An Oak Creek man tried to hire a hitman to kill witnesses in an attempted murder case, police say
An Oak Creek man already facing charges of attempted murder is now facing additional charges of attempting to hire a hitman to murder witnesses involved in his case.
Michael Liu, 36, is in custody in Illinois on charges including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated domestic battery, burglary, home invasion and other weapon related offenses, according to police.
Liu was served with an arrest warrant Feb. 2 relating to soliciting murder-for-hire while in custody at the Will County Adult Detention Facility. If he is convicted of the murder-for-hire charge, he could spend decades in prison.
Police said additional similar charges could be filed against Liu in the future.
While in the Will County Adult Detention Facility for allegedly shooting at and stabbing his soon-to-be ex-wife’s parents in Illinois, Liu approached several inmates about hiring a hitman to murder witnesses related to his attempted homicide case, police said.
Detectives managed to record Liu discussing his murder-for-hire plot, according to a statement from the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
One inmate was reportedly able to convince Liu he had a friend who was a hitman who would kill for a cash payment of $10,000 up front with an additional $10,000 upon completion, police said.
Liu is also accused of attempting to kill his in-laws in Illinois
Deputies of the Will County Sheriff’s Office were sent to a reported shooting around 6:41 p.m., Dec. 1, in unincorporated Crete, Illinois where they found a 66-year-old woman and her husband, a 68-year-old man, inside a home “bleeding profusely with multiple injuries,” police said. Liu, the couple's son-in-law, was also found inside the home, bleeding heavily.
The criminal complaint alleges Liu fired several shots at the couple while they were in their living room, missing them all. He then allegedly broke into the home through a sliding glass door and continued firing until his gun malfunctioned.
Police say Liu stabbed the 66-year-old woman several times. The 68-year-old man managed to wrestle Liu to the ground but was also stabbed multiple times before taking the knife away. Police said the man “defended himself and his wife by stabbing Liu an estimated 17 times.”
All three were taken to local medical facility and later a Chicago-area hospital in critical condition. Both the 66-year-old woman and 68-year-old man survived.
Liu was scheduled to turn himself in at the Waukesha County Huber Detention Facility on Dec. 4 on a July 2022 domestic battery conviction and a protection order violation. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow on Dec. 5 issued a bench warrant for Liu after he did not appear at the Huber facility.
“Instead (of appearing at the Huber facility), Michael Liu traveled from Oak Creek Wisconsin in an attempt to enact revenge on his soon to be ex-wife’s parents,” the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on its Facebook page.
A no-bond warrant was secured Dec. 6 for Liu and after he was released from the hospital. That's when he was taken to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.
Contact Erik S. Hanley at erik.hanley@jrn.com. Like/follow his Facebook page, The Redheadliner, and follow him on Twitter @ES_Hanley.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Oak Creek man tried to hire a hitman to murder witnesses, police say
