Defense attorneys Charles Groh, center, and Douglas Mullkoff speak quietly to Raulie Wayne Casteel, who shows little emotion after a 12-member Livingston County jury convicted him of terrorism on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, for shooting at 23 motorists along the Interstate 96 corridor in October 2012. Lisa Roose-Church/AP Photo/Livingston County Daily Press & Argus
—After about a day of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict Wednesday afternoon and found I-96 shooter Raulie Casteel guilty of nearly all charges.
The alumnus was found guilty of one count of terrorism, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and five weapons-related charges. He could face life in prison.
Casteel showed very little emotion in the courtroom.
Some of the victims and their families said they found solace in Casteel’s conviction.
“In the end, there are no winners,” said Kelly Kupiec, the mother of victim Jennifer Kupiec. “His whole family is destroyed. He’s never going to be able to buy his kid a chicken nugget happy meal. He’s not going to walk her down the aisle, and that’s what he has to pay for what he’s done.”
Casteel’s attorneys said they were disappointed in the jury’s verdict. Defense attorney Doug Mullkoff said the terrorism charge was contested.
“We contested this because we thought that this was an overcharge,” Mullkoff said.
The judge ordered Casteel to be held at Livingston County Jail until the pre-sentencing report is prepared.
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