A 37-year-old woman in Pennsylvania is facing a possible life sentence after admitting to shooting and killing a 66-year-old man, then using a chainsaw she purchased with his money to "cut him up" and burn his remains in his backyard fire pit. Marisa Jean Rodriguez last week pleaded "guilty — mentally ill" to a spate of felonies, including third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the 2023 slaying of Michael Maisner.
Rodriguez had initially been facing a charge of first-degree murder, but the charge was downgraded after she reached a deal with prosecutors in the Erie County District Attorney's Office, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. She also pleaded guilty to charges of criminal mischief, possession of an instrument of a crime, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person,