Leondra Head | Local and World Editor
A Michigan teenager was sentenced to up to twenty years in prison for plotting to kill her family and stabbing her younger brother on Monday, March 28. Sikorski broke down in tears and apologized to her adoptive parents as she stood for sentencing.
Sikorski’s mother, Laurene Sikorski begged for leniency in court Monday. “She’s in desperate need of continued psychological help. She is still fragile, and an adult prison would shatter her delicate world. How will sentencing her as an adult help her? Is this justice?” her mother told the court before the sentencing. During her trembling apology in court, the teen told her family she will “get better, no matter what happens.” Sikorski became 17 years old last week and is being sentenced as an adult.
Sikorski accepted a prosecutor’s deal on Feb. 22, pleading guilty to one count of assault with intent to murder in exchange for six other felony counts being expunged. Sikorski’s attorney, Leslie Posner, tells PEOPLE magazine that she plans to appeal her client’s sentence and conviction, claiming her plea deal “could not have been willing accepted,” given the girl “was not mature enough to waive her Miranda rights.”
Sikorski was fifteen years old when she attempted to carry out her vindictive plot. She was arrested in 2014 and charged with conspiring with her 23-year-old boyfriend, Michael Rivera, to kill her siblings and parents so that they couple could run away together. Rivera is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted by a jury on all seven counts. He is also facing criminal sexual conduct charges for his underage relationship with Sikorski.
Prosecutors say Sikorski crept into her younger brother’s bedroom on the night of October 17, 2014, put a hand over his mouth and cut his throat with a knife, stabbing him multiple times. Sikorski also tried stabbing her sister, all while Rivera waited outside and texted her instructions. The boy’s screams alerted family members, who interrupted the attack. According to medical responders, survived but nearly lost his life.
Kayla Wimbush, a senior Journalism major from Detroit said, “I do not think here sentencing fits her crime. For the heinous crime she committed she deserves more time. She destroyed her own family and needs to be accountable for her actions.” Wimbush went on to say that she did not agree with Sikorski’s attorney’s plea deal. “For her attorney to plea that she is fragile is ludicrous. She committed an adult crime and should serve her time in an adult prison.”
Sikorski’s attorney, Leslie Posner, said in court that Sikorski’s parents believe Rivera convinced their daughter to go along with the murder plot so that he wouldn’t face prosecution for having sex with a minor. The killer couple planned to get married after the massacre but their deadly plan was soon interrupted.
The Hampton Script 