Court Postpones Key Decision in Macomb Stabbing Case

Today's court date for Joseph T. Reiner, the suspect in the Feb. 23 stabbing of a Macomb Township woman, has been postponed once again following an adjournment Sept. 9.

A Fraser resident, Reiner, 27, is alleged to have on the morning of Feb. 23 and stabbed her twice in the neck with kitchen knives before taking two rings from the victim and fleeing the scene.

Judge Douglas P. Shepherd, of the 41A District Court, was to make a regarding the prosecutor's attempt to use the testimony provided to police by a now-dead witness in the case.

Because Eisenhardt remains in the hospital as a result of her injuries and is unable to identify Reiner as her attacker, testimony given by her neighbor, Thomas Kosciolek, on June 22 is the only eyewitness report to place Reiner in the area of the attack on Feb. 23. 

Key testimony linking Reiner to Eisenhardt through the stolen jewelry was to be given by Eastpointe pawnshop owner Hadrian Lewandowski. However, with the sudden of Lewandowski, prosecuting attorney William Cataldo is asking the court to allow the police officers who interviewed Lewandowski to present their findings as testimony.

Reiner's defense attorney, Timothy Barkovic, is arguing that such testimony should not be allowed because it cannot be delivered by the original source.

Shepherd is continuing to review the arguments of both sides and is expected to make a decision when the case returns to court. A new court date has not yet been set.

Reiner is currently being held in the Macomb Correctional Facility in New Haven.

To read more on this case, click here.