Detroiter, 19, gets life in 1 of 3 attacks tied to him

A 19-year-old Detroit man was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and fatal attack on a teenage girl whose home he had broken into earlier this year.

Darian Winfield was convicted last month by a Wayne County jury of first-degree murder, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and home invasion.

In a videotaped statements to police, Winfield admitted he entered the girl’s bedroom Jan. 6 through a window of her family’s home in the 5500 block of Radnor, assaulted and beat her. She was found by her mother the next morning.

Winfield’s Jan. 13 statement was played in court as part of his preliminary examination in March. The 17-year-old Detroit girl died five days later of head injuries.

Winfield said during the police interrogation he broke into the home looking for items to steal.

“I searched around in her room for anything I could find,” Winfield said during the taping. “Anything worth taking to my desire; I was trying to find something I could sell.”

The Detroit News does not name victims of sexual assault.

Winfield has also been charged in two other cases.

He faces first-degree home invasion, assault with intent to murder and assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct charges in an attack on a 39-year-old woman in the 5800 block of Radnor.

Authorities say he broke into the woman’s home and stabbed her in her bedroom around 3:43 a.m. Dec. 30. With the knife lodged in her chest from the attack, the woman said she was able to break free from her attacker, whom she identified as Winfield, and shoot him with a stun gun.

He’s also charged with assault with intent to murder in an attack on a 48-year-old Grosse Pointe woman around 12:15 a.m. Dec. 15 near Cadieux and Mack in Grosse Pointe Park.

Anita Pace, Winfield’s mother, has questioned her son’s involvement in the crimes, saying he does not look like the suspect police were looking for.

bwilliams@detroitnews.com

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