West Michigan woman found guilty of murdering man, mutilating dead body in 2002

CHARLOTTE, Mich. - A woman faces a mandatory life sentence after being convicted for her role in the 2002 slaying of a man whose burned remains were found dumped in western Michigan.

An Eaton County jury found Dineane Rochelle Ducharme guilty Thursday of first-degree, premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder and disinterment and mutilation of a dead body in connection with Roberto Caraballo’s death, prosecutors said.

Ducharme, whose sentencing is set for Feb. 1, faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

She was among three people charged in Caraballo’s killing, which went unsolved for 16 years.

Caraballo, 37, was bludgeoned in the basement of a Charlotte home in 2002, authorities said. His burned remains were found in a metal footlocker dumped in a wooded area near an Ottawa County blueberry field.

The remains were not identified until 2015, after someone contacted a detective and helped police establish that Caraballo was the victim.

Christopher McMillan of Grand Rapids pleaded guilty in October 2019 to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder in connection with Caraballo’s death and agreed to testify against Ducharme and her mother, Beverly McCallum.

McCallum was living overseas when the charges were issued. She was arrested in Rome in early 2020 after a multinational search.

Eaton County Prosecutor Douglas Lloyd said McCallum is being held in a jail in Italy and will be extradited to Michigan to face trial.