Paroled Muskegon County murderer Timothy Spytma speaks; hearing transcript sheds light on his release

MUSKEGON, MI A transcript of the commutation hearing for Timothy Jon Spytmasheds light on the state's decision to free Spytma from a life sentence nearly 40 years after he participated in the brutal murder of Phyllis Doctor one of the most notorious crimes in Muskegon County history.

Spytma, now 55, was freed on a four-year parole July 22. He lives in the Ann Arbor area and reports to the parole office there.

Spytma declined a detailed interview for this story but said in a brief telephone conversation Nov. 20 that he's doing well four months after release. "I work, I go to school. Doing A-OK. My (parole) oversight fees are paid through the year. I report to my agent twice a month. Urine drop, Breathalyzer, everything is A-OK with me and my agent."

Penelope Ryder, Sptyma's friend and advocate since the 1980s, said he works 10 hours a week with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-affiliated social-justice organization, and attends classes at Washtenaw County Community College. "He is doing beautifully," Ryder said.

According to the 210-page transcript of Spytma's May 1 public commutation hearing, obtained by MLive Muskegon Chronicle through the Freedom of Information Act, a dozen witnesses testified in support of Spytma's release. They vouched for what they called his good character in recent decades, saying Spytma had matured and reformed during his decades in prison and could be released safely.

Arguing against freedom were an assistant Michigan attorney general and the chief trial attorney for the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office, citing the brutality of the crime, misconduct reports from earlier in Spytma's prison career, and what they considered his minimizing of his role in the murder. The prosecutor also read letters opposing release from the victim's son, daughter and the son's wife.

The hearing also included Spytma's own account of his and Michael Saxton's actions on Dec. 16, 1974, the day the teens brutally murdered the 42-year-old Doctor, Spytma's next-door neighbor.

The hearing was held in front of Michigan Parole Board member Sonia Amos Warchock at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson. Warchock later presented a transcript of the hearing to the state's full 10-member parole board for a decision.

The upshot was Spytma's release.

He had been serving a parolable life sentence on an adult conviction of second-degree murder.

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Paroled Muskegon County murderer Timothy Spytma speaks; hearing transcript sheds light on his release