On Monday, an Erie County judge issued a punishment for a woman accused of murdering a man in Summit Township more than two years ago.
Marisa Rodriguez, 37, was charged with criminal homicide, abuse of corpse and other charges in the death of 66-year-old Michael Maisner, whose remains were found in a burn pit at his residence on Crestview Drive in April 2023.
Woman charged with murdering PA man ruled mentally competent to face trial
According to facts listed by the judge during the sentencing, Rodriguez shot Maisner in the head before dismembering his body with a chainsaw and burning it in a fire pit – something the judge said was the “worst series of facts” he’s read in a courtroom.
Maisner’s family reported to police that they found Rodriguez in the attic of Maisner’s home, surrounded by strange writing, before she fled to New York in his car, where she was later found and taken into custody.
In August, Rodriguez pled guilty to ten charges, including third-degree murder, and on Monday, was sentenced to 40 to 80 years in prison.
Over a dozen of Maisner’s friends and family sat in the courtroom for the sentencing, and his niece said the sentence was both “fair, but not fair.”
“I believe that the judge’s ruling was fair, but to us as a family, she should have life. I know that’s not how the legal system works, but we’re never going to get him back,” said Valerie Korynoski, Michael Maisner’s niece.
Rodriguez was originally ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial before that ruling was reversed last year.
The judge stated the 40-to-80-year punishment was the absolute maximum under law, and that Rodriguez must also undergo a mental health evaluation.
Although Rodriguez will spend at least four decades behind bars, Korynoski and other family members said they will never have closure.
Erie man found guilty on all charges for 2023 homicide
“We have not a piece of him. We don’t have anything to bury him in. She even took his personal items and destroyed them, threw them out, sent them to the landfill like she did with him,” said Korynoski.
During the hearing, the defense told the judge Rodriguez believed she had been sexually assaulted by Meisner, with her saying he “was aggressive” toward her.
Maisner’s family disputes that claim, saying he was a man who went out of his way to help anybody he could.
“My Uncle Mike, he was loving. He took her off the streets, he gave her a home, he bought her expensive things, and as far as her trying to slander him while we’re there, that was wrong, that was not him,” said Korynoski.