On Monday, November 10th, 18-year-old Tyrel Bredernitz, who is one of the three teens involved in the murder of MSU student, Dustyn Frolka, was sentenced to spend decades in prison by Clinton County Circuit Judge Randy Tahvonen.
During an emotional plea hearing on September 8th, Bredernitz pled guilty to second-degree murder. At his sentencing, Judge Tahvonen ordered him to serve a maximum of 38 years in prison, with the minimum being 25 years.
Of the three facing murder charges, Bredernitz was the second to be sentenced. 19-year-old Samantha Grigg, who was also involved in the murder, accepted a plea deal and on May 27th, received a reduced sentence in return for testifying against Heim and Bredernitz.
Heim reserved the right to withdraw his plea
17-year-old Brendan Heim, the third and final member of the trio, was found competent to stand trial and pled guilty to first-degree felony murder. As part of his sentencing agreement, Heim will serve 32 ½ to 60 years in prison and, should the judge decide to impose a different number of years, Heim reserved the right to withdraw his plea. He will be sentenced later this month on the 24th.
The events that led to these three young people serving out substantial portions of their adult lives behind bars began last February 15th. After picking up Heim and Bredernitz, Grigg dropped them off at Frolka’s apartment, and then parked nearby to wait. A short time later Heim texted her, telling her to come back and pick them up.
The two young men got into Grigg’s car and this time, had Frolka with them. She drove them around to several ATMs where Frolka made withdrawals, before Heim got into an altercation with him in the back seat. They beat him with brass knuckles for a time before Frolka, in an effort to escape, opened the door of the speeding car and leaped out.
Grigg then stopped the car, and Bredernitz and Heim got out. They apparently beat Frolka further, and then robbed him of all his cash, which amounted to about $800. Then they left him on the side of the freeway. They didn’t know about his death until it was broadcast on TV the following day.