August 22. 2006 6:59AM

Guilty plea closes 1990 cold-case murder
Dunnuck admits to 1990 shooting, avoids life sentence.


MELISSA JACKSON
Tribune Staff Writer

CASSOPOLIS -- For years, William Whittaker's killer eluded authorities who eventually placed the investigation into the Niles man's March 7, 1990, shooting death on inactive status.

During that time the man who shot the 42-year-old Whittaker in the head as he sat at his kitchen table married and divorced, became a father, fell $14,000 behind on his child support payments and eventually settled in Byron, Mich., southwest of Flint.

And that's where authorities, who reopened the case in January 2005, caught up with Michael Dunnuck last August and charged him with open murder.


Now, one year and one hung jury later, Dunnuck, 35, acknowledged his hand in Whittaker's death and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Monday in Cass County Circuit Court.

By doing so, Dunnuck, who was scheduled to be retried next month, avoided a possible life sentence if convicted of open murder. As part of the agreement, Dunnuck will receive a maximum 25 years in prison and will avoid charges for perjury-related offenses arising from the incident.

During his plea, Dunnuck acknowledged arguing with Whittaker, who was living in a camper parked on a friend's lawn in Pokagon Township, before he grabbed a gun and shot him once in the forehead, a news release said.

When the cold case was reopened by the Michigan State Police post in Niles last year, investigators discovered several people, including his ex-wife, an ex-girlfriend and other friends, to whom Dunnuck apparently confessed the crime.

His initial trial in March ended with the jury hung 9-3 in favor of finding him guilty, and a mistrial was declared.

Prosecutor Victor Fitz praised the Michigan State Police in a written statement, saying investigators "never relented." After the mistrial, State police Detective Sgt. Fabian Suarez and Trooper Matt Achterberg reinvestigated the case and found additional witnesses from as far away as California who were going to testify.

"This conviction brings closure for a family who waited many years for this day," Fitz said.

Dunnuck is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 15 before Cass County Circuit Judge Michael E. Dodge.

Staff writer Melissa Jackson:
mjackson@sbtinfo.com