ERIE, PA — A woman received a 40 to 80-year sentence for the murder and dismemberment of a 66-year-old man. Marisa Jean Rodriguez, 37, pleaded guilty to charges including third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse.
Rodriguez shot Michael Maisner in April 2023 and then used a chainsaw purchased with his money to dismember him. The incident came to light after Maisner’s family members visited his home and found Rodriguez living in his attic.
On Monday, a judge announced the sentence after reviewing the details of the case. “This is probably the worst series of facts I’ve probably ever heard in a courtroom,” said Erie County Judge Daniel J. Brabender Jr.
Initially charged with first-degree murder, Rodriguez struck a deal with prosecutors that led to downgraded charges. In addition to third-degree murder, she also pleaded guilty to charges of criminal mischief, possession of an instrument of a crime, theft, and tampering with evidence.
Rodriguez reportedly lived in Maisner’s attic for months before the murder. On April 12, 2023, when family members grew concerned, they discovered her in the home. Authorities later found evidence of the crime, including blood and human tissue, in the house and remains in a firepit.
The investigation linked Rodriguez to the crime through her searches that included phrases like “how to shoot someone” and “burn a body.” She was arrested the day after the murder while driving Maisner’s vehicle to New York.
Rodriguez had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was initially found incompetent to stand trial. Quotes from letters she wrote in custody indicate her mental state during the proceedings.
The disgraced woman brought a gruesome end to a life that her victim had hoped would offer companionship in his later years.