New trial ordered in 2019 murder of Monroe man

A high court has ordered a new trial for two defendants who were convicted of murdering a Monroe man in 2019, then burning his body in a house in Detroit to hide evidence.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that a new trial is required for defendants David N. Richter, 45, of Newport and Robert S. Westfield, 49, of Spring Lake. The two men are serving life sentences in prison after a jury convicted them of first-degree murder in the killing of Hunter Guthrie, 23, of Monroe.

In a 22-page ruling, the appellate court ruled there was insufficient evidence to link a charge of first-degree murder to larceny and that the wrong witness testified regarding lab work.

“We conclude that there was insufficient evidence to support the felony-murder conviction if it was based on the predicate felony of larceny…,” the judges said in their ruling. “This matter is remanded for a new trial.”

Monroe County Prosecuting Attorney Michael G. Roehrig disagreed with the ruling and said he will appeal to the state’s highest court.

“We definitely are going to appeal to the Supreme Court,” he said. “I respectfully disagree with their decisions.”

During the six-day trial in which the prosecution called 34 witnesses, both defendants maintained their innocence in court. However, a jury deliberated only two hours before finding both men guilty of first-degree murder. First-degree murder is applicable only if there was premeditation or if the killing occurred during a felony, such as larceny.

According to testimony at the trial, Guthrie sold drugs for the defendants and was supposed to do so at a party in Hudson, in Lenawee County, on April 13, 2019. But Guthrie became overly intoxicated at the party and neglected his job, so Westfield beat him in the backseat of Westfield’s vehicle, thereby causing Guthrie’s death.

Defendants then disposed of his body at an abandoned home in Detroit on April 14, 2019, and returned to that location on April 18, 2019, to burn the home to the ground to destroy the evidence of the crime.

The two defendants were arrested and a white Nissan Versa rented to Westfield was discovered with substantial blood stains in the garage of a home where they had been staying. The prosecution argued in court that the suspects murdered Guthrie in the course of committing larceny — specifically, Guthrie’s watch, suitcase or security camera — or unlawful imprisonment when they held him in the car naked, bloodied and injured.

The appellate court ruled, however, that the prosecution was unable to offer direct evidence of Guthrie’s cause of death because his body was severely damaged by fire.

Both defendants admitted leaving the party with Guthrie and that a fistfight occurred between Guthrie and Westfield on the trip from Hudson to Monroe.

“But they asserted that Guthrie was fine when they dropped him off in Monroe and that they did not see him again thereafter,” according to the judges’ ruling. “Defendants also provided, with varying degrees of detail, innocent explanations for their arguably incriminating behavior in the days following the party.”

Richter and Westfield were also are considered habitual offenders and were sentenced to life in prison in Monroe County’s 38th Circuit Court.

“Hunter didn’t deserve this,” his mother, Heidi Polley, said in court at the sentence hearing in 2020.

Roehrig said it’s relatively rare that his office files cases with the Michigan Supreme Court. But he said he strongly believes the verdicts are legitimate and another trial is unnecessary.

The prosecutor’s office has 56 days – or until mid-November -- to file the appeal. Roehrig said his team is reviewing the case and the deadline will certainly be met.

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This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: New trial ordered in 2019 murder of Monroe man