faced an additional charge of solicitation of murder for hatching a plan in recorded jail phone calls in December 2023 while Muterspaw was in the Macomb County Jail. The Marchettis were going through a divorce at the time.
The solicitation charges were punishable by up to life in prison.
They are scheduled to be sentenced March 6, when they will receive time-served behind bars, which for Marchetti was only one day while it was longer for Muterspaw before he posted bond.
Justin Marchetti told The Macomb Daily he agreed with the outcome for his wife, whom he called the “mastermind” behind the allegations, because he did not want to penalize their two children, 13 and 11.
“I don’t want their kids to grow up without their mom,” Mr. Marchetti said, though he conceded, “It is kind of a slap on the wrist.”
Still, he noted her guilty plea to a felony “is something to hold her accountable.”
He commended the work of Assistant Macomb Prosecutor Anthony Sorentino.
“He has been great through the whole thing and very transparent on how the system works,” he said.
Marchetti’s attorney, J.T. Bowden, said the deal “was something we worked on for a long time” among the parties and declined to comment on what his client’s defense would’ve been at trial.”
He would only say it has been an “interesting case.”
When the plot was hatched, Muterspaw was being held for a six-month sentence that began the prior July for a second drunk-driving conviction May 1, 2023 in Warren. Their conversations included hurting or killing Justin Marchetti, authorities said.
The recordings were discovered by Justin Marchetti’s divorce attorney, who submitted a state Freedom of Information Act request for them. All inmate calls at the jail are recorded.
Mr. Marchetti said his ex-wife paid Muterspaw up to $13,000 including family funds.
Justin Marchetti said it has been an “ordeal” experiencing the criminal allegations and contested divorce case during which he testified but Carmen Marchetti was able to avoid taking the stand by pleading the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination.
Circuit Court Judge Matthew Switalski awarded equal joint custody last September despite his concerns about Carmen Marchetti’s alleged criminal behavior. He said Mrs. Marchetti loves her children and did not want to punish her for her alleged criminal behavior though she “at minimum made some very poor decisions.”
He slightly penalized her by awarding Mr. Marchetti $20,000 in his retirement account and $6,000 in her retirement when he could have split the $26,000 between them.