Brothers sentenced for murder, dismemberment of River Rouge father

(WJBK) - A Downriver mother outraged after two brothers who brutally murdered and dismembered her son take a plea deal.

She was in court Friday as the guilty men Adam and Wesley Brown were sentenced for the death of Michael Stratford and spoke to them face to face.

"This is the little girl that sits at home every day and cries,"  Carrie Bommarito said. "He's a single father you knew that, Adam. This little girl was at your house six hours before your brother murdered him And you mutilated him."

Holding back tears, Bommarito spoke of the son she lost and the two men who took his life. A Detroit courtroom packed with friends and family of the victim 38-year-old Stratford as two brothers - 36-year-old Wesley Brown and 41-year-old Adam Brown faced a judge.

Wesley pleaded guilty to killing then mutilating the body of Stratford last May. Adam Brown pleaded guilty to helping his brother dispose of the body.

The plea deal means that Adam won't go to prison. The judge instead put him on probation for five years and ordered him to pay the victim's family more than $9,000.

"I want (say) my sincerest apologies to the family," said Adam Brown. "I wish there was something I could have done to prevent it or take the bullet or whatever."

Adam Brown apologized for his crimes but it was no consolation.

"You might not have pulled the trigger but what a horrific thing to do the dismemberment, the mutilation and you got away with it," Bommarito said.  "I saw. Charges were dropped. Good for you, good for your attorney. That's something to be proud of, isn't it. Your face is plastered everywhere and has been for several months.

"There's nowhere for you to go when you get out of jail in five months. There’s nowhere you can go. Nobody wants to be your neighbor, everybody knows who you are."

While his brother appeared remorseful, Wesley Brown - the killer - stood silently as the judge sentenced him to between 25 and 50 years in prison.

Stratford's family was pushing for a life sentence and questioned the prosecutor's decision to accept a plea deal. The presiding judge tried to explain

"He's not going to be eligible for parole consideration until he's what 61 years old and even then, he could be imprisoned until he's 86," the judge said. "So anybody who thinks this is a light sentence or a sentence that encourages the commission of crimes like this, really isn't thinking through the realities of this sentence."

Michael Stratford leaves behind a 3-year-old daughter who is now being cared for by her grandmother. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the little girl as she grows up.

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