Murder of Robert Cipriano


On April 16, 2012, Robert Cipriano was murdered by his adoptive son, 19-year-old Tucker Robert Cipriano and his 20-year-old friend Mitchell Young at his home in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Tucker and Young also attacked Tucker's mother Rosemary and his 17-year-old brother, Salvatore. Tucker Cipriano was sentenced to life in prison without parole on July 24, 2013.

Attacks

On April 16, 2012, Tucker Cipriano and his friend Mitchell Young attacked Tucker's family with a baseball bat. Their victims were all members of Tucker's adoptive family: his father, Robert Cipriano; his mother, Rosemary "Rose" Cipriano, and his 17-year-old brother, Salvitore "Sal" Cipriano. Robert died from the attacks, while Rose and Sal were permanently injured. Sal was left mute and permantently brain damaged.
Both Tucker and Young were under the influence of the synthetic drug known as K2 during the attack, a fact that would become a major fixation of the subsequent murder trial.
Tucker's other adoptive brother and Salvatore's twin, Tanner Cipriano, called 9-1-1 while hiding in a closet. The audio recording from his several 9-1-1 calls also played a major role in the perpetrators' trials.

Aftermath

Trial

Both Tucker Cipriano and Mitchell Young pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Perpetrators

Tucker Cipriano

Tucker Robert Cipriano was adopted by Robert and Rosemary Cipriano. He attended Detroit Catholic Central High School, a prestigious all-male Catholic high school in Novi, Michigan, along with both of his brothers, Tanner and Salvatore.

Mitchell Young

Mitchell Young was Tucker Cipriano's friend who was present at the crime scene while the murder and assaults occurred. He has consistently refuted his involvement in the attacks, and he is appealing his conviction of first-degree murder through the Oakland County Court of Appeals.