Fraser fatal stabbing involving 8 teens stemmed from fight over girl

It only took a minute and 15 seconds for four teens to break into a classmate's Fraser home in September, start a fight that resulted in three people being stabbed, one fatally, and flee the home, according to testimony at a hearing Wednesday.

The four teens — 16-year-old Collin West, 16-year-old Isabella Bridges, 15-year-old Emma Morgan and 14-year-old Trent Redstrom — were allegedly yelling at four other teens inside the 14-year-old classmate's home, threatening to kill one of them, the 14-year-old testified during Collin's preliminary exam.

Collin, who is charged with home invasion and attempted murder, was bound over to Macomb County Circuit Court to stand trial Wednesday after 39A District Court Judge Alyia Hakim found there was enough evidence for the case to go to trial. Collin, Emma and Isabella were all charged as adults.

Isabella and Emma's cases are nearing resolution. Isabella pleaded guilty in May to two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery and one count of third-degree home invasion and is set to be sentenced Aug. 3, Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Sian Hengeveld said. Emma was sentenced in June to two years of probation for two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery and one count of third-degree home invasion. Emma was granted sentencing under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which means if she successfully completes her probation, her conviction will become nonpublic. Isabella is seeking sentencing under HYTA.

The three originally also faced a felony murder charge, but it was dismissed. The 14-year-old killed Trent during the home invasion, but the killing was ruled self-defense by the Macomb County prosecutor.

Two days prior to the stabbings, on Sept. 11, Collin sent a message on Instagram to a person who was not involved in the Sept. 13 incident. In it, he said he had promised his ex-girlfriend that he would kill her new boyfriend in front of her if she ever left him. In the same message, he questioned if his ex-girlfriend was worth it.

The 14-year-old whose home the stabbings took place at testified that his mom left briefly to go to the post office and the four teens appeared outside, yelling "there he is," "we're gonna kill you" and "go get them." Collin was wearing a black ski mask, but the teen recognized him. He knew they were referring to his friend, who was also 14 and was at his house, as were both of their girlfriends. The teen said there was animosity between Collin and his friend because the friend was dating Collin's ex-girlfriend.

The teen said he was terrified and went to grab a military knife he knew his dad had in his bedroom. He called his mom and told her about the situation and asked her to come home.

Collin, Emma and Isabella allegedly entered the teen's home through the back door, which the teen said was unlocked. Collin had a knife and was demanding to know where his friend was. They were not invited inside, the teen testified, and he told them to get out. Collin darted into the teen's room, where his friend and the girlfriends were hiding. Trent came running at the teen. He hadn't seen Trent outside or seen him enter the house, he said.

Trent allegedly backed him into a spare bedroom and started punching him in the head, the teen testified. He brought the knife up and stabbed Trent in the neck when Trent started pulling the teen's shirt over his head, he said, though he later said he stabbed Trent before he grabbed his shirt.

Trent left the room after the teen stabbed him, the teen testified, and he told Emma and Isabella to leave as well. He found Collin on top of his friend, straddling him and stabbing him forcefully, he testified. He pushed Collin off his friend, using one hand and the knife, stabbing him in the process, he testified. The teen said he thought Collin was going to kill his friend.

Collin left after that, with a punctured lung that could have led to his death, his attorney Jeffrey Cojocar said. Collin, Emma and Isabella ended up back at Emma's house, where her father treated Collin's wounds in the bathroom. He ultimately went to the emergency room for treatment.

The 14-year-old called 911. He said at that point, his friend was dripping blood from his back and under his ear and blood was pooled in the kitchen. He was using his shirt to stop the bleeding. He said his friend was not armed and that Collin is a foot taller than his friend.

"Were it not for (the 14-year-old) stabbing him, he could've killed (the friend)," Assistant Prosecutor Dena Keller-Stanley said at the preliminary exam Wednesday.

Cojocar said the witnesses in this case have credibility issues, but he would wait until the trial to address those. He did not offer much rebuttal to Keller-Stanley's case.

In September, after the felony murder charges were dismissed, Cojocar said: "I don't know in 26 years, if I've ever seen a situation where there's so many conflicting stories, and I'm not talking about little minutiae. I'm talking about whether a gun was involved or not involved, whether someone walked into the house or was invited into the house, whether they broke into the house, whether it was the front or the back, whether he was armed or not, whether there was a pocket knife and he was defending himself or whether he attacked somebody and things of that nature."

kberg@detroitnews.com