In the quiet community of Grass Lake, Michigan, a shocking act of violence claimed the life of 70-year-old Michael George Pauli, a male resident, in the late summer of 2021. On the morning of August 22nd, Pauli and two of his housemates, 80-year-old Delmar Eugene Fraley and 70-year-old Edward John Kantzler, were found shot to death inside their shared home on Fishville Road.
The discovery of the three elderly men's bodies launched a triple homicide investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, shattering the peace of the rural area.
Investigators quickly identified a person of interest who had been staying at the residence: 43-year-old Zacharie Scott Borton. A manhunt was initiated for Borton, who was believed to have fled the scene in Kantzler's stolen red Ford Explorer. The search for Borton, who was considered armed and dangerous, extended beyond Jackson County. He was apprehended in Grand Rapids the following day, on August 24, 2021, and taken into custody.
Zacharie Scott Borton was subsequently charged with three counts of open murder, felony firearm possession, and carjacking. His trial commenced, and in April 2022, a jury delivered a verdict on several of the charges. Borton was found guilty of the second-degree murder of Michael Pauli. For the death of Delmar Eugene Fraley, the jury convicted Borton of first-degree, premeditated murder. He was also found guilty of felony firearm possession and credit card fraud.
However, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the open murder charge for the death of Edward John Kantzler, resulting in a deadlock on that count, as well as on the carjacking charge. Despite the hung jury on two of the charges, the convictions for the murders of Pauli and Fraley carried severe penalties. In May 2022, Zacharie Scott Borton was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder conviction, ensuring he would spend the remainder of his life incarcerated for his role in the deaths of the three men in Grass Lake.
