The Cipriano family attack | Ep 215

Summary

Crime and Coffee Couple – The Cipriano Family Attack | Ep 215

Episode Date: October 12, 2025
Hosts: Allison and Mike
Case: The 2012 Cipriano Family Attack, Farmington Hills, Michigan

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Episode Overview

Allison and Mike delve into the harrowing story of the Cipriano family, whose seemingly idyllic life in suburban Michigan was violently destroyed in 2012 when their son, Tucker, along with his friend, attempted to rob and murder his own family. With their usual blend of warmth, wit, and deep empathy, the hosts unravel the facts, motivations, and aftermath of a crime that left a father dead, a mother and brother grievously injured, and an entire family changed forever. The episode balances chilling crime details with genuine compassion for the victims, and reflections on family, perspective, and resilience.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

A Slice of Hosts’ Life & Setting the Tone

• [01:19–07:46] Friendly banter about family, aging, and perspective, drawing parallels to the day’s crime story. The hosts humorously discuss Florida's unending heat, social media selfie trends, and the challenges—and blessings—of aging.
• Notable moment: Allison’s analogy about "the 100 Acre Wood" explores how people experience the same world differently, foreshadowing the case’s themes of adversity and resilience.
• Quote – Mike:
  "I love the idea they're all in the Hundred Acre Wood, right? It's just their perspective that changes. Some people think everything's awesome. So what are those people's perspectives, and why is it different than ours?" [06:39]

The Cipriano Family Background

• [07:47–08:53] The Ciprianos were a blended, loving family: Bob (father), Rose (mother), adopted son Tucker (19), twin sons Salvatore "Sal" and Tanner (17), and youngest daughter Isabella (8).
• The family lived in an affluent, low-crime neighborhood—“the last place you’d expect” such violence.

The Night of the Attack

• [08:53–11:02] In the early morning hours of April 16, 2012, 17-year-old Tanner called 911 in terror, hiding from his brother Tucker and Tucker’s friend, Mitchell Young, who were beating his parents with baseball bats.
• The 911 call is played, highlighting the nerve-wracking confusion and danger. Allison and Mike critique the dispatcher’s inadequate, almost hostile tone.
• Quote – Allison:
  "Had [Tanner] listened to her, he himself would have been another victim." [14:02]

Crime Scene and Immediate Aftermath

• [15:53–19:38] Detective Waby finds a “grisly scene” – blood everywhere, Bob dead on the kitchen floor, Rose and Sal barely alive, and Mitchell playing the victim.
• Tanner’s quick-thinking 911 call saved lives, though the dispatcher’s response did not help.
• Mitchell’s claims of being a victim are undermined by blood evidence and his inconsistent injuries.

The Attack, According to Mitchell

• [19:34–22:28] Mitchell claims Tucker initiated the attack, gave him a bat, and ordered him to silence Rose. He admits striking her but minimizes his role.
• Eight-year-old Isabella heroically intervenes, wielding a pink bat to defend her family.
• Sal, after being attacked, would survive but suffer catastrophic, lifelong injuries.

Medical and Family Aftermath

• [23:31–26:52] Sal survives after multiple brain surgeries, now unable to walk or speak but shows extraordinary resilience. Rose suffers severe injuries but recovers in time to attend her son’s high school event.
• The hosts repeatedly express admiration for Sal and Rose’s fight and the family's continuing love and dignity.

Unraveling the Motive

• [27:50–32:19] Tucker, expelled from the family home after years of substance abuse and mental health struggles, plots to kill his entire family for money (the plan involved splitting about $1,000 each between himself, Mitchell, and a third friend, Ian).
• Bob and Rose’s attempts to help Tucker are described—supportive parenting, seeking treatments, rehab.
• The role of synthetic drug "K2"/Spice: exacerbating Tucker's instability, causing violent delusions.

The Failed Robbery and Botched Plan

• [35:57–44:15] The hosts outline the inept planning and increasing desperation: attempts at ATM thefts fail, prompting the deadly home invasion. Ian backs out; Tucker and Mitchell proceed with the attack.
• After the attack, police track Tucker using cell phone evidence.

Investigation and Prosecution

• [44:15–54:25] Both Tucker and Mitchell are arrested, each blaming the other for the violence. Physical evidence (blood spatter, DNA) supports Tucker’s story – he held his father while Mitchell delivered the fatal blows.

• Both are charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

• Greg (Bob’s brother) and Tanner urge Tucker to plead guilty to spare the family further trauma.

• Quote – Greg (to Tucker):
  "If you have any hope whatsoever of redemption of your soul, you will do something." [48:13]

• Quote – Allison:
  "He is the one that was responsible for beating his brother. I'm...not saying that Tucker is a good guy, but at least he saw what he needed to do in this case." [50:41]

• Quote – Mike:
  "You helped to kill our father. Do something in your life of redemption. And finally, it sounds like maybe he did." [49:24]

• Tucker changes his plea to no contest, is sentenced to life without parole, and expresses regret at sentencing.

• Mitchell maintains innocence but is found guilty based on strong physical evidence and witness testimony, also receiving life without parole.

The Family’s Resilience and Ongoing Challenges

• [56:27–61:07]

  • Rose survives and maintains contact with Tucker, believing healing must include forgiveness.
  • Sal continues intensive rehabilitation—learning to walk, communicate, and even throwing the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game.
  • Tanner and Isabella thrive: both Notre Dame graduates, pursuing careers and passions.
  • The family hosts an annual 5k race (The Cipriano Classic) to fund Sal’s expensive ongoing care.
  • Community support is critical but waning as years pass. Listeners are encouraged to visit ciprianoclassic.com to participate or donate.

• Quote – Allison:
  "Rose remains in contact with Tucker because he is a member of their family. She acknowledges that although they'll never understand what happened or why, the health and healing of their family includes Tucker as well." [57:50]

• Sal’s motto, "Just Keep Loving People" (JKLP), becomes the family’s mantra for healing and forgiveness.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Allison, on Isabella’s bravery:
  "This eight-year-old little girl was going to go up against these nearly 19 and 20-year-old boys to defend her family...her fight or flight response was fight. Good for her." [21:03]
• Mike, on parenting and the tragedy:
  "I pride ourselves on being, you know, good marriage first and then being good parents. We're not perfect, but just being as good as we possibly can because that's our number one job. And it sounds like these two, they got it." [62:33]
• Reflection on forgiveness and healing:
  "They have learned that only after true forgiveness can true healing begin." [61:38]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment Description | |---------|---------------------| | 01:19–07:46 | Lighthearted banter, themes of perspective and resilience | | 07:47–08:53 | Introduction to the Cipriano family | | 08:53–11:02 | 911 calls and critique of dispatcher response | | 15:53–19:38 | Crime scene, victims’ injuries, initial investigation | | 19:34–22:28 | Details of the attack from Mitchell and Isabella's role | | 23:31–26:52 | Survivors’ medical journeys and family dynamics | | 27:50–32:19 | Tucker’s background, drug use, planning the crime | | 35:57–44:15 | Multiple failed robbery attempts, the attack unfolds | | 44:15–54:25 | Arrests, confessions, and legal resolution | | 56:27–61:38 | Family recovery, annual fundraiser, Sal’s progress |

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Final Reflections

The episode leaves listeners with deep respect for the surviving Ciprianos, admiration for their forgiveness and resilience, and a somber awareness of the ongoing aftermath faced by victims of violent crime. Allison and Mike’s compassionate, conversational approach brings humanity to a heart-wrenching story, balancing sorrow with hope, and leaving a call to love and support those affected.

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How You Can Support

• Donate or register: ciprianoclassic.com
• Send encouragement: Instagram @justSAL101
• Podcast Review Plea: Leave a review for Crime and Coffee Couple on Apple Podcasts—bonus points for including written feedback to improve algorithm recommendations!

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Hosts’ Closing Thought:
"They have embraced JKLP: Just Keep Loving People. In the aftermath of horror, only after true forgiveness can healing begin." [61:38]

Transcript

[Alison]

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[Alison]

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode with the Crime and Coffee couple. My name's Alison.

[Mike]

And my name's Mike. How are you, Alison? Thumbs up to you. I see you on the video. If you're watching on yout.

[Alison]

I'm good. How are you?

[Mike]

That was weird how you decided to do a thumbs up.

[Alison]

I don't know. I just was following your cue. Did you not?

[Mike]

Yes, I did.

[Additional Host or Guest]

Okay.

[Alison]

I was like, where did I get that thumbs up from?

[Mike]

Like, I don't know. Why the thumbs up? That's kind of weird. Yeah, it's. It's funny how we do things when we together people do them. You know, it's just kind of like it feels like natural.

[Alison]

The mirroring effect.

[Mike]

Yeah. Yeah. It just makes everything feel all right.

[Alison]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah. So how's life with you, my beautiful bride?

[Alison]

I would say good. We're in October, which I love October.

[Mike]

I mean, here in Florida, it starts to get a little like nicer outside instead of the absolute pure hell of every single day.

[Alison]

May feel a twinge of fall air. But I will tell you, whenever we put our Halloween decorations outside, you got sweat just pouring down your face.

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Yeah.

[Mike]

It's so fun. So much fun. And then taking it down, there's still sweat on the face. Even after October 31st.

[Alison]

Sometimes even when we put the Christmas decorations up, there's sweat coming down our face.

[Mike]

Yeah. A little bit of sunburn and all That. I mean, we chose to live here, so that's just what we've chosen. That's okay. I.

[Alison]

You can't make me happy because when we lived in Illinois, I would look at fall and be like, oh, no, winter's coming.

[Mike]

Yeah. It's never just enjoying in the moment.

[Alison]

No. So you. You just. You can't please me. When it down to.

[Mike]

That's really important for our listeners to remember. So if you're enjoying this, just know that, like, I live in an absolute hell.

[Alison]

Hellscape every single day for Mike is just another repeat day of hell on our Instagram.

[Mike]

You saw that I just couldn't take a selfie, right. I wanted to get some beautiful pine trees in our picture. And you were like, no, I'd look at my double chin. That's terrible.

[Alison]

Yeah. Do not put the phone down here when you're taking a selfie of me, please.

[Mike]

You know what I've noticed with a lot of youngsters, especially, like our daughter, 13 year olds and such, they like taking pictures from, like, lower. And I know for our generation, that's not good. Like, you want to take it from up. Right.

[Alison]

So, I mean, it depends on how close you are. If you have the phone in my face and it's just highlighting that double chin or whatever else is going on.

[Mike]

In the closer, the worse. I mean, all those wrinkles and just all those things happening.

[Alison]

It ain't pretty. Moles.

[Mike]

I mean, general.

[Alison]

Just probably chin hair. Yeah.

[Mike]

Probably something in your teeth if you had to guess. That's all right. We were out last night. We actually went out yesterday. It was the first time in a long time.

[Alison]

I think it was a Friday night.

[Mike]

Yeah. We got a text from a friend like, hey, let's go celebrate a birthday. And we're like, all right, cool. Let's get crazy.

[Alison]

I. I had to leave the house after 7:00pm yeah.

[Mike]

And again, if you follow our Instagram, you'll see that we went out to ice cream directly after. And Allison was a very happy little girl.

[Alison]

You put ice cream in the mix I'm in.

[Mike]

You put ice cream in that cake hole. You're. You're a happy gal.

[Alison]

Happy as a clam. And yeah, we were out until like 10 o' clock last night.

[Mike]

Yeah. One of my friends was like, hey, Mike, you ever think about just shaving your head completely? And in my head I'm like, well, that just means this looks bad, so I don't know what that means. And Elena, if you're listening, that was your husband. So I was like, does this. In my head, I'm like, does this look bad? Is that I don't know. And I'm like, I don't care. I like it, and I'm going to stick with it.

[Alison]

Yes. And that's the beauty. Beauty of getting older is you kind of know yourself better and you own who you are and what you like. And I just want to be true to who I am and be off my authentic, true self.

[Mike]

And that's the really important thing. If you can, like, just appreciate who you are. None of us are perfect. I mean, I'm far from it.

[Alison]

I'm not perfect. That's for. Dang.

[Mike]

You were just talking about all those wrinkles and things. You can't handle that.

[Alison]

I can't.

[Mike]

I mean, you can't. I guess you could change.

[Alison]

Well, medical intervention. I'm just gonna embrace it.

[Mike]

Oh, you are?

[Alison]

No, I'm not gonna embrace anything.

[Mike]

Oh, what the hell? I thought we made a. We just made a huge, like, not at all.

[Alison]

Where I'm gon it tooth and nail.

[Mike]

Oh, gosh. You know, I saw this billboard like, a year ago that was like, aging is natural. Bull. Cr. Yeah, Bill, sh. Whatever. And I was like. And that first. That was weird that it had on a billboard that kids read all the.

[Alison]

Time, but secondarily in your face, swearing. Yeah.

[Mike]

And it was like, it was for some advertisement for, like, a doctor that does anti aging. And I was like, well, aging is real. Like, what are you talking about? It got me so angry. So I guess it did its job. And making me think about it now I'm talking about it. But, yeah, aging is real. And it's. It's a gift, man. It's like a blessing. Like, people are talking about, you know, aging being bad, but it's. It's a good thing.

[Alison]

Well, I was watching Real Housewives of Miami, and Adriana was celebrating another birthday, and she was, like, almost in a depression about it, like, mourning it. And in my head, I. You know, I work at a hospital and I see some 20 year olds that are dealt with stage four cancer and they would give anything to live to whatever age that is. So, you know, it's. It's perspective. Obviously, we'll all have our bad days and, you know, might be low and feeling down in the dumps about something, but you got to just change that perspective and say that this is a gift.

[Additional Host or Guest]

Yeah.

[Mike]

And if you watch news all the time, you think that the world is, like, crumbling down around you, which in some countries it is. But I mean, you know, in most, like, you know, United States and some of the other countries that listen to us, you know, UK and stuff, things are generally okay. You know, that's.

[Alison]

That's how you look at it. You know, it could be doom and gloom. I was saying, you know, like the Hundred Acre Wood where Winnie the Pooh lives. It's like they're all living in that same area, but then you have Eeyore and you have, like, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh. One's all doom, gloom, and doom, and the others like doom and gloom. Everything doom and gloomy.

[Mike]

We're not. We're not. We're not switching the flip this time.

[Alison]

Did I say it wrong again?

[Mike]

Yeah, you corrected yourself, and then you said it wrong. And that's okay.

[Alison]

That's why we love you. But the point is, they're all living in the same world, the same land, and it's just. Who sees it which way?

[Mike]

Whoever switches the flip.

[Alison]

Whoever comes down to what did I say switches the flip.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's what you said.

[Alison]

And I said it again.

[Mike]

You did. Repeatedly.

[Alison]

And I said it again this week.

[Mike]

Oh, did you? That's fun. Okay.

[Alison]

I don't know.

[Mike]

You're getting older.

[Alison]

It's not clicked up here properly.

[Mike]

Well, you got to flip the switch is what you got to do. Instead of switching the flip, you got to flip the switch.

[Alison]

I did. I just flipped it.

[Mike]

And I thought actually going back to what you said, that was, like, one of the more brilliant things you've ever said in your life, I think. And I know it's a very basic thing, but I love the idea they're all in the 100 acre wood, right? It's just their perspective that changes. I think that's something to, like, just sit and think about for a second. It's like, yeah, everything could be terrible, but some people think everything's awesome. So what are those people's perspectives, and why is it different than ours? You know, it's like, I want to be Winnie the Pooh. I want to get after that, honey, and just enjoy life, you know? Then I also said, you know, when the big rainstorm comes through in the rather blustery day, they all get a little bit scared, but then afterwards, it's all again about their perspective.

[Alison]

And then the other way to compare it is when you. If you watch the White Lotus Season 2, where they're in Italy and it's the. The double date couple that they're in Sicily, I think it is. And it's Aubrey Plaza's character versus the other couple and they're like, yeah, why would you want to bring children into this world? It's just so awful. And the other couple's like, what do you mean? What's, what's awful? You know, it's just two different perspectives.

[Mike]

I can't imagine bringing children into this. It's like, into what? Like, I don't know, it's like anything else. Like. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right.

[Alison]

So just something to think about. But on that note, shall we dive into this cup of coffee?

[Mike]

Let's do it.

[Alison]

All right. So this is a story of the Cipriano family attack. And this is a listener suggestion from Morgan. So thank you so much, Morgan. So before the spring of 2012, the Cipriano family, they appear to really have a nearly perfect life and a beautiful home within the wealthy community of Farmington Hills, Michigan. This is a town about 25 miles northwest of Detroit in Oakland County. So with a low crime rate, it seemed like a perfect area to raise a family. So the Cipriano family consisted of parents, 52 year old Robert or Bob Cipriano, and his 51 year old wife. This is Rosemary or Rose Cipriano. The couple had four children. 19 year old Tucker, he was adopted in 1993 when he was only four days old, as well as twin sons, 17 year old Tanner and Salvatore, who went by Sal. They were juniors at Detroit Catholic Central High School. They also had a younger daughter, she was 8. And this is Isabella.

[Mike]

I was really hoping there was going to be an Italian name in there like Salvatore because just the name, like, you know, you got Bob and Rose Cipriano. It's a good Italian name, like, ah, there you go, Salvatore. Love it.

[Alison]

So the peace within the Seprieno household was forever shattered when in the still of the night, a once peacefully sleeping household was suddenly turned upside down in a fit of unimaginable violence and rage. So at approximately 2:47am on Monday, April 16, 2012, 17 year old Tanner Cipriano called 911 in a series of frantic phone calls in which he told the dispatcher that he was hiding in an upstairs bedroom closet while his 19 year old brother Tucker and his friend were beating his parents with baseball bats.

[911 Dispatcher]

I need an address. What is your address, please? Hello? Hello?

[Mike]

Man, that's a scary situation.

[Alison]

So while Tanner was trying to keep his voice low so as to not alert the attackers, the dispatcher was demanding that he go somewhere quiet so he could tell her exactly what was going on. He tried to explain that he was locked in a room to protect himself from the attack. And the dispatcher asked him to put his parents on the line so it was clear that she was not understanding the gravity of the situation and what was going on. The fact that he was being quiet because he was hiding because his life was at risk if they knew that he was in that room.

[Mike]

It's like, I can't move from this room. I'm currently trying to, like, whisper to you and trying to get this across. That's insane.

[Alison]

So I will tell you, in a lot of the cases that I research, I hear the 911 calls, and sometimes the. The dispatcher is so, like, hostile and rude. It's. It's almost like they're doing the caller or this favor.

[Mike]

I mean, they are, but at the same time, this is their job. It's kind of like.

[Alison]

It's weird to me.

[Mike]

It's like being a rude nurse, right? It's like you're here to take care of people, and you're being rude because you need to take care of people. Okay. Doesn't make sense.

[911 Dispatcher]

With brother and his. 2:49am 48 Second April, 16, 2 012. Hello? Yeah. Okay, listen. Please just answer my questions. Okay. You said your brother and his friend are there, correct? All right. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Okay.

[Alison]

I'm st.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay. No, he just walked in. He doesn't think I'm here. Where are you? At my bedroom. You're in your bedroom? Okay. All right. How is it together?

[Sponsor Voice (James Patterson Ad)]

Yeah.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay. Where are your parents at night? Okay, so your parents are outside. So your brother and his friends, they're.

[Greg (Bob's Brother)]

Like, out of the hallway scanner.

[911 Dispatcher]

Okay, so the guy outside of the house said no. Okay, I won't. I won't pick up.

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You're going.

[911 Dispatcher]

Did you step him over? The officers are out of the way. Okay. Can you put any appearance on the phone?

[Greg (Bob's Brother)]

No.

[911 Dispatcher]

Why? Your parents. You said the brother left. No, no, no. She didn't leave it. Okay, so he's still in the house. The brother and his friend were beating up the fifth pair. He said his brother about a year. He's 19, and he got the. Okay, what is the brother's name? Sucker. Okay. And you don't want to go out to make.

[Alison]

So of course, the dispatcher you could hear is asking Tanner if he wanted to go out and check and see if his parents were okay. The feeling that I got, probably because I don't like this dispatcher at all. I cannot stand her tone of voice, her attitude. And, you know, had he listened to her, he Himself would have been another victim.

[Mike]

Yeah, I mean, her job is to just kind of take the information. Right. And not, like, give suggestions unless there's like, a life or death situation. I get where she was coming from saying, like, can I talk to your parents? Maybe she was picturing that it wasn't as bad as it probably was. Clearly, like, yeah, she probably just thought, okay, let me talk to them. Just confirm that they want police over and that it's the. A dangerous situation. I'm not talking to a kid that just calls 911 something, you know, whatever. They want to get all the information they can, but at the same time, like, if this kid's hiding in a closet, it's probably because it's really dangerous out there.

[Alison]

It's kind of like, are you picking up what I'm putting down? I am whispering for a reason. It's. There's cases where someone is hiding because they've been kidnapped. And the dispatcher needs to pick up on that. That. I was watching a 911 call. It sounded like they were in maybe England and a girl had been kidnapped and she was in the car and she was calling, pretending she was her mom. And the dispatcher clearly immediately picked up on that. She's like, okay, so you can't talk right now. Is there any way you can allude to where you are? And that's like, she got it.

[Mike]

Great training. Like, that's spectacular training. Whereas this chick, like, it's almost like somebody just got thrown into the phones and, like, had no training. It was like, I need to know where you are. I need your address. It's like, I called you. You know where I am. You can triangulate. Like, I can't some. If I'm not talking, that means I can't talk.

[Alison]

Exactly.

[Mike]

And like, so many times on those 911 calls, the 911 dispatchers talking so loud that you almost worry that the murderer is going to hear them and be like, whoa, there's somebody in the closet.

[Alison]

100%.

[Mike]

Like, the training just is, like, lost on this woman. And as humans were imperfect. And clearly this dispatcher sucks at her job.

[Alison]

Right? So within minutes, thankfully, the police arrived at the Cipriano home. And when Detective Richard Waby went inside, he was met with an absolutely grisly scene. Blood was spattered across the walls, the stairwells, the kitchen cabinets, in the ceiling. In the center of the kitchen floor, la lay the deceased body of Bob Cipriano, the father and the husband of the household. And he was lying face down in A pool of blood, wearing only his underwear. Because this family was woken up in the midst of their sleep. The blood that was spattered on the cabinet and ceiling suggested that an assailant had been standing above him, striking his head. There was also a bloodied BB gun lying near his body. So the family dog, the, the scene was just chaotic. The family dog you could tell was obviously frantic because it's watching its family members get obliterated and the dog is just walking through all this blood. So there's paw prints just tracked throughout the house. So investigators found Rose in a sitting position on the staircase that was leading to the basement while her 17 year old son Sal lay on the ground on top of two bloodied aluminum baseball bats. An Easton and a Quest. So Sal, just a little reminder is Tanner's twin brother. Tanner is the brother who called 91 1. So both rose and Sal were unresponsive and they had sustained severe life threatening head trauma. They were each bleeding profusely and they were barely clinging to life. So police found Tucker's friend. This is 20 year, excuse me, 20 year old Mitchell Young. He was laying on the floor upstairs and he was crying and. And meanwhile Tucker was nowhere to be seen. And of course they're going off the details of the 911 call and Tanner had said my brother and his friend are attacking my parents. But now they're coming up and they see Mitchell is like laying on the ground crying as if he himself is a victim. So Mitchell had blood on his hands, his face, his shirt, his pants and his boots. I will tell you that the blood on his pants were in a spatter pattern. It was basically suggesting that an object was contacting blood with blunt for that suggested that he had been standing over the blood source. So Mitchell was complaining of pain in his neck and his back. He's told the officers that he had been hit with a baseball bat in the face, the chest and the back. He told officers that Tucker had gone crazy and he had started swinging. Because of these complaints he was transferred to the hospital because, you know, legally they have to make sure that he's okay. So he waived his Miranda rights and he provided a statement. So in the meantime, medical staff determined that he had a dislocated jaw. But according to the Farmington Hills fire Sergeant Daniel Wecker, although it had appeared that he had gotten into a scuffle, it didn't appear that the injuries were consistent with being hit by a bat. And I will tell you, hospital staff later testified to the same. So Mitchell confessed that after he helped Tucker into the house through the garage window that night, they grabbed a couple of baseball bats and they came into the house through the kitchen door. So once inside, the family dog went after Tucker, who slammed the dog to the ground. I found that part interesting because Tucker is obviously a family member. But it was the middle of the night. Maybe the dog was confused and startled by unexpected noises.

[Mike]

And some dogs don't like objects in people's hands like our dog. If there's somebody comes by with some holding something, she hates it. So maybe, yeah, like startling at middle of the night, something totally different.

[Alison]

And maybe it was pitch dark in the kitchen and the dog couldn't even see that it was Tucker.

[Mike]

Good dog.

[Alison]

But regardless, the dog made a noise. Things are happening. So now Bob has woken up. So Bob again is likely awoken by this commotion. He confronted the boys in the kitchen and as Tucker began beating his father with a baseball bat. Of course, this is, I'm telling you, this is Mitchell's version of events. Mitchell said he started screaming, what the f are you doing? And this was when Tucker told him that if he didn't get with the program, he was gonna get beaten as well. He would be joining him. Okay, so at this point in time, then Rose ran into the kitchen and began pleading with her son to stop. She told him that they loved him and they would give him money if he would just stop. So Tucker handed. Handed Mitchell a baseball bat and he told him to shut his mother up. And as Rose continued to scream.

[Mike]

So he said, here, shut my mom up.

[Alison]

Yep.

[Mike]

Okay. Like in a movie, basically.

[Alison]

Right?

[Mike]

And it's already bull crap.

[Alison]

Again, this is just his version of events. Take it as you will.

[Mike]

Here, shut my mom up.

[Alison]

So Mitchell admitted that he had struck Rose in the head with the bat once or twice.

[Mike]

Okay, so I hit somebody in the head once or twice. Big deal. Oh, my God.

[Alison]

So when Tucker's little sister, this is eight year old Isabella, she came into the room and she was armed with a pink baseball bat because she wanted to protect her family members. I mean, how incredibly brave is it that this eight year old little girl was going to go up against these nearly, you know, 19 and 20 year old boys to defend her family?

[Mike]

Her fight or flight response was fight. Good for her.

[Alison]

So Tucker took her upstairs, he put her in her room, and he told her not to come out. So while all of this was happening, Sal in the meantime, took a BB gun from a gun case. But before he could even do anything with it, Tucker came upon him and Started attacking him with the bat. He was hitting him in the shoulder, in the arm. And the fight basically moved its way back downstairs. So in the meantime, the BB gun broke as they continued to fight on the main floor of the house into the hallway. And this is where Tucker hit his brother once or twice with a bat. And you can picture, you know, I'm not talking about, like, little, like, swings. I'm talking if you are connecting with a baseball, that's the type of strikes we're talking about here.

[Mike]

So damaging.

[Alison]

So while all of this is happening, all of a sudden now, because it's pitch dark outside, they start to see flashing lights of responding officers in response to Tanner's 900 call. And thank God Tanner was able to make that phone call. So when Tucker saw these lights, he fled through the door at the back of the house. And in the meantime, Mitchell ran upstairs. Sometime in this mix, someone dragged a severely injured Rose and Sal toward the basement so that the cops wouldn't see them, which is so asinine to me. It's like, do you think the cops aren't going to look around the house and say, where's the mother and brother of the house?

[Mike]

Clearly, these are stupid kids.

[Alison]

So Mitchell initially denied that he had assaulted anyone. So his version of events is he is another victim in this entire attack.

[Mike]

Oh, I may have struck the Rose once or twice or three times or whatever. Yeah. Just like, the story keeps changing.

[Alison]

So he only started to give version, these versions of events after he was confronted with the fact that Isabella and Tanner's eyewitness accounts placed him there doing things.

[Mike]

If I'm a detective, that I can only imagine what they were saying. Just being like. So just before you. Before you say this is for sure the story, we have two people that saw what you did. Anything else you want to add before we put this official? He's like, whoa. Oh, yeah, okay, I did. Okay. And basically he's thinking, what did they see?

[Alison]

Right. So he told investigators that Tucker had taken off in his pickup truck and he left him behind. Like, talk about, like, leaving your friend behind.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

At the scene of the crime to just hide in the Seprieno home.

[Mike]

Well, and I mean, you have Mitchell, so instantly you're like, wait, did Mitchell kill Tucker and put him somewhere, too? So anything's possible at this point.

[Alison]

I mean, everybody saw Isabella and Tanner. Are there to say Tucker was absolutely here.

[Additional Host or Guest]

Okay.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Alison]

So Rose and Sal were immediately rushed to the hospital. They were each in a coma. Sal had a right skull fracture, a brain injury with Extensive hemorrhaging to the point that doctors had to shave his head and insert a drain to relieve the pressure from the bleed. So during his 16 months in the hospital, Sal underwent four brain surgeries in at least the course of six weeks. So he was left with hearing loss in his left ear, frequent seizures, the inability to speak, walk, or consume his nutrition by mouth. Thus he required placement of a feeding tube. So on his discharge from the hospital, it's not like he was able to just go home and start living a normal life. He was discharged to two different rehabs that specialized in neuro slash brain injuries, where his recovery was an extensively slow process. During a time in which he was wheelchair bound, he worked, worked daily in an attempt to restore his ability to speak, to walk. Something that doctors at that point in time weren't sure would ever return. So Sal's recovery has been absolutely remarkable. And after three years of therapy, paired with his refusal to give up, because that was like a huge part of it was that he was just gonna keep going, man. So he was in the gym, weightlifting, he was practicing baseball. This is his favorite sport. So although he remains unable to speak, he communicates by typing messages that can be played through the phone. So according to Sal, his drive to continue on through his exhausting therapy sessions. And it's hard when it's a very slow process and things are just being gradually chipped away because we are people that want instant gratification. And it wasn't that. But he said that he was motivated by his father. Since Bob was the type of man who did everything for everyone and he never once complained.

[Mike]

I'm sure that'd make his dad so proud and like, what an absolute warrior Sal is. Like you, it's. I can't even imagine how hard that would be. And it's what, what an inspiration.

[Alison]

I mean, this was a 17 year old who was a junior in high school, he was a baseball player, and now all of a sudden, he can't speak, he can't walk, he can't eat.

[Mike]

I'd pay to see him, like, you know, type into something and like, be there and like, see him and meet him. That'd be awesome. Awesome.

[Alison]

And I'll give you his information, he seems like an absolutely awesome guy. But when I was hearing about Bob, about the fact that he never complained, that reminded me a lot of you. As much as I go on and on about, oh, my headache. Oh, cramps. Mike never complains about anything.

[Mike]

Thank you.

[Alison]

Yeah, you're. You're a remarkable person.

[Mike]

Well, we're all different. You know, it's I. We make. We poke fun. Like you're part of what makes you incredible is because you're a drive, you know, And I. I don't complain that we're just different.

[Alison]

So meanwhile, Rose was in a coma for two weeks, and she was hospitalized for three weeks before she was then transferred to a rehab facility. She has seven plates in both her head and her face. There was a time when doctors questioned if she would ever even survive. So, Reuben Ortiz Reyes. This is a deputy forensic pathologist with the Oakland county medical examiner's office. He indicated that Bob received blows throughout his head and face. His left ear was absolutely shredded, likely from a single blow. And that's why I'm saying we're talking about full fledged baseball swings.

[Mike]

I mean, one is crazy, let alone several. That's. So you got to be such a piece of garbage human being or absolutely just off your rocker to be able. Capable of this.

[Alison]

So he had severe lacerations, and his skull was fractured while his nose and mouth were filled with blood. There was extensive hemorrhaging, and the bones in his head were broken into small pieces.

[Mike]

And especially somebody you love, like you're doing this to your own father. Like, if. If I had an intruder in the house, no problem. I would. I would sleep at night, just be fine, whatever. Destroy them. But, I mean, this is somebody that brought you into this world, you know, Unless this guy, like, did something bad. Yeah, that's crazy.

[Alison]

No, they were an absolutely amazing family. Crazy. So one continuous fracture to the back of Bob's head caused him to breathe blood into his airway. So the way they phrased it was that he literally drowned to death on his own blood, and that's just at the hands of his son.

[Mike]

That's heavy. Very heavy.

[Alison]

So this meant that he was still alive and breathing as the blood rushed into his lungs. He died from multiple blunt force trauma from what was described as a storm of blows. There were also defensive wounds to his hands. When detectives spoke with Tucker's best friend since middle school. This is Ian Zinderman. He indicated that Tucker had first come up with this whole plot to kill his family for money. That was the motive weeks earlier. Two weeks, to be specific. So Ian provided information in an exchange for immunity from prosecution. So he said that Tucker and Mitchell had approached him with this plan to rob his home and kill his family after he'd been kicked out of the family home.

[Mike]

Ah.

[Alison]

So Tucker was in violation of his parole after he missed a meeting with his probation officer in Early April. So he needed this money because he wanted a car so that he could flee to Mexico to avoid going back to jail.

[Mike]

Most not piece of crap human beings would get a job or try to find ways to make money and not kill their family. Like, what a human piece of garbage.

[Alison]

Absolutely. So Rose and Bob Cipriano, like I had said, they adopted Tucker in 1993 when he was only four days old. So this was after he was born to an addicted single mother, and he soon shown showed signs of behavioral and learning disability. I will tell you that Bob and Rose were really awesome parents. They were super, super supportive. And from the start, since he was in second grade, Rose had been taking her son to Ann Arbor for weekly treatments for his ADHD and learning disabilities. So it's not like they just kind of was like, oh, you know, he'll do. However, like, they had him involved in all sorts of things to help him as much as they possibly could. So within two years of his adoption, Bob and Rose then had twins, Sal and Tanner. And then nearly 10 years later, Isabella was born. So Tucker felt increasingly alienated, and he hated the fact that he was adopted, despite the fact that he was surrounded by nothing but love and support, and he was treated with the exact same attention and care of as his siblings. Never, ever. Was it, like, put in a way that, like, well, you're the adopted one.

[Mike]

Well, you were talking about perspective earlier, right in the. In the intro, and it was like, this is all how you look at things, man. Like, it's a victim mindset. He's like, I'm adopted. I hate that. It's like, well, you have an opportunity to better yourself. Like, oh, it's. I get it, man. It can be. I. I don't get it. I'm sure it's really tough sometimes, if you think about it, but make the best out of things, right? You can make the best or, like, think that you're a victim and you're screwed for the rest of your life. Like, which one's better?

[Alison]

Exactly. So by senior year, Tucker began to use drugs and alcohol. He started missing school, and then he just dropped out entirely. So he eventually wound up in jail on drug charges, and Rose began attending substance abuse classes so that she could start to learn about her son's condition in an attempt to be there to help him recover.

[Mike]

What an incredible mot. Like, you could just send them on his own, you know, but, like, to be there to try to be there to try to, like, listen and see. Like, okay, well, remember in the class they Said this like, it's so supportive.

[Alison]

Right. Because I can't imagine how dealing with addiction has to be very, very difficult.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

So Bob and Rose, they were eventually out of ideas. They were at the end of the rope. They didn't know how else to help their son. So they finally chose tough love and they told him that he could not come back to their house until he sought help for himself.

[Mike]

That's 100% the right move. Otherwise, it's enablement. And I'm sure they told that. It's like if you just keep on giving him a little more rope and a little more rope, he's going to take advantage of it because that's what these, you know, the addiction does to these people. It's so sad.

[Alison]

And, you know, when they did this, it's not like they cut him out of their life. They continued to reach out, touch base with their son, and he continued to use K2, or Spice. This is otherwise known as synthetic marijuana during a time in which it was illegal across the state. I will tell you that on July 1, 2012, less than three months after this attack on the Soprano family, K2 was officially made illegal in Michigan. So K2, like I said, it's commonly known as synthetic marijuana, although the substances are not chemically related in any way. While it does contain some natural material, the effects of the drug come from synthetic chemicals that are sprayed onto a dried plant substance. So K2 can cause confusion, delusional thoughts, hallucinations, violent behavior, and an extreme, extreme cases of anxiety as well as paranoia.

[Mike]

So I don't get why somebody would choose spice over natural marijuana. Like, I'm not advocating drug use whatsoever, but I mean, if you're going to choose one, like, maybe the more natural version. I know there's plenty of things that are natural that are dangerous, but I mean, some weed that is sprayed with a chemical and like, that's what you're going to choose. That's crazy.

[Alison]

Well, if you could think about it, it was in gas stations at this point in time, it was legal, so it was easy to get your hands on.

[Mike]

I mean, if you know anything about anything, you can get your hand and some weed in like two seconds.

[Alison]

Yeah, I don't know why they chose that drop.

[Mike]

You go to a gas station, look for somebody a little questionable and be like, hey, where can I score some of this? And you find it right away.

[Alison]

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[Alison]

So Mitchell Young, he had also been kicked out of his family's home and he and Tucker were basically just staying wherever they could at this point. They were couch surfing on different friends houses, you know, that sort of thing, staying in probably very seedy motels. So according to Tanner, their parents continued to love Tucker and they refused to give up hope that he could eventually turn himself around. Obviously it had to be something that he set his mind to do. You can't force anyone to stop doing something. It has to be on their own volition. So Bob was a beloved Dearborn, Michigan public school administrator, while Rose was an avid swimmer and fitness instructor at the YMCA where Isabella took her swimming lessons. They were an absolutely loving couple who tried their very best to raise their four children with strong values. So when Tucker learned that his birth mother had passed away, he only seemed to increasingly spiral out of control. The fact that he was living away from his parents, he was keeping little to no contact with them, them, despite the fact that they continued to reach out for him. You know, they, he was just pulling away from them. So this meant that Tucker was no longer attending his counseling sessions. So his friends noticed that his anger and his violent thoughts were only escalating and he often discussed wanting to commit murder. So because he spoke so flippantly about the topic of murder, it's likely that his friends were only assuming that he was kind of just joking or being facetious about it. So when Tucker came to his friends with this idea, he and Mitchell decided that they would either target Tucker's family or another family within the same neighborhood. They were speculating that with whatever they were going to do, they could steal somewhere around $3,000. So Ian Zinderman, he would serve as the getaway driver and he would also be responsible for disposing the bodies. So how they planned to do this was they were going to dump the bodies into the Detroit river and weigh them down with some sort of barre barrels. It's like they, they had very little plan going.

[Mike]

Yeah, there was, okay, some barrels, we'll figure it out.

[Alison]

Some barrels.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Alison]

So after it was all said and done, the money would be split three ways between Tucker, Mitchell and Ian. So we're talking about maybe a thousand dollars a piece.

[Mike]

Hey, 17 or 20 year olds, a thousand dollars is not going to do a whole lot for your life. It might sound like a lot right now, but it's nothing.

[Alison]

So you're gonna wipe out your family, five members of your family to walk away with maybe a thousand dollars.

[Mike]

I mean, we're talking logically here and come into the ballpark.

[Alison]

So Ian indicated that although he told Tucker that he would consider his offer, he said he never actually intended on participating. So on the night of the attack, this is Sunday, April 15th, Ian joined Tucker and Mitchell at the Kego harbor house of 14 year old Samantha Chick and her 16 year old brother Sebastian Chick. So when the trio left to drive to the Cipriano home, Tucker and Mitchell were high on K2 do with the goal of stealing money from his family because they wanted to buy more drugs. It wasn't just about getting this car so that Tucker could get out of the country and flee to Mexico. It was also very much based around drugs.

[Mike]

This stuff must have been super addictive. I mean, just the way they're acting is like they're on meth.

[Alison]

Right. So he believed that his family had more money than this other house that they considered robbing in the neighborhood. So they settled on going to his parents house house. So according to Ian, when they arrived at the house, Mitchell stayed in the truck while Ian helped Tucker to get inside through a garage window that led into the house through the kitchen. So Tucker came back to the truck a short time later and he had a bank card in his hand. So they drove off, they left the house and they went to two nearby gas stations in order to purchase more K2 or Spice. They also withdrew cash and purchased other items with the card cards. So their attempts at making the purchases at the first gas station were successful. But when they went to the second gas station, they were unable to get any K2 or cash because of suspected debit card fraud. So now faced with this rejection, Tucker and Mitchell relit or revived. Excuse me. So they revived the plan to rob the house and kill his family. To eliminate any witnesses, Tucker and Mitchell began to formulate their plan. And they decided that Tucker would kill his brother, nurse Sal and Tanner while Mitchell killed his parents. Although Mitchell offered to kill eight year old Isabella, Tucker said that he loved his sister so much that he didn't want that to happen.

[Mike]

Thank God. It's like I know killing anybody's bad. Just like the literally smaller the kid, the worse it is.

[Alison]

Oh, it's just so terrible. So as the three drove back to the Cipriano home for a second time, Tucker decided, okay, how about rather than killing the Family will just try to get more money. So now, back in the garage, he found a Visa gift card. But after he visited a third gas station with it, they were all involved. Ian, Mitchell, and Tucker were. Were all driving. They realized that the car they found had only $2 and 64 cents on it.

[Mike]

They're so stupid. Like, God, check the balance before you go, you idiots. I thank God they're dumb.

[Alison]

So by 1am the trio were now back, back at Samantha and Sebastian Chick's house, where they started. And this is when Ian told Tucker and Mitchell, I'm out of this whole plan. I want nothing to do this with this. So he decided to stay back and spend the night at their house while Tucker and Mitchell left. So after the attack, Ian said that he wished that he believed that they were actually going to go through with the attack on the family. He is holding firm to the fact that he didn't think they were going to do it because he wishes that he would have tried to stop them. So when Tucker fled from his family's home in Mitchell's truck, he didn't realize that Mitchell had left his cell phone behind inside the truck. So investigators were able to just track him down. This happened by 4am where they found him at Samantha and Sebastian Chick's house. So after he cleaned the blood from his shirt, Tucker saw an online report about him. So, you know, he knew that the police were doing their investigation, so he asked Ian if he could get him a change of clothes for Mitchell's truck. He wanted him to dispose of a knife inside the truck as well as the truck itself. However, by this time, it was too late. All the officers were coming around the house. So as Tucker was arrested, officers noted that unlike with Mitchell, the blood on his pants were. It was not consistent with impact splatter. Not to say that he didn't have blood on his pants, but it wasn't in that spray type of pattern. That's right.

[Mike]

Interesting.

[Alison]

So investigators located a Visa gift card and receipts listing Robert Cipriano as the card holder. These were the things they tried to steal from the house. So when Tucker first spoke with investigators, he offered several versions about what transpired prior to his father's murder and then his mom and his brother's attacks. He denied drinking or smoking K2 that night, and he first claimed that he hadn't even gone into his family's house. House. Of course, he was told that Isabella and Tanner had seen him. Then he started to admit that, okay, fine, I did go in the house. So he said that Once they snuck into the house through a window to steal money, he was bit by the family dog. And this is when they were confronted by his dad, who told them to leave. Get the hell out of my house. So he said that while he held his dad from behind, it was Mitchell who was striking his dad repeatedly with a baseball bat that they had found in the garage. He said that Mitchell can. Mitchell continued to strike his dad even after Bob had fallen to the floor. And that's what the blood patter spattern in the kitchen looked like. It looked like Bob had been laying on the ground. Someone was just standing over him, just wailing on him with a baseball bat. So Tucker told investigators that when his mom came into the room, he said she had a stupid look on her face. He said that Mitchell hit her with the bat and chased her into the living room room. So in Tucker's versions of events, it's Mitchell who attacked his mom and his dad.

[Mike]

Sure.

[Alison]

And that was the plan, according to Ian, that. That Mitchell was going to get his parents and he was going to take care of his brother.

[Mike]

Okay, well, Mitchell's got some stuff against him.

[Alison]

So Tucker said that he left the kitchen for a period of time when he took Isabella upstairs to get her out of harm's way. He said that he was pleading with her to just stay in her room because he didn't want anything to happen to her. So meanwhile, she continued to cry. And this just breaks my heart. She said, I thought you loved me.

[Mike]

Oh, man.

[Alison]

Oh, man, that breaks my heart.

[Mike]

Well, I'm sure his parents thought the same too.

[Alison]

So according to Tucker, he told her that he did love her, and he continued to plead with her to just stay in her room. So he said that he knew that Tanner was hiding in the upstairs bedroom somewhere, but he pretended to not know in order to protect him. Him. However, Tanner calls complete BS on this. He told police that Tucker was actively searching the house for him, and it even yelled out to Mitchell, there's still one more. So Tucker was absolutely not trying to protect Tanner.

[Mike]

Like these. These people that will just lie for anything. Like, you can't trust anything either of them say.

[Alison]

No. So Tucker admits that he attacked Sal. And while he was striking him with the bat in the hallway, he heard his brother start to make gurgling noises. Noises. He said this caused him to run to the bathroom to vomit. So Tucker said that when police arrived, Mitchell had his little sister. So who knows what may have happened to Isabella had the cops not arrived? Right at that moment, Mitchell was clearly.

[Mike]

Out of his mind and cool with killing anybody.

[Alison]

Totally. So she thankfully managed. This brave little girl managed to break free at the sound of the doorbell. This was the police officers. So she ran to the door to open it, and this was when Tucker ran out the back door and Mitchell ran upstairs. So Tucker and Mitchell were each charged with several counts that included first degree premeditated murder and first degree felony murder of the debt in the death of Bob Cipriano. They were also charged with two counts of assault with intent to murder for the beatings of Rose and Sal, as well as a charge of arm robbery. I mean, Rose and Sal were beaten so viciously, they were so close to death, it was not even funny. So each pleaded not guilty, blaming the other for beating Bob, Sal and Rose. They pleaded guilty to the robbery portion of things, but they refused to confess to harming Bob, Rose and Sal. So Tucker later claimed that he waived his Miranda rights and gave his statement at a time that he was high on both K2 and mushrooms. Of course, when they first asked him, he said no, he was not. So Mitchell also claimed his confession. Excuse me, confession was involuntary since he had been up all night long and he was hospitalized for his injuries. He was handcuffed to the bed at the time. He didn't know what he was doing.

[Mike]

Sure, excuses, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Alison]

So leading up to the trial, Bob's brother Greg, he was desperate for the Cipriano family to avoid going to trial, where after everything that happened to this lovely family, the horror that they lived through losing their father and husband, he didn't want them to be forced to sit in the trial and relive their absolute nightmare. So he visited his nephew in jail. He also spoke with him frequently on the phone in hopes of convincing Tucker to plead guilty to first degree murder. But Tucker, at this point in time, he continued to ins insist that he could never hurt his father. And he said that pleading guilty would mean that he was giving up.

[Greg (Bob's Brother)]

I feel disrespectful saying this, but I feel like fighting for the rest of my life is the only thing I have. The only option I have given up is like hanging myself, Greg. That's what it feels like to me. Well, your dad paid for it with his life. And if you have any hope whatsoever of redemption of your soul, you will do something. Don't come at me like that.

[Mike]

Yeah, Greg, don't come at me like that. By the way, buddy, you killed my brother and your father, you know, quote unquote, who took, like, such great care of you and Loved you and tried to help you, you piece of crap. Like, I got, like, Greg's got to say anything he can to try to, like, get this guy to just, like, drop it and just go to jail. Accept what you did, you piece of garbage.

[Alison]

Yeah, it's tough. So only days before the trial was set to begin, Tanner spoke with his brother. In a last ditch effort to encourage him to change his plea. He asked him to do something that their dad had always wanted. For him to finally take responsibility for something in his life. Life. So these words, they clearly struck a chord for Tucker, who days later changed his plea from not guilty to no contest to first degree murder.

[Mike]

Wow. Huge of Tanner and whoever. If Tanner came up with this on his own or got coached on it, like with Greg.

[Alison]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Oh, my God. What an amazing way to go about it. What fantastic guys. Fantastic. Like, I. I love that psychological aspect, and it is a chance at redemption a tiny bit. For Tucker. It's like all he ever wanted you to do was take ownership of your actions. This is your last chance for the rest of your life. Life.

[Alison]

Right.

[Additional Host or Guest]

You.

[Mike]

You helped to kill our father. Like, do something in your life of redemption. And, like, finally, it sounds like maybe he did.

[Alison]

Yep, he did. So no contest means acceptance of conviction without admitting guilt. I mean, it's basically saying I'm guilty without saying I'm guilty, whatever. So this would spare his family from reliving the brutal crime in court where they were potentially going to have to testify, including little Isabella.

[Mike]

That's good. Like, the only good thing Tucker's ever done. Good job.

[Greg (Bob's Brother)]

The biggest moment of your life could be right now would be deciding that this trial is about forgiveness, taking responsibility, and loving each other. What is more. More meaningful to me if you. That you could take responsibility for the first time in your life, just as a dad always wanted you to. Opened my eyes and broke my heart. I feel like the only way that I'll be able to express my love for the family enough, I'm taking my responsibility. You know, I'm sorry. Treating me the way I did. You know, I love you and I'm very, very, very proud.

[Mike]

That's absolutely amazing. I'm like Tucker. I, you know, I know he helped kill his family and. Or, you know, his dad, and that was terrible. Absolutely terrible. But at the same time, you got to, like, give credit where credit's due. I mean, you. Yeah, you stepped up to the plate finally.

[Alison]

Right? And you know, he is the one that was responsible for beating his brother. I mean, I'm. We're not saying that Tucker is a good guy, but at least he saw what he needed to do in this case.

[Mike]

Yeah. And like you said, saved the who from going through this charade of, like, we are going to be guilty at the end, man. Like, don't make us go through this. You, like, kill dad and hurt the entire family and, like, physically and mentally, everything forever. Just own up, Right?

[Alison]

So In July of 2013, Tucker was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. So during his time in court, he expressed his love for his siblings and his regret for not being a better big brother. He also spoke of his parents and described his dad as a great man. And he said, said, dad, a lot of people miss you down here. I love you. And I hope for what it's worth, I did what you would have wanted me to do. He described his mother as amazing. And he spoke about all the love and support that she had shown him throughout his entire life. He reflected on a time when he was starting first grade and the teachers had to detach him from his mom because he didn't want to let her go. And he said, well, mom, I wish I would have never let go. So during Tucker's sentencing hearing, he sat fidgeting as assistant prosecutor John Suzynski read testimony from his sister Isabella. And she wrote. So I woke up and went downstairs, and I saw this boy pounding my mom with a bat. And Tucker was there, too. Tucker said, go back upstairs, but I didn't. I got my bat. I was trying to get Tucker, but then Tucker took my bat and started to pound Salvatore and my mom and the other kid. So Mitchell Young, he maintained his plea of not guilty and said that when he went to the Cipriano home that night, he had no intention of harming anyone, let alone killing anyone. He said that he never even met any of the family members. He'd never been to their home before. He had nothing against any of them. And he and Tucker had been only acquaintances for less than month. A month?

[Mike]

Yeah. You know why? Because he doesn't want this to be premeditated.

[Alison]

It's ridiculous. Because not only do you have Tucker's version of events, but Isabella's Tanner as well as Ian.

[Mike]

So, yeah, nice try. Like anything this idiot says is completely can be thrown out.

[Alison]

So he claimed that when he went to the Soprano home, he was under the impression that it was only for Tucker to pick up his personal belongings. But because he had a pickup truck, he was the one that was just providing that ride to. Now, I will ask you to keep in mind that they drove to the house in the middle of the night.

[Mike]

Yeah. And, well, while I'm here, I guess I'll murder your father on a Sunday.

[Alison]

Night at 2am you were going to move Tucker's things out of the home when everyone's got work and school the next day.

[Mike]

So much sense.

[Alison]

Okay, so during the trial In June of 2013, evidence was presented that suggested that Tucker's versions of events were actually more likely. There were two bloodied baseball bats that were found in the home in Easton and a. A quest. The Easton bat contained Bob Rose and Sal's DNA. And Mitchell could not be excluded as a DNA donor on the bat's handle, but Tucker could. So Tucker had not used that bat. The same went for a knife that was found in the master bedroom. The knife was never used on any of the victims. So the blood on Mitchell's pants and boots also matched the DNA of Bob Rose and Sal. And like I had mentioned before, the pattern of blood spatter suggested that he. He had been the one that was standing above the blood source, AKA Bob. So the blood on Tucker's pants was not consistent with impact spatter and was a DNA match for his mom and brother, but not his dad. So it's everything paints the picture of what Tucker said. That he was the one that was holding his dad while Mitchell was the one that was swinging the bat.

[Mike]

How could you hold your own father?

[Alison]

I don't know. So although Mitchell claimed that his injuries happened as a result of Tucker attacking him. Him, the doctor who had actually treated him at the hospital testified that the severity of his injuries were not at all consistent with being attacked with a bat, but likely happened during the struggle with Bob.

[Mike]

Like, if you're in the courtroom, you almost want to be like Mitchell. Shut up.

[Alison]

Shut.

[Mike]

None of this is anything that's truth.

[Alison]

Like, we're wasting our time.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

So Ian Zinderman also testified about the version of events and the fact that he heard Tucker and Mitchell making their plan. Plans to rob the house and kill the family. Like I said, Tucker's plan was he would be assigned to killing his brothers. Mitchell would be assigned to killing Bob and Rose. Bob would be killed first. That was the plan from the beginning because he was more of the threat of the house. So In June of 2013, after a jury of six men and six women deliberated for 90 minutes, Mike.

[Mike]

Guilty of think.

[Alison]

Mitchell Young was found guilty on all five counts. First degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of armed robbery. Many members of the Cipriano family attended the trial. And despite the fact that Tanner, Rose and Isabella were on the prosecution's witness list, something that Greg, uncle Greg was vehemently against, they're like, you have enough evidence here that you should not be really relying on these people who have been traumatized. Well, Rose nearly lost her life.

[Mike]

Yeah, I get it. But they want to make damn sure this guy is going to go to jail. And I get it. I get both sides 100%.

[Alison]

So lo and behold, the prosecution, they built their case with other witnesses and physical evidence. Like Tucker Mitchell was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. So both of these boys will spend the rest of their lives in prison.

[Mike]

Deserved totally.

[Alison]

So in mid September 2012, five months after the family was attacked, ACT 17 year old Tanner walked his mom, Rose out to the 50 yard line during senior parent night at a Detroit Central Catholic high school football game. This came after doctors were unsure if Rose would ever even live. So the fact that he was able to walk his mom out there, of course his dad is no longer there, but it was an amazing thing that she was able to do that. So in an interview five years after the attack on her family family, Rose indicated that each day when she wakes up, she's faced with a choice. She could make the day a positive one or a negative one. So while she struggles with debilitated, debilitating, ongoing headaches, she is also, you know, talking about her son Sal, who also was so viciously attacked and how he continues to have seizures that have been a major issue in his recovery. And with this, he requires around the clock care. Sal has remained absolutely dedicated to his recovery after all of these years. Something that was really awe inspiring to all the experts who worked with this young man. I mean, they were amazed at his willingness to just push on and on and on. So obviously everything that Bob instilled in his family carries on.

[Additional Host or Guest]

Yeah.

[Alison]

So meanwhile, Tanner was preparing to graduate from Notre Dame, while 13 year old Isabella was spending her free time in volleyball and drama. So regardless of the hell that she endured at the hands of her son, Rose remains in contact with Tucker because he is a member of their family. She acknowledges that although they'll never understand what happened or why, that the health and healing of their family includes Tucker as well. So Fast forward to 2025, which marks 13 years since the attack and the Cipriano family family continues to heal. Rose spoke about the tremendous support that she and her children have received from the community. And this Helps with the money that she spends for Sal's caregivers and his daily needs. The doctors and holistic treatments they pursue, they're not covered by insurance. So in 2024, just last year, Sal struggled with additional complications. So this may have happened 13 years ago, but his health issues continue on, on. So they discovered that the shunts in his brain weren't working properly and he had to undergo four surgeries in two months. So Sal's caregiver, this is Jennifer Byer, she works with him on his recovery and she discussed how he still uses his phone to communicate. She absolutely adores his sense of humor and being, you know, the social part of his day to day. So he's working with a speech language pathologist. He's focusing on swallowing. He wants to get his feeding tube out so that he can start eating. Sal has relearned how to walk, how to run. He has even been given the chance to throw out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game, which is amazing because he loves baseball so much. So according to Rose, the financial demands for her son's ongoing care, they're a constant concern. It doesn't go away no matter how many years go by.

[Mike]

It's the worst part of America.

[Alison]

It's so sad everything this family has gone through and now they're worrying about how they're going to make ends ends meet. So the medication cell takes to control his seizures, they affect his short term memory. So this has made it challenging for him to pursue his education. He was able to graduate from high school, but it seems like college classes have been very difficult because of his memory issues. However, he continues to pursue his passion of baseball. So like her big brother, Tanner, Isabella also graduated from Notre Dame in May of 2022.

[Mike]

Smart kids, man. Notre Dame's not no joke.

[Alison]

And she had a double major in science and American studies. Tanner lives in California where he's pursuing writing and producing jobs within the entertainment industry. Each year, the Cipriano family holds The Cipriano Classic 5k run slash walk in order to raise money to cover medical bills. And June 6, 2025 marked the 14th annual event. They were able to raise over 35,000 in 2024 and 44,000 in 2023 free. But as the years continue to go by, memories start to fade and financial help starts to dwindle.

[Mike]

Sure.

[Alison]

So you can register for the 2026 race at ciprianoclassic.com or simply donate. You know, they don't expect you to fly or get up to wherever the race is. Being held, you could just donate.

[Mike]

Well, you're, like, kind of wasting money if you're giving it to the. I mean, if you're there, go to the race. That's great.

[Alison]

But I'm saying, like, there is a support, too.

[Mike]

Yeah. I was thinking, like, we register for the race even though we're not there, but it's like, it's much better just to give money.

[Sponsor Voice (The RealReal Ad)]

Right.

[Alison]

If I was there, I would totally do it. Just to be there, to. To support, to show that the community still cares.

[Mike]

Yeah. If you're in there in Michigan.

[Alison]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah. So I go. If you're nearby, that'd be awesome.

[Alison]

So you can also follow Sal Sepriano on Instagram @just SAL101, where he does love to get encouraging words before a race.

[Mike]

I'm sending him something right away.

[Alison]

He's amazing. The Cipriano family, they have embraced the initials JK LP for just keep loving people. And I just love that because Bob and Rose, they always taught their children about compassion. In the aftermath of the horrors of that night In April of 2012, they have learned that only after true forgiveness can true healing begin. And that is the story of the Cipriano family attack that took the life of Bob Cipriano and nearly took the life of Rose and Sal. And Cell continues to fight every day for his health.

[Mike]

And let's not forget about Isabella. Like, she had to witness all this stuff. And Tanner. Yeah, absolutely. Like, everybody was affected. It's such. This one really affected me. This, because it's very similar to our family.

[Alison]

Yep.

[Mike]

You.

[Alison]

You know, they're just like this all American family. They instilled great values. They loved each other. You can tell the type of people they are.

[Mike]

Like, I pride ourselves on being, you know, good merit, being a good marriage first and then being good parents. Like, we're not perfect. Like, nobody's perfect. Right. Like, but just being as good par possibly can because that's our number one job.

[Alison]

Right.

[Mike]

And it sounds like these two, like, just they. They got it, you know, and then you bring up the thing of, like, nature versus nurture. Right. Like, no matter what happened, it's just that Tucker, you know, they did everything they could, but they really did. He had this demon inside of them, and whatever it was, it's just something that was unhelpable because they tried their butts off to get him every single piece of help he needed. Right. Clearly the kid had, like, a, you know, devil and an angel in him. You know, like, afterwards, he's like, I. You know, even was sorry. I generally think he's sorry genuinely.

[Additional Host or Guest]

Yeah.

[Alison]

And you know, I, I, I, I say he, I think he actually really loves his family. I just don't know what happened there but it's atrocious and it's just so sad. But they're just such a great family.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's definitely send out some nice messages and stuff and man, that's, I feel so bad. I don't know, it's, it's a tough one.

[Alison]

Yeah. So thank you guys so much for being here with us. We appreciate you so much. If you would be so kind as to head on over to Apple and give us a five star review View Review.

[Mike]

Yeah, leave some words in there too. They I just learned that AI picks up on if you leave a review with words. So it'll really like if you go into chat GPT and be like give me some podcast to listen to. It'll pick up ours if you put some reviews with words. So that's only available on Apple. So yeah, head on over there.

[Alison]

And if you're running out of content, we do have you covered. Every Wednesday we come out with a bonus episode and we have a whole big backlog of them. If you need to, you know, maybe do a project around how your house pop us in your earbuds and just listen away.

[Mike]

That's a great idea.

[Alison]

I think it's a great right out of here, Mike. Well, thank you guys again and until next time.

[Additional Host or Guest]

Bye.

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[Alison]

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[Mike]

Thank you for listening.

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Happy Holidays. Want to give your host a gift? Consider subscribing, rating and reviewing the show this holiday season. It really helps the show grow from all of us at Believe. Have a Merry Christmas everyone and a happy holiday.