LINCOLN PARK, Mich. (Court TV) — A judge reluctantly agreed to accept a Michigan man’s plea agreement after calling him a “killer and a coward” at sentencing.
Efrain Medina appears in court for sentencing on July 24, 2026. (Court TV)
Efrain Medina, 47, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and weapons charges in the death of 36-year-old Natalie Ramstrom, bringing closure to a case that had dragged on for years. Medina stood trial three times in the case, each time ending with a mistrial. The most recent trial, which ended in February, was a mistrial because of a hung jury.
Medina had initially been charged with first-degree murder in Ramstrom’s death; the schoolteacher, with whom he was in a relationship, was found in his home after she was shot in the head and left covered in garbage bags. After the killing, Medina fled to Mexico, where he hid for a year before authorities arrested him.
“I am unable to pray for your soul, because you have no soul,” the victim’s mother-in-law said at Friday’s sentencing hearing. “You are pure evil.”
Deputies moved in closer as Justin Ramstrom, the victim’s ex-husband, addressed the defendant directly: “You destroyed a lot more than one life. And you’ll get what you’ve got coming. You’re a f—ing scumbag. And you’re going to f—ing burn in hell.”
Medina sat silently and emotionless as the victim’s family delivered emotional statements, which didn’t sit well with Judge Jeffrey Collins, who directly asked the defendant how he was affected.
“Kids are going to grow up without their mother,” Medina said. “I understand that.”
Collins pushed — demanding to know why Medina killed the victim. “She was shot in the head, right? That’s undisputed, correct? Are you saying that was an accident? You pulled the trigger, right? It takes pressure to pull the trigger. That was you, right?” Medina stood silently, occasionally nodding.
“I’m talking to you man-to-man,” Collins said. “Maybe they’re right. You have no heart.” When the defendant began to look down, Collins stopped him and warned him to look him in the eye. “I think they’re right,” he said. “A killer and a coward. A coward. You can’t even acknowledge to the family here the gravity of your actions.”
Collins, who did not preside over the previous three trials, began to question whether he should accept Medina’s plea. “Let me try this case. Cause as I look at you, I don’t feel anything for you,” he said. “You give me no reason to go along with it.”
Medina’s attorney, Todd Perkins, interrupted and asked the judge not to hold his client’s silence against him. Perkins said his client was unprepared to speak on his own behalf. “Everybody’s reaction to different circumstances and different stimuli is different,” Perkins said. “He has accepted responsibility.”
Medina then spoke up, saying, “I’m sorry for what happened, and if I could take it back, I would.”
Out of respect for attorneys on both sides, Collins said, he would accept the plea. He sentenced Medina to six to 15 years in prison for manslaughter, to be followed by two years for the weapons charge. Medina received credit for 1,779 days in custody.
