Ypsilanti man, 18, convicted for role in rape-torture

An Ypsilanti man Thursday was found guilty for his role in the rape/torture of his friend's ex-girlfriend four months ago.
Frederick J. Marshall, 18, of 115 Maple St., Ypsilanti, was convicted of aiding and abetting in an assault with a dangerous weapon, reduced from the original charge of assault with intent to murder. A Washtenaw Circuit Court jury returned the verdict to Circuit Judge Patrick J. Conlin late in the afternoon at the end of a four-day trial.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1. Marshall faces a maximum penalty of four years. His accomplice, Michael Coffey, 19, of Ypsilanti, pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct and awaits sentencing.
The two had spent most of the day of the crime, June 23, drinking beers at parks before proceeding to the woman's apartment in the 200 block of North Hamilton Street in Ypsilanti, according to court testimony.
Marshall first knocked on the door and asked to use the bathroom, and then Coffey walked in to start an argument with the woman, 22, who had earlier lived with Coffey.
Coffey started beating the woman, according to testimony, but Marshall left the scene to catch a nap in his car, according to defense attorney Frederick McDonald. When Marshall returned to the apartment, the two appeared to be having sex while the woman was crying. Coffey then took a butcher knife and told Marshall to "cut her and shut her up," the attorney said.
Coffey then snatched an electric cord off an appliance and had the woman's wrists tied up. There were conflicting accounts during the trial as to what happened after that, but the victim told the jury the electrical cord was plugged in and she suffered shocks.
Neighbors heard the woman's screams and called police. When officers arrived, the woman burst out of her apartment and fled down the hallway, followed by Coffey waving a butcher knife. The man dropped the weapon when officers drew their guns.
The woman was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for treatment of cuts and abrasions.