Jerome Kowalski will be sentenced on two counts of second-degree murder after a judge from Shiawassee County ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant first-degree convictions.
Kowalski pleaded no contest to two counts of open murder in October 2025, just days before the start of his second trial. A no contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing.
His sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
Mark Gatesman, defense attorney, said his Kowalski entered the plea because he didn’t want to risk additional prison time. His team is hoping for a sentence of time served, he told The Livingston Daily — given his client spent more than 13 years in prison before his release on bond in 2022.
It’s been nearly 20 years since Richard and Brenda Kowalski were found dead in their home in Oceola Township. Kowalski was originally sentenced to life in prison for their murders in 2013.
The conviction, however, was vacated after an inappropriate relationship was discovered between Michigan State Police Detective Sean Furlong, who investigated the case, and former Livingston County judge Theresa Brennan. The latter was disbarred and sentenced to six months in jail.
Kowalski, 80, of Warren, has long maintained his innocence, arguing his confession was coerced. From initial arrest to release, he served 13 years and 8 months, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
“I support the plea of no contest with a sentence of time served … to put this 19-year battle behind him,” Gatesman told The Daily.
— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Jerome Kowalski hopes for time served in murder sentencing
Reporting by Tess Ware, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tess Ware, Livingston Daily | USA TODAY Network
