Judge Green arraigns Cahill on charge of second-degree murder

After a 12-year-old girl died of injuries suffered in a traffic accident, the driver of the vehicle allegedly at fault was arraigned on new charges – which included second-degree murder.
Charles James Cahill, Jr., 49, of Sumpter Township was arraigned on an amended warrant on Aug. 3 by 34th District Court Chief Judge Tina Brooks Green.
Cahill was present by way of a video feed from the Wayne County Jail, where he was being held on $1 million bond. Judge Green revoked his bond and remanded him to the jail without bond.
Judge Green said since Cahill had no attorney at yet that he should remain silent and she entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
His probable cause conference was set for Aug. 17 before Judge Green and his preliminary exam for Aug. 24 before Judge David Parrott.
Judge Green read the new charges, starting with homicide/second-degree murder, which she said was punishable by a maximum of life in prison.
The high blood-alcohol content of .203 within seven years of a conviction is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison. There also was a high BAC misdemeanor charge.
She read off the list of his past convictions for operating while intoxicated:
• 1986 – Westland
• 1987 – Plymouth
• 1989 – Westland
• 1991 – Westland
• 1994 – Detroit
• 1994 – Detroit
• 1998 – Detroit
• 2003 – Westland
• 2006 – Westland
• 2008 – Detroit
Judge Green said the third official notice calls for a maximum of five years in jail; his driving while license suspended, 15 years in jail; and driving with open container, a 90-day misdemeanor. His label as a habitual offender could make his sentence a life offense, she said.
Cahill’s driver’s license had been revoked by the Secretary of State in 1990 but he continued to drive.
The jury box in Judge Green’s courtroom was filled with television cameras, cameramen, and reporters who recorded the proceedings. The Independent was the only person in the audience.
The charges against Cahill stemmed from the 8:18 p.m. July 27 accident at the corner of Martinsville and Willis roads when Cahill reportedly was driving northbound on Martinsville at more than 80 mph when he smashed into a stopped minivan with Veronica Mack in the back seat. She was cut out of the vehicle by Sumpter fire fighters and airlifted to Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, where she died July 30.
There has been no reports of injuries to the two women and two other children in the minivan.