Editor's note: Sixteenth in a series of stories on the people, places and events that made news in the region in 2008. To read previously published newsmakers articles, see record-eagle.com/newsmakers.
TRAVERSE CITY -- The verdict was not what she wanted to hear.
For months, Vicki Hihnala has tried to cope with the acquittal of her daughter-in-law in the death of her son, Alan.
But the images from Michelle Hihnala's trial this fall haven't gone away, no matter how hard she tried to prepare herself to see them.
"I finally had to deal with my son's death, which I kind of had been putting on a back burner while I was helping everyone else deal with it," said Vicki Hihnala, of South Boardman. "I would have preferred if the justice system had worked for me."
Michelle Hihnala, now 28, was cleared of murder and manslaughter charges in September for the July 2007 stabbing death of her husband Alan, 27.
An argument turned violent in their East Bay Township home, and prosecutors said Michelle Hihnala intentionally stabbed him with a kitchen knife. She and her attorneys maintain the action was in self-defense.
Both Michelle and Alan Hihnala had blood-alcohol levels above 0.2 that night.
Michelle Hihnala, who still lives in the area, declined to comment through her attorney, Michael Stein.
He said she is putting her life back together, applying for nursing jobs both in the area and out of state. She worked as a nurse prior to the incident.
"(Michelle) appears to be handling it as well as one could," Stein said. "I was astounded by the amount of inner strength that she had during the trial. She always believed the truth would come out."
During the trial in 13th Circuit Court, defense attorneys criticized the police investigation and challenged the credibility of at least one key prosecution witness, a state police forensic scientist who testified about blood spatter.
"The case was well-prepared by both sides," Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Alan Schneider said. "We don't keep score like wins and losses, you know. Our job is to present what we believe to be a viable case in the best light that we can to a jury, and let them make the decision."
But Vicki Hihnala isn't as satisfied.
She wants to pursue a wrongful death civil suit, which could require both sides to endure another trial. Vicki Hihnala thinks the first one could have been better handled by both police and prosecutors.
"There was no confidence in my son's case," she said. "My daughter-in-law's attorneys made my son a bad guy, and I think the prosecution did nothing to dispel that. And I think that hurt us mightily."
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