The Michigan Court of Appeals threw out a murder conviction against Ryan Spitler in 2018, after he was found guilty of second degree murder in the shooting death of Patrick Spitler in 2014. Ryan Spitler was 16 years old at the time of the death.
The Michigan Supreme Court issued an order denying to review the Appeals Court Ruling. Spitler has maintained the shooting was accidental, and the Appeals Court said that the judge in the case made a mistake in allowing some testimony about what the victim had told his friends about Riley.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jerry Jarzynka was disappointed in the ruling. “We are reviewing that decision and are going to make a decision whether or not to retry the Spitler case or are we going to leave intact what the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled, which basically reduced the murder conviction to involuntary manslaughter. I expect that decision will be here relatively soon and to move forward with the case.”
The Court of Appeals did affirm marijuana delivery and felony firearm convictions, which carried a four to six year prison term.
