Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido announced that 23-year-old Stephen Freeman, who was previously convicted of First-Degree Murder, pled no contest as charged to four separate files involving assault or attempt assault while he was in custody at the Macomb County Jail. Freeman is awaiting sentencing related to his conviction for the October 2022 murder of Roseville, MI resident Gabriele Seitz.
On Monday, April 13, 2026, Freeman pled no contest as charged on the four files and six assaultive felonies. He will be sentenced for these charges at his upcoming Miller hearing before Judge Julie Gatti of the Macomb County Circuit Court on Friday, July 10, at 9 a.m.
Related to his First-Degree Murder conviction, the Miller hearing will determine whether he will be sentenced to life in prison or to a term of years, of which the maximum would likely be between 40 to 60 years. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that people who were between the ages of 18-20, when the crime occurred, cannot be automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole as is the statutory penalty for First-Degree Murder. The sentencing court will have a Miller hearing to consider factors and explain the reasoning to either sentence him to life or to a term of years.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kumar Palepu represented the People at the hearing.
"While the convictions for these assault offenses are significant to the People, the sentence this court imposes will have limited practical impact in light of the defendant’s murder conviction, for which he faces either life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or a lengthy term of years—likely between 40 and 60 years," said Lucido.
On October 27, 2022, Freeman, who was 19 years old, broke into Seitz’s residence through a window when she was not at home. When she arrived home from work, he sexually assaulted her and strangled her with a shoelace. After dragging Seitz’s body, in what appeared to be blue bedsheets, to her truck, he put her in the truck’s bed. As he was driving her truck in Roseville, near Hayes and Common, the vehicle was hit by a semi-truck and he fled on foot. Police investigated and discovered Seitz’s body.
