Hazel Park Man Sentenced After Wife Found Duct-Taped, Shot

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Hazel Park man found guilty of assaulting and torturing his wife will spend between 20 and 40 years in prison.

Radu Vasile Muntean, 35, was arrested in March when an undercover police officer found the man's wife bound and shot in a pickup truck in a field on Detroit's east side.

Muntean, who was convicted of unlawful imprisonment and other charges apologized to the victim, Natalia Muntean, before the sentencing on Wednesday.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Craig Strong says Muntean is "an evil person."

Police say, on March 23, the officer saw the pickup in an empty lot at Lyford and Gilbo, near City Airport and became suspicious. When the officer approached to investigate, Muntean told him he was out of gas and flashed a fake police badge. That's when the officer noticed the 33-year-old victim in the front seat.

She'd been duct-taped by the wrists and by the ankles, beaten and shot in both legs.

Natalia Muntean previously testified she was shot in the leg as she and her husband drove on I-75 and that the incident stemmed from a "big misunderstanding," according to the Associated Press.

When asked why she did not call for help, she said she "couldn't think clearly" and feared her husband, the AP reported, adding,"I was just trying to be obedient."

At the time of the incident, Detroit Police Asst. Chief Steve Dolunt said investigators believe Muntean had planned to kill his wife and dump her body before he was stopped by the cop who was credited with saving her life.

Police noted that this happened near the same field where the bodies of two murdered Westland teens were found in 2012.

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