FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dawn Fraylick
Office: +1 (586) 469-5737
Email: Dawn.Fraylick@macombgov.org
March 13, 2025
Prisoner Pleads No Contest to First Degree Murder
Mount Clemens, MI - Mount Clemens, MI - Michael Ketchum, age 47, pleaded no contest to the murder of his cellmate at the Macomb County Correctional Facility in Lenox, MI.
On October 18, 2022, Michael Ketchum went to breakfast and stabbed another inmate multiple times. Officers then went to his cell, where they discovered Ketchum’s cellmate, Ruben Martinez, hogtied, strangled, and stabbed to death underneath his bunk.
Michael Ketchum was charged with First Degree Murder, a life without parole felony, Assault with Intent to Murder, a life felony, and Prisoner in Possession of a Weapon, a five-year felony. Ketchum pleaded no contest to First Degree Murder. The other charges will be dismissed at sentencing because the second victim refused to fully cooperate with the initial investigation. He later agreed to the plea, understanding that the First Degree Murder conviction would absorb the sentences for the other charges. Ketchum is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at 8:30 am by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Kathryn Viviano.
"By pleading no contest to First Degree Murder, the defendant has taken responsibility for his actions, ensuring justice for the victim’s family and his loved ones. This guarantees that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars," said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s office represents the people. We are committed to achieving justice and following the laws of the State of Michigan.
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