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Appeals court lowers 1st degree murder conviction in 2014 murder, arson case

Posted at 1:03 PM, Jun 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-09 13:03:41-04

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Michigan Court of Appeals has reduced a convicted killer’s crime from first-degree murder to second-degree murder because of a lack of evidence of premeditation.

Christopher Oros is serving a term of life in prison for murder and 25-40 years for arson in the death of Marie McMillan, 47, in 2014. She was found to have been stabbed 29 times before her apartment was burned.  Oros will now be resentenced.

Oros could receive another life sentence for second-degree murder, but will have a possibility of parole at some point.

According to testimony during his trial, Oros has been knocking on apartment doors trying to solicit money. He would ask to use a person’s phone and then solicit money when he couldn’t reach anyone.  Oros claimed self-defense at his trial, saying that McMillan had attacked him with a knife.