Lansing Police have said for days that Matthew Macon is Lansing's "Serial Killer."

Sunday, Macon's family is speaking out, calling their brother "absolutely innocent."

"We do not feel he is capable of committing such heinous crimes," says cousin and family spokesman Clifton Jackson.

Lansing Police accuse Macon of murdering five Lansing women in five weeks and potentially a sixth in 2004. He has a long history of criminal behavior, including larceny and criminal sexual conduct-- a history, his cousin says, that wrongly influenced the decision to arrest Macon.

"Just because Matthew Macon has a criminal record doesn't mean he's capable of murder," Clifton says.

The family and their lawyer, Mike O'Briant, say they feel Macon has already been convicted in the media.

"I want to request that government officials who have for the past few days been commenting on this case through the press cease their public speculation about this case," O'Briant says.

A major point of contention for the family is the sketch police released of him. They say the picture is of no resemblance to Matthew; his sister, Melissa, stating the nose, complexion and facial hair on the sketch are nothing like her brother's.

A Lansing police spokeswoman says the department is of course sorry for the Macon family's hardships, but they are standing by their decision to release Macon's name and picture to the public to let them know a suspect was in custody.

The Macon family says their thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, but that Matthew Macon is not the person who took their lives.