Murder Charges Filed In Death Of Armada Teen April Millsap
ARMADA (WWJ) - Multiple charges have been filed against a 32-year-old man in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl whose body was found along a popular nature trail this summer.
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith on Wednesday announced that James Donald VanCallis is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration in the death of April Millsap. The charges carry a penalty of life in prison without the chance of parole.
"Law enforcement took great care to follow every tip and every lead to its conclusion," Smith said. "As the investigation progressed and intensified, the evidence led in only one direction — and that's to James VanCallis."
VanCallis is expected to be arraigned Thursday morning at 42-1 District Court in Romeo.
Millsap was reported missing July 24 by her mother after she failed to return home from walking her dog, Penny, which she did nearly every night. Her body was found hours later in a drainage ditch along the Macomb Orchard Trail near Fulton and Depot roads in Armada. Penny alerted a couple of joggers to the girl's body.
Less than a month later, police named VanCallis -- who was arrested alongside his father on drug charges after a search connected to the murder revealed an alleged marijuana growing operation at their home -- as a person of interest in Millsap's death.
Millsap died of blunt head trauma and asphyxia due to neck compression, according to a medical examiner's report.
"My office intends to present physical, electronic and eyewitness testimony and evidence, placing VanCallis at the scene of the murder with the victim at the time of the murder," Smith said. "I'm confident that these charges will be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."
Howard Smith, Armada Police Chief, thanked everyone involved in the investigation.
"Working together as one strong unit has been fantastic. The fact that the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office and the St. Clair County Prosecutor's Office was able to work with us after the first search warrant where we found the illegal grow operation, made things much easier for us," Howard Smith said. "We trust that we're moving forward from here to a very successful prosecution."
Defense Attorney Dean Ankouny has told WWJ on multiple occasions that VanCallis is innocent.
"We feel that Mr. VanCallis had nothing to do with the murder of April Millsap," Ankouny said last month. "He may or may not have been in Armada on the day of the April Millsap murder, but obviously he frequents Armada, and he only lives 15-20 minutes from that location... but he's had absolutely no contact with her — never met her."
Eric Smith said he has a mountain of evidence against VanCallis , but declined to provide specific details of the case "for a lot of reasons."
"One, we have to make sure that the defendant gets a fair trial but also, we have April's parents here with us and I'm not going to discuss the details of this case; they're going to hear it in court like the rest of us will," he said.
The prosecutor also decline to discuss a possible motive in the case.
"I know it certainly makes everyone feel better when we can say this or that, but as things stand right now, we have the evidence...to put James VanCallis at the scene of the crime with the victim at the time of the crime," Eric Smith said. "As to motive, I don't want to say it's immaterial but it's not something that we have to prove."
The elder VanCallis remains jailed, awaiting an October 20 trial on drug charges.
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