Two men were charged with murdering five family members during a December 21, 2002, robbery at their suburban Detroit home.

John Wolfenbarger, 31, and Dennis Lincoln, 27, were charged with five counts each of premeditated murder and felony murder.

Jeweler Marco Pesce, 38, his mother, Maria Vergati, 68 and Pesce's three children, Melissa, 6, Sabrina, 9, and Carlo, 12, were gunned down execution-style in Pesce's home. Police said the safe was open and the house ransacked. The killings happened after Pesce dropped his children off at his house in Livonia, then went to his office without entering the home, prosecutors said.

"We believe these three children walked into a home where the armed killers waited for them," Prosecutor Michael Duggan said. The burglars may have forced Carlo Pesce to call his father and ask him to come home after realizing the children didn't know the combination of the safe.

Wolfenbarger and Dennis, who had been cellmates also were charged with armed robbery, home invasion, being a felon in possession of a firearm and using a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The uncle of John Wolfenbarger testified in a preliminary hearing that his nephew bragged that he had done something that would make the national news.

Wolfenbarger's uncle, William Smith, 36, of Detroit, testified that he went to police after his nephew came to his home late on the night of the killings looking for a change of clothes and bragged that something he did would be shown on CNN.

Investigators suspect the two men began zeroing in on Pesce's house sometime in early December 2002. Pesce's 3,000-pound safe was filled with jewels, watches and other valuables.

The men were believed to have been cellmates in a Carson City prison and were paroled earlier in the year. Lincoln served nine years for armed robbery, and Wolfenbarger served eight years for a series of burglaries.

Facts

On the afternoon of December 21, 2002, Marco Pesce, an Italian immigrant who owned Italia Jewelry in Livonia, drove his three young children, Carlo, Sabrina, and Melissa, to visit their mother, Diane Pesce, who was in a residential drug treatment facility in Ann Arbor.

Marco picked up the children from their visit, then dropped them off at his home in Livonia at about 5:30 or 5:40 p.m., returning to work at approximately 6:00 or 6:15 p.m.

Marco’s mother, Maria Vergati, who was visiting the family from Italy, was at the Pesce home at the time, and Marco did not exit his vehicle and go inside his home when he dropped off the children.

Shortly after Marco arrived back at work after dropping off the children at home, Carlo called Marco and told him to come home because Melissa had fallen and chipped her tooth. Marco left work immediately and returned home.

The next day Marco, his three children, and his mother were discovered dead in the Pesce home. They had each been shot to death on December 21, 2002. The house had been ransacked and the family safe had been emptied of jewelry and cash.

The evidence showed that Dennis Lincoln and his codefendant, John Wolfenbarger, carefully planned and prepared to rob Marco Pesce at his home.

Lincoln made a written statement to the police explaining his role in the crimes and describing how he and Wolfenbarger planned and prepared to commit their crimes.

Lincoln admitted that on December 19, 2002, he and Wolfenbarger, in separate cars, communicated by cell phone as they targeted Marco Pesce and watched Italia Jewelry. They attempted to follow Marco home, but could not tell which driveway he turned into.

The next evening, on December 20, 2002, Lincoln and Wolfenbarger followed Marco home again. This time, they succeeded in as certaining the location of Marco’s home.

According to Lincoln, on December 21, 2002, he and Wolfenbarger purchased a clipboard, delivery receipts, and a teddy bear to further their plan to have Wolfenbarger pose as deliverymen to gain access to the Pesce family home. They also borrowed a pick-up truck from Wolfenbarger’s friend to use when they committed the robbery.

According to Lincoln, late in the afternoon of December 21, 2002, Wolfenbarger drove the truck to the Pesce home, parked it in the driveway, and got out with the teddy bear and approached Vergati, who was in the garage. According to Lincoln put his hand in his coat pocket, which contained a .380 pistol, and Wolfenbarger and Vergati went inside the home.

Lincoln claimed that Wolfenbarger made a gesture with his hand, so Lincoln left the Pesce home in the pick-up truck and drove to Italia Jewelry to watch for Marco. Defendant and Wolfenbarger communicated by cell phone during this time.

According to Lincoln, Wolfenbarger told him that he told Carlo to call Marco at work and tell him that one of his sisters chipped her tooth to lure Marco home. Lincoln claimed that he fell asleep while he was sitting in the parked truck waiting for Marco.

Lincoln further claimed that he awakened at 6:21 p.m. and then drove to the Pesce home and picked up Wolfenbarger. Lincoln asserted that when Wolfenbarger got into the truck, he said, “five dead, Bro’.”

Lincoln and Wolfenbarger then returned the truck to Wolfenbarger’s friend and brought bags containing items from the Pesce home to Tracy Letts’ home.

Lincoln denied being the shooter and claimed that he simply dropped off and picked up Wolfenbarger at the Pesce home. He also asserted that Wolfenbarger had determined that defendant did not need a gun because he would not go inside the Pesce home.

Defenders: Livonia Murder Is Allegedly Plotted, Planned