Andrew Fiacco sentenced to 50-70 years in 19-year-old Stephen McAfee's murder

(FOX 2) - Andrew Fiacco was sentenced to 50 to 70 years in prison Thursday for the murder of 19-year-old Stephen McAfee in March 2016.

Fiacco, 21, was originally charged with first-degree murder, disinterment and mutilation of a body, lying to police and felony firearm in McAfee's death. But after several weeks of trial, a jury found Fiacco guilty of a lesser charge, second-degree murder, along with the other three charges. 

McAfee went missing in March 2016 and it wasn't until April 2017 that his family got any answers. Detectives say in the early morning hours of March 10, 2016, McAfee and Fiacco, who were friends, went to a vacant lot at 34 Mile and Van Dyke in Bruce Township. Fiacco told police he was selling McAfee marijuana. At some point fight broke out and Fiacco shot McAfee, killing him. 

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Fiacco left the body there and went to his home on Kunstman Road near 28 Mile, where he lived with his parents and his then-girlfriend Eevette MacDonald. She testified during Fiacco's trial that in the weeks after McAfee's disappearance, she would ask Fiacco if he knew what happened, and Fiacco would become defensive. She said many times throughout their relationship, Fiacco accused her of sleeping with McAfee. 

About a month after shooting McAfee, MacDonald testified that Fiacco took her at gunpoint to the vacant field. She said Fiacco had told her he was part of a mafia and that in order to stay safe, she needed to help dispose of the body. They used an axe to dismember the body and buried half of it there, and placed other parts in duffel bags in MacDonald's car.

Months passed and Fiacco and MacDonald were called in to speak with police. They lied and said they did not know where McAfee was -- that's where the lying to police charges stem from.

Shortly after, Fiacco asked MacDonald to move out, according to testimony. She still had the duffel bags in the trunk of her car and told Fiacco they needed to be taken care of. She testified that Fiacco told her she still needed to help in order to be safe from the mafia. They bought cement and buckets from Home Depot and buried the remaining parts Fiacco's backyard in Ray Township, burning the duffel bag in a firepit.

MacDonald testified that she and Fiacco stopped speaking after she moved in with her father, except for messages from him reminding her to keep quiet about what happened. She said she would block him, but he would contact her on other numbers or social media accounts.

Eventually, MacDonald told a friend about the murder. A month later, in April 2017, that friend went to police. MacDonald was called in for questioning and arrested, leading police to Fiacco. He was brought in for questioning and after a few hours, admitted to the murder. He lead police to where the body parts were buried. 

The case did not reach trial until January 2019, as Fiacco contended he acted in self-defense. Throughout the trial, politce, detectives, witnesses, family, including McAfee's parents and Fiacco's mother, and even MacDonald herself testified.