KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Another Cold Case murder prosecution is over in Kalamazoo County. Suspected killer Todd Maneke has confessed to beating neighbor Alfred Minka to death with a hammer, because he needed cash and a car to feed his crack habit in the summer of 2013.
Maneke was tried in September but the judge declared a mistrial because jurors were caught doing research of their own outside the trial.
Maneke was due to be retried next week but instead pled to second degree murder in exchange for a sentence of 15 to 20 years.
Instead of being tried in January, he will be sentenced. The 88-year-old victim’s family has reportedly accepted the deal.
