"No witness, no crime:" Man accused in brutal sex assault with sex toys admitted to attempting to kill witness
MILWAUKEE -- A man accused of breaking into a woman's home with a bag of sex toys, and sexually assaulting her, is facing new charges -- accused of trying to have a witness killed from jail.
Michael Birk
41-year-old Michael Birk faces one count of conspiracy to commit first degree intentional homicide.
According to a criminal complaint, on June 6th, Birk was charged with three counts of first degree sexual assault, use of a dangerous weapon, one count of armed robbery, one count of false imprisonment and one count of burglary. He's accused of brutally raping a stranger, using a bag of sex toys he brought to her home.
He has a September trial scheduled in that case.
The new complaint indicates on June 21st, an inmate at the Milwaukee County Jail near 9th and State reported Birk approached him and offered to pay him $10,000 to have an individual killed. That inmate was interviewed on June 23rd, and reported Birk offered money for him to "hold onto someone for a while, or have someone killed," with his preference being that the person be killed. This inmate was able to offer a map to the intended victim's home, and a physical description of the person.
On June 26th, the complaint indicates the inmate reported Birk was still attempting to arrange the murder of the intended victim. The inmate told investigators he was informed if he was successful in assisting Birk with having the intended victim killed, Birk had another person he wanted killed. According to the complaint, investigators had the inmate offer a phone number to Birk, pretending it belonged to an associate willing to commit the murder-for-hire, but it was really the phone number of a detective.
On June 27th, a phone call was placed, and the inmate handed the phone to Birk so that he could speak with the "associate." Once on the phone, the complaint indicates Birk "outlined in detail how to locate the intended victims home, where the victim's bedroom is, and where the victim's adult son's bedroom is within the house," even telling the individual there was "a little ankle biter," referencing a dog, in the home. The complaint says Birk detailed where the intended victim worked, where her adult children live and which door of the home she uses each night when she lets the dog out.
Prosecutors say Birk instructed the associate to knock on the intended victim's door and pretend to be a detective assigned to the sexual assault case. Birk told the associate to tell the intended victim that there were papers that needed to be signed -- saying: "No witness, no crime." Birk said he "could only provide one to two thousand (dollars) up front, but he said he was willing to pay interest on an agreed upon amount." Birk said: "I'm a white dude. I got a lot of money," the complaint indicates.
When the "associate" asked Birk what Birk wanted done, Birk said: "Done. Gone." He said "if all goes well" with the murder of the intended victim, Birk will have a second murder-for-hire job that will pay "five times this." The complaint notes that Birk is going through a divorce.
The complaint indicates Birk admitted to attempting to hire the associate to kill the witness/intended victim. He also told investigators he reached out to another individual to have the intended victim killed.
According to the criminal complaint in the sexual assault case, Birk broke into a home on Euclid Avenue in the early morning hours of June 1st. The victim told investigators she was awakened by someone on top of her.
The victim said Birk was wearing a white mask, gloves and holding a gun to her head. The victim told police she tried to scream when Birk said, "I'm going to kill you if you fight with me."
The complaint indicates Birk then tied the victim's hands behind her back and her ankles together with zip ties before sexually assaulting her. The victim told police Birk also used a sex toy on her during the assault.
The victim further stated that Birk was drinking beer he brought in a backpack and smoking marijuana during the assault, according to the criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, the victim told investigators she engaged Birk in conversation to obtain information -- at which time he told her he was going through a divorce and had a child. The victim also stated that Birk kept asking her for money -- and took her credit card and cell phone.
According to the criminal complaint, before leaving, Birk told the victim that if she called the police that she would be dead, because he had a surveillance camera on her house.
Officers used the “Find my iPhone” app to trace the victim's phone to a garage near 80th Street and Burdick Avenue. Upon execution of a search warrant, the victim's iPhone was recovered from the garage at that location, along with a black backpack containing sex toys, zip ties, and beer.
On June 2nd detectives received information that the victim's stolen bank card had been used unsuccessfully to obtain a $200 cash advance on June 1st.
Birk made his initial appearance in court on June 7th in the sexual assault case. A $100,000 cash bond was set.
In the conspiracy to commit first degree intentional homicide case, Birk made his initial appearance in court on June 30th. A preliminary hearing was set for July 7th. Cash bond was set at $250,000.