Apr. 23—BEULAH — An Elberta man, found guilty of three counts of first-degree pre-meditated murder in the deaths of three of his family members, is scheduled to be sentenced May 11.

A jury heard five days of testimony earlier this month, then on April 12 deliberated for about four hours before finding Robert Michael Freebold guilty of the charges.

Freebold, 60, stood trial in 19th Circuit Court for the shooting deaths of his ex-wife, Marilyn Schultz Freebold, 63, their son, Robert "Bobby" James Freebold, 27, and Marilyn's son, Malachi Maloney, 20.

Benzie County Prosecutor Sara Swanson, who said working the case had been a team effort, was pleased with the verdict while she acknowledged the tragedy of the crime.

"It doesn't bring back the people and I just hope we can do just a little bit of justice for the family," Swanson said on the day of the verdict.

Swanson said she is planning to speak at the sentencing hearing before 19th Circuit Court Judge David A. Thompson.

Freebold's defense attorneys, Anthony Cicchelli and Jared Henry, had argued to the jury that the crime scene was so bloody, chaotic and compromised, no one would ever know what really happened or who fired the fatal shots.

Freebold did not testify. His defense conducted sometimes extensive cross-examination of prosecution witnesses, but called no witnesses on Freebold's behalf.

Swanson, in laying out the prosecution's case, detailed each victim's multiple gunshot injuries, some with gunpowder residue showing the shots had been fired at close range; Freebold's angry demeanor just prior to the shooting Nov. 20, 2020; and called Michigan State Police experts who said they could differentiate between compromised and uncompromised evidence.

Jurors heard days of testimony from multiple prosecution witnesses and viewed more than 150 exhibits, including dozens of graphic crime scene photos.

In the most dramatic moment of the trial, Swanson positioned a portable speaker on the wooden railing separating the jury box from the courtroom and played a recording of a phone call Freebold made from jail.

In the recording, Freebold could be heard discussing one of his handguns that had been found at the scene, a .357 revolver, and telling a relative, "Nobody was shot with it, so I don't know what they'll do with that and I don't care."

The revolver was recovered from the crime scene by law enforcement officers who testified they found the weapon under Malachi Maloney's right arm. Maloney, witnesses said, was left-handed.

Benzie County Sheriff's detective Cody Kastl testified he retrieved the recording that had been captured by corrections-specific software, Securus, used by Benzie County's jail.

The call was placed before the pathologists and MSP firearms experts had submitted their crime scene analysis reports to law enforcement, Kastl told the jury.

"So the defendant had the information before you did?" Swanson had asked Kastl.

"He did," Kastl said.

The jury during deliberations sent a note to Judge Thompson asking to hear the recording again. They were then assembled in the courtroom, the recording was played and a verdict announced less than an hour later.

Judge Thompson had said he would expedite the sentencing date. Swanson said Friday a pre-sentencing report had to be completed before a sentencing hearing could take place.

The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. May 11 in 19th Circuit Court.