Person Of Interest In Jessica Heeringa's Disappearance Faces Murder Charge In 2014 Shooting Death

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A western Michigan man accused of abducting a 16-year-old girl last month has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a 36-year-old woman in 2014.

Jeffrey Willis, 46, of Muskegon Township, is charged with open murder and using a firearm in a felony in the death of Rebekah Bletsch. He's also facing several child pornography charges, and prosecutors have said he is being investigated in the 2013 disappearance of a gas station clerk.

"Today is still a sad day for many people, but is a happy day for law enforcement," prosecutor D.J. Hilson said at a news conference.

Ballistics matched a handgun seized from Willis' minivan with bullets found in Bletsch's body and shell casings found at the scene of her death, according to investigators. As far as authorities know, Willis and Bletsch didn't know each other before she was killed, Hilson said.

Willis had been under investigation in her death since he was charged in April with kidnapping and other crimes in an incident involving a 16-year-old girl in Muskegon County's Fruitland Township. She told investigators that she jumped out of Willis' van to escape.

"She probably doesn't realize how much of a hero she is," Hilson said of the girl.

According to a detective's statement in the kidnapping case, investigators found a pistol, ammunition, syringes with liquid, a ball gag, chains, a mask and a bar with wrist restraints in Willis's van. Child pornography and videos of bound women were found in his home.

Authorities also have said Willis is being investigated in the 2013 disappearance of then-25-year-old Jessica Heeringa. She was last seen just before closing up an Exxon gas station where she worked in Norton Shores. On Wednesday, Hilson said he wouldn't take questions about that case.

Asked whether Willis was being looked at in other cases, Hilson said investigators were "keeping lines open."

Willis is being held on $1 million bond. The public defender's office, which is representing him, said it doesn't comment on pending cases.

A passer-by discovered Bletsch's body on June 29, 2014, along a Muskegon County road about three-quarters of a mile from where she lived. Authorities believe Bletsch had been jogging along on her regular route when she was killed. She died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head.

"It's been a rough couple of years, but we've had our faith and trust in law enforcement and they haven't' let us down," her father, Nick Winberg of Muskegon, said at the news conference.

Authorities said Bletsch had valuables on her, but nothing was taken.

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.