‘Ninja Killer’ will remain in prison after Michigan AG finds no evidence supporting innocence

A Michigan man dubbed the “Ninja Killer” will remain in prison despite repeated claims that he is innocent in the 1986 slaying that landed him a life sentence.

Temujin Kensu, who went by Frederick Freeman before he converted to Buddhism, has been battling his murder conviction for nearly 30 years, according to MLive. The convicted killer, now 58, has said he was some 400 miles away when 20-year-old Scott Macklem was fatally shot in a parking lot at St. Clair Community College in Port Huron.

On Thursday, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office said it did not uncover any additional evidence suggesting Kensu did not commit the deadly crime. Valerie Newman, the head of the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit, said her office has decided to officially close the case.

“The CIU’s decision is driven by the criteria set forth for the AG’s office CIU,” Newman wrote. “There is nothing that qualifies as new information supporting the factual innocence claim. Kensu’s case is now closed in this office.”

Temujin Kensu

During his trial decades ago, prosecutor Robert Cleland — who is now a federal judge — pitched a theory suggesting Kensu rented a private plane the night of the murder. He called a pilot to the stand, who testified it was in fact possible for someone to travel between the crime scene and then back to Escanaba without being detected or linked to the slaying.

Cleland noted the stunt required ninja-like stealth, earing Kensu, then a 23-year-old who was well versed in martial arts, his nickname of “Ninja Killer,” according to NBC News.

In the years since, appellate courts have mulled evidence in support of Kensu’s innocence that was not presented at trial, including an alibi witness — his girlfriend — who claimed she was home with him when the murder occurred. A federal judge said his attorney’s failure to call on her to testify amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel, ultimately concluding that Kensu should either be released or granted a new trial as a result.

A higher court later overturned that ruling on procedural grounds.