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Eagle Township murder, final suspect in court

Posted at 9:32 AM, Mar 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-30 09:32:42-04

The last of the four suspects is expected to plead guilty today in the robbery and murder of a Clinton County man last August.

Jeffrey Kebler of Eagle Township was stabbed multiple times.

Clinton County investigators say the three men and one woman who broke into his home and killed him did it because they thought his house looked nice.

Deputies say the four suspects, all from Lansing, broke into Kebler's home on State Road on August 6th, stabbed him and then used his credit card to buy cookies and pop.

They also stole cash, jewelry, and electronics from the house.

Deputies traced Kebler's card to a convenience store in Ypsilanti where the suspects were caught on tape.

"Ten hours after my brothers death they go in and buy cookies," the victim's brother James Kebler told us, "what kind of people are these that don't care about the human life? I mean, I just can't surmise it."

Dominique Harris pleaded guilty to second degree murder and home invasion Tuesday. He will be sentenced next month.

Another suspect, 24-year-old Alexis Pena will enter a plea in court today. She agreed to testify against the other three men in exchange for a second degree murder plea.

The final two suspects, 41-year-old Mitchell Ballinger and 20-year-old Manuel Martinez pleaded guilty last month.

None of the suspects knew Kebler.

Authorities say the suspects were looking for a home in the country that they believed had a lot of money. They couldn't find that house, but drove by Kebler's home.

Someone said it looked nice, so prosecutors say they decided to rob it.

All four suspects face life in prison.