Macomb Township Stabbing Suspect to Face Murder Charge

A 6-inch stack of medical records was all the evidence Macomb County prosecutors needed to have 's charges upgraded to felony murder Wednesday in 41A District Court. 

The 28-year-old Reiner, who is alleged to have stabbed Macomb Township resident Joann Eisenhardt in her home Feb. 23, now faces three charges: home invasion, assault with intent to commit murder, and felony murder.

Macomb County Medical Examiner Daniel Spitz will appear in district court Jan. 25 to testify that Eisenhardt's death was a direct result of the injuries inflicted by Reiner in February. Reiner is alledged to have stabbed Eisenhardt twice in the neck with kitchen knives.

However, during Wednesday's hearing, Judge Douglas P. Shepherd used Spitz's preliminary autopsy findings as sufficient evidence to add the charge of felony murder.

Advised by defense attorney Timothy Barkovic, Reiner stood mute as the new charge was read.

“The people are stretching the proofs to fit the charge,” Barkovic said of the new charge. “It remains pure speculation as to the cause of death. The people are going to have an extremely difficult time in proving homicide.”

Though prosecuting attorney William Cataldo agrees the connection between the initial assault and the victim’s ultimate death will be “complex,” he is confident, based on conversations with Spitz, that the medical complications leading to Eisenhardt's death were a direct result of the initial injury.

Stabbed Feb. 23, Eisenhardt endured a series of hospitalizations, hospice care stays and rehab before suffering a heart attack Sept. 20.

An ever present force in the courtroom at every step of the exam has been the victim's family.

"Ms. Eisenhardt's family is very firm in its resolve to see Mr. Reiner brought to justice," Cataldo said.

Although , the prosecution continues to wait on DNA evidence from the Michigan State Police. Although MSP labs have confirmed the blood found on Reiner’s shirt cuff and shoes at the time of his arrest are human, tests on whether the DNA in this blood matches Eisenhardt’s have not been completed.

Arraigned at the end of March, Reiner’s preliminary examination has now spanned eight months. With the new charge in place and the final district court date set for Jan. 25, the case is expected to enter circuit court in early 2012.

In an effort to stall this turn over, Barkovic asked the court to uphold to his client’s right to a second preliminary exam relating to the new charge of felony murder. Had this request been approved, all evidence presented up to this point in time would have had to be repeated in a new cycle of court dates.

Shepherd denied this request.

Bond was also denied due to the “heinous nature” of Reiner’s crime.

Reiner returns to the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson, MI to await his next court date.

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