Mitchell Young found guilty of murder in Cipriano family attacks

Mitchell Young accused of being accomplice in April 2012 attack that left 1 dead, 2 others hurt

PONTIAC, Mich. – Mitchell Young has been found guilty of murder in the baseball bat attacks on the Cipriano family.

The jury began deliberating at 9:20 a.m. Friday and returned their verdicts just after 11 a.m.

Read: Cipriano family reissues statement after convictions

Young was also found guilty of felony murder, two counts of assault to commit murder and armed robbery.

Young's grandmother, who has been one of the only family members in court during the trial, broke down when the verdicts were read.

She declined to comment to Local 4, saying, "I just can't talk."

Young had been accused of helping Tucker Cipriano carry out the brutal attacks in April 2012 that killed Cipriano's father, Robert, and seriously injured his mother, Rose, and brother Sal.

Tucker Cipriano has already pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder and faces an automatic penalty of life in prison without parole when he's sentenced on July 9.

--Tucker Cipriano

Defense attorneys contended that Mitchell Young was a victim of Tucker Cipriano. Young chose not to testify in his own defense.

Statement from Cipriano family:

We are glad the trial is over and that our family did not have to re-live the horrible experience by having to testify in it.

We believe the legal process worked the way it should have with the facts of the case presented. The privacy and dignity of my brother's family was respected and honored.

No verdict could bring closure to this for our family; it is part of our everyday reality. There is never closure in a situation like this. It merely closes this chapter and lets us focus everything we have on the continued healing of our family physically, mentally and emotionally.

It has been a long and difficult 14 months for our family and we would not have made it through so far without the tremendous support of so many people.

We would like to thank the Farmington Hills Police Department, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office and all the cooperating agencies for their hard work on the case. We would especially like to thank Cindy Stanton in the Office of Victim Services for all her help during the past year.

We would also like to thank the press for respecting our privacy throughout this trial and the last 14 months, as well as into the future.

Our family has been through a horrible tragedy that we will live with the for the rest of our lives. At the end of the day, Bob – our brother, father, neighbor, colleague, coach and friend – is still gone from our lives forever.

His absence can never be replaced and no trial will ever change that.