Judge Orders Man To Trial In 2014 Slaying Of Female Jogger Near Muskegon
MUSKEGON (WWJ/AP) - A 46-year-old western Michigan man also under investigation in the 2013 disappearance of a gas station clerk will stand trial in the slaying of a female jogger.
WZZM-TV reports that a judge on Wednesday ordered Jeffrey Willis to Muskegon County Circuit Court on murder and gun charges in the 2014 shooting death of 36-year-old Rebekah Bletsch in Dalton Township.
Ballistics matched a handgun seized from the vehicle with slugs found in Bletsch's body and shell casings.
Willis of Muskegon Township also was charged in April with kidnapping a 16-year-old girl. The girl told investigators that she jumped out of Willis' minivan to escape. He was charged in April with kidnapping and other crimes in that case.
Authorities also have said Willis is a person of interest in the 2013 disappearance of then-25-year-old Jessica Heeringa from a Norton Shores gas station.
Heeringa hasn't been seen since just before she was closing up an Exxon Station where she worked in Norton Shores on April 26, 2013.
Investigators have said they think the young mother was taken against her will by someone she likely knew. There was no indication of a robbery, as Heeringa's purse, vehicle and other items were left behind at the scene. DNA testing showed a small amount of blood found outside the gas station belonged to Heeringa.
Hundreds of tips have been investigated and a cash reward topping $21,000 is being offered in the case.
Last Friday, police were reportedly combing an area near the Willis' home, presumably for her remains.
Investigators have said Willis' van resembles the vehicle described by tipsters in the high-profile Herringa case, but police have otherwise been pretty much mum on any new leads.
Hundreds of tips have been investigated and a cash reward topping $21,000 is being offered in the case.
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