25 Year Old Jessica Heeringa Missing Since 4/26/13 in Norton Shores, MI Presumed Deceased

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/10/photos_of_willis_with_naked_wo.html

Photos of Willis with naked women found in his van, testimony indicates
Updated on October 10, 2017 at 5:58 PM,  Posted on October 10, 2017 at 4:42 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Among the items seized from accused murderer Jeffrey Willis' van were photographs of him and two naked women, according to testimony in a Muskegon County courtroom Tuesday.

Muskegon County Sheriff's Detective Lisa Freres testified about the items seized during searches of Willis' home and van following his arrest for the abduction of a teenage girl in 2016. Testimony at earlier hearings described items found in the van, including a handgun, handcuffs, chain, rope and syringes but not the photographs.

Freres' testimony was part of a hearing on a motion to disallow the introduction of evidence seized during the search of Willis' home at his upcoming trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch. Circuit Judge William Marietti said Defense Attorney Fred Johnson's argument that there was not probable cause to search the home was a "moot point" because the officer who obtained a signed search warrant from a magistrate was acting in "good faith."

Marietti denied Johnson's motion, opening the prosecution up to presenting scads of evidence during the Bletsch homicide trial that is scheduled to start Tuesday in Marietti's court

In addition to the murder of Bletsch and the kidnapping of the teen, Willis is accused of the abduction and murder of gas station clerk Jessica Heeringa.
 
The trial next week will begin with the selection of a jury. Marietti discussed the challenge of finding impartial jurors, and agreed to allow potential jurors to fill out a questionnaire composed by Johnson. Johnson has filed a motion to move the trial out of Muskegon County, but he agreed with Marietti that a ruling on that motion only will be proper after attempts have been made to seat one in Muskegon County.

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/10/jeffrey_willis_trial_scenes_fr.html

Jury selection moves slowly on first day of Jeffrey Willis trial
Updated on October 17, 2017 at 4:54 PM,  Posted on October 17, 2017 at 4:53 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Jury selection for Jeffrey Willis' trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch proceeded slowly Tuesday with individual questioning of each potential juror.

The sixth floor of the Muskegon County courthouse was practically given over to the selection process, with more than 130 people called to report for jury duty. The entire pool of people who could potentially be called is 326, officials said earlier.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson and Willis attorney Frederick Johnson took turns questioning jurors individually as Willis, his defense team, Bletsch's family and police investigators looked on.

Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom for jury selection.

Willis looked markedly different from his previous court appearance, trading in his orange jumpsuit reserved for high-risk jail inmates for a dark suit and yellow tie.

Willis is accused of shooting Bletsch several times in the head alongside Automobile Road in rural Muskegon County on June 29, 2014. Prosecutors say the motive was to kidnap, sexually assault and kill Bletsch as they say he did to Jessica Heeringa. Willis is also charged in the kidnapping and murder of Heeringa, who disappeared from her gas station job, in April 2013. Her body has never been found.
 

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/10/family_remembers_becky_bletsch.html

Family remembers Becky Bletsch as Jeffrey Willis murder trial begins
Updated on October 18, 2017 at 2:14 PM,  Posted on October 18, 2017 at 2:13 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - More than three years after Rebekah Bletsch died, her family waits with trepidation, sorrow and anger for a jury to be chosen to decide the fate of her accused murderer, Jeffrey Willis.

Some of Bletsch's family members have been in the Muskegon courtroom the last two days to watch the painstakingly slow process of interviewing prospective jurors. They vow to be there on Thursday, when jury selection will continue, and every day of the trial estimated to last three weeks.
 
Once the Bletsch murder trial is over, Willis is expected to next face trial for kidnapping and murder in the disappearance of Jessica Heeringa on April 26, 2013. After that, he is expected to face trial for the kidnapping of a teenager on April 16, 2016, who escaped from her abductor by jumping from his moving minivan.
 

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http://www.wzzm13.com/news/jury-selected-for-jeffrey-willis-trial/484574408

Testimony begins in Jeffrey Willis trial
7:21 PM. EDT October 19, 2017

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MICH. - Testimony is underway in the murder trial of Jeffrey Willis. He's accused of killing Rebeka Bletsch in June of 2014.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson started the trial with his opening statement, telling jurors they would learn Willis had hundreds of videos on his home computer described as rape, torture, and kill videos. He also said gloves found in Willis' van had the suspects DNA on the inside and Bletsch's on the outside, adding, "We are alleging that during the course of this particular murder that Mr. Willis was attempting to kidnap and abduct Rebekah Bletsch, prior to shooting her dead."

Willis' attorney Fred Johnson told jurors Willis' cousin Kevin Bluhm killed Bletsch.

"We believe that the police will indicate that he was a person of interest to them, that he had details about Mrs. Bletsch's murder that weren't released to the public, in other words he had inside information," Johnson said Thursday in court. "We believe that Mr. Bluhm had both the motive and the opportunity to do this shooting and he id in fact the person that did."
 

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Postings during the trial
Please begin reading information from the bottom to the top.

http://woodtv.com/2017/10/19/jury-seated-in-jeffrey-willis-trial-for-rebekah-bletsch-murder/

911 call heard in Willis trial for Bletsch murder
Published: October 19, 2017, 12:33 pm  |  Updated: October 19, 2017, 5:48 pm

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/10/jeffrey_willis_trial_bletschs.html

Jeffrey Willis trial: Bletsch's killer moved around as he shot 3 times
Updated on October 20, 2017 at 6:22 PM,  Posted on October 20, 2017 at 6:20 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Rebekah Bletsch suffered four gunshot wounds to her head, and the placement of those and of shell casings indicate her killer probably moved around while shooting, according to testimony in Jeffrey Willis' murder trial Friday.

The forensic pathologist who conducted Bletsch's autopsy testified during the second day of Willis' trial in Muskegon County circuit court. Willis is being tried for the murder of Bletsch, who was fatally shot as she jogged along a rural road in Muskegon County on June 29, 2014.

Willis also is being charged with the 2013 kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa, and later testimony on Friday focused on the investigation into her disappearance. The investigation included an interview of Willis just weeks after Heeringa disappeared and more than a year before Bletsch's death.

Prosecutor D.J. Hilson contends that the Bletsch and Heeringa homicides and the kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl who escaped, and for which Willis is also charged, are all the result of Willis' desire to abduct and sexually assault them.
 
Testimony in the Bletsch homicide case is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24.

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Updates posted during the trial session on Friday.

http://woodtv.com/2017/10/20/testimony-continues-in-jeffrey-willis-rebekah-bletsch-murder-trial/

Day 2 of testimony ends in Willis trial for Bletsch murder
Published: October 20, 2017, 8:00 am  |  Updated: October 20, 2017, 4:52 pm

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/10/jeffrey_willis_trial_kidnapped.html

Jeffrey Willis trial: Kidnapped teen testifies, terrifying 911 call heard
Updated on October 24, 2017 at 3:57 PM,  Posted on October 24, 2017 at 12:54 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - The teen who escaped a kidnapper, who allegedly was accused murderer Jeffrey Willis, took the witness stand Tuesday morning, but the most harrowing account of her ordeal came from a 911 call played in court.

The 17-year-old, identified by her initials MJN, identified Willis as the man who kidnapped her in April 2016 while she was walking down a rural Muskegon County road. The girl jumped from the man's moving minivan, ran to a nearby home for help and later identified Willis out of a photo lineup, she said.

Willis is being tried by Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson for the June 29, 2014, murder of Rebekah Bletsch, who was shot in the head several times while she was jogging on a different rural road in the county.

Willis has also been charged in the kidnapping of MJN as well as the kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa in 2013. Hilson has characterized the crimes as sexually motivated.
 

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http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/muskegon/cousin-of-jeffrey-willis-in-court-in-court-asking-judge-to-dismiss-felony-charge/485374665

Cousin of Jeffrey Willis in court asking judge to dismiss felony charge
5:09 PM. EDT October 23, 2017

UPDATE: The court denied both the lowering of Bluhm's bond and the dismissal of his felony "accessory after the fact" charge.

Read More: Live updates from Bluhm's hearing

MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. - Jeffrey Willis' cousin Kevin Lavern Bluhm is charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact relating to the Jessica Heeringa investigation.

A motion filed Oct. 16, 2017, is asking Muskegon Circuit Judge William Marietti to dismiss the accessory charge. The motion states, "the felony complaint for the accessory charge was based solely on statements Mr. Bluhm made during an interrogation interview on June 16, 2016."

Bluhm pleaded not guilty to the charge in September 2016. He has been in jail ever since.

In August 2016, Kevin Bluhm plead guilty to lying to police and served three months in jail. Bluhm was charged with accessory after the fact on the day he was set to be released from jail on the lying conviction. In that case, Bluhm told detectives he hadn't seen Willis for several months and didn't know Willis had a handgun.

At a second interview with police, Bluhm said he saw Willis with a lifeless body of a women he believed to be Heeringa in the basement of a vacant Muskegon home. Later, during the same interview, Bluhm told police he made the whole story up.

Prosecutors believe Bluhm helped Willis remove the body from the home, put it in a van and eventually move it to a pre-dug hole near Willis' home on Sheridan Street.

Police later searched the wooded area and could not find Heeringa's body.
 

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/10/jeffrey_willis_trial_ex-wife_s.html

Jeffrey Willis trial: Ex-wife says he wrote her about day Bletsch died
Updated on October 25, 2017 at 5:46 PM,  Posted on October 25, 2017 at 5:44 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Jeffrey Willis tried to manipulate his ex-wife's memory of the day Rebekah Bletsch was killed, according to the ex-wife's testimony in Willis' murder trial Wednesday.

Charlene Bishop, who restored her last name after divorcing Willis last year, took the stand as a prosecution witness and testified against her ex-husband who is being tried for Bletsch's death.

Also testifying in Muskegon County Circuit Court was a computer crime expert who described thousands of abduction, rape, torture and kill videos found on Willis' computer, as well as homemade videos of unknowing women in parking lots and one of girls at a bus stop.

Willis is accused of the shooting death of Bletsch on June 29, 2014, as she jogged along a rural road. He's also been charged with the kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa who disappeared in 2013 and last year's abduction of a teenager who managed to escape.
 

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http://fox17online.com/2017/10/26/willis-trial-thursday-focusing-on-dna-evidence/

Day 5 of Willis trial focusing on DNA evidence and ballistics
Posted 10:53 AM, October 26, 2017, by FOX 17 News, Updated at 06:16PM, October 26, 2017

MUSKEGON, Mich. - The trial of Jeffrey Willis continued Thursday with testimony from DNA experts who worked on the Rebekah Bletsch murder.

Willis is on trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch in 2014.  He is also accused of killing Jessica Heeringa in 2013 and abducting a teen in 2016, but those cases have not yet been tried.

Thursday, Katherine Meredith and Sarah Rambadt, both Michigan State Police forensics scientists testified about DNA found at the scene and in the Willis home and his grandfather's home.

In the grandfather's home, they found water damage and mold throughout the home.  Meredith testified they did not find DNA of Kevin Bletsch, Rebekah's husband, on her belongings, but did find DNA of an unknown male.   She also testified that bleach and other cleaning products can break down DNA.

Rambadt testified to finding another person's DNA on Bletsch's shoulder, but not enough to identify.

In afternoon testimony, experts said the Willis' DNA was found on the gun that was found in his van and that no DNA of Kevin Bluhm was found on the gun.  Bluhm is Willis' cousin and is in custody for being an accessory after the fact in Jessica Heeringa's alleged kidnapping and murder.  The defense floated a theory in earlier testimony that Bluhm had shot and killed Bletsch, not Willis.
 
The prosecution has at least one more witness to call, who will be a forensics expert and likely answer many DNA questions raised Thursday. When the prosecution rests their case, the defense will start calling their witnesses if any. Testimony resumes at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

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http://fox17online.com/2017/10/27/prosecution-rests-in-willis-case-defense-to-start-calling-witnesses/

Prosecution rests in Willis case; defense delays trial until at least Tuesday
Posted 2:08 PM, October 27, 2017, by FOX 17 News, Updated at 07:16PM, October 27, 2017

MUSKEGON, Mich. - The prosecution rested their case against Jeffrey Willis and the defense was expected to call an important witness Friday afternoon, but instead created an unexpected delay.

Willis is accused of murdering Rebekah Bletsch while she was jogging June 29, 2014.  He is also accused of kidnapping and murdering Jessica Heeringa in April of 2013, then abducting a 16-year-old girl in April of 2016, which led to his arrest.  The trial has lasted almost two weeks

The prosecution's final witness was Michelle Schmitt, a Michigan State Police DNA and forensics expert.  She testified that Bletsch's DNA was found on a black Rebok glove and a sex toy that were found inside Willis' minivan.

The defense was expected to start calling witnesses Friday afternoon, but instead asked Judge William Marietti for time to prepare portions of some 18 hours of transcripts from Kevin Bluhm.  Bluhm is Willis' cousin who is in custody, charged with being an accessory after the fact in Jessica Heeringa's murder case.

Before the delay Friday afternoon, the defense brought Bluhm into the courtroom while the jury was absent. Bluhm pleaded his Fifth Amendment rights and will not testify in this trial.

Following this, Willis' attorney Fred Johnson asked Judge Marietti to introduce additional evidence, transcripts of Bluhm's prior testimony, statements and police interviews which still needs to be prepared. Judge Marietti expressed disappointment and said at this point he's heard "no evidence" that Bluhm was involved in the murder of Bletsch, which the defense suggested during opening statements
 

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/10/jeffrey_willis_trial_testimony.html

Jeffrey Willis trial: Defense testimony to begin Wednesday
Updated on October 31, 2017 at 3:22 PM, Posted on October 31, 2017 at 3:21 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Jeffrey Willis' trial for the murder of jogger Rebekah Bletsch will resume Wednesday after a break in testimony needed for the judge to rule on a police interview of Willis' cousin.

Muskegon County Circuit Judge William Marietti is expected to release his opinion on whether the defense can admit as evidence transcript of portions of the 18-hour interview with Willis' cousin, Kevin Bluhm.

During the police interview conducted last year, Bluhm implicates Willis in the 2013 kidnapping and murder of gas station attendant Jessica Heeringa, according to testimony at earlier hearings.

The trial will resume at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 1 in Marietti's court. Defense attorney Fred Johnson has said he plans to call three to four witnesses, and that Willis could be among them.
 
Included in the testimony presented by the prosecution:
•Bletsch's DNA was found on a dildo and pair of gloves that investigators found in Willis' minivan.
•Bullets recovered from Bletsch's body and casings found at the scene were fired from the gun found in Willis' van.
•Willis' DNA was found on the trigger and grip of the gun. Bluhm's DNA was not on the gun or anywhere in Willis' van.
•Willis had a file on his computer inside a folder labeled VICS (for victims) that contained photos of Bletsch. Her initials and a code for the date of her death were used to title the file. He also had a photo of Bletsch on his work computer.
•Willis wrote his ex-wife from jail in 2016 reminding her of what he did and the shirt he wore on June 29, 2014, which was the day Bletsch was killed.
•Bluhm was at his daughter's soccer tournament in Grand Haven at the time of Bletsch's murder.
•Thousands of kidnap, rape and kill videos were found in Willis' home that showed women bound with chains, ropes, handcuffs and ball gags. Those same items were found in Willis' van. One of the videos tiled "The Jogger" showed the abduction, rape and murder of a woman who had been jogging along a rural road.

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http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/muskegon/judge-permits-willis-defense-to-use-some-of-cousins-statements-at-trial/487740718

Judge permits Willis defense to use some of cousin's statements at trial
11:20 PM. EDT October 31, 2017

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MICH. - Tuesday afternoon Muskegon Circuit Judge William Marietti ruled small portions of statements Jeffrey Willis’ cousin made to police can be used by the defense in Willis’ trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch.

The statements are from an 18-hour interview Jeffrey Willis' cousin Kevin Bluhm made with investigators around the time Willis was arrested.

Marietti is permitting public defender Fred Johnson to introduce statements Bluhm made relating to handling a gun, Bluhm's knowledge of where Bletsch lived, and that he thought she was attractive.

Other statements determined to be admissible include Bluhm connecting with Bletsch on her Facebook page. And also an admission Bluhm made relating to dumping memory from his cellphone and home computer hard drive around the time Jeffrey Willis was arrested.

Of the statements the defense requested permission to use only one is not admissible. That one relates to Bluhm's alibi the day Rebekah Bletsch was shot and killed while jogging along Automobile Road in June 2014.
 

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http://fox17online.com/2017/11/01/jeffrey-willis-trial-to-resume-after-delay-defense-begins-case/

Jeffrey Willis takes the stand in Rebekah Bletsch murder trial
Posted 9:55 AM, November 1, 2017, by FOX 17 News, Updated at 04:40PM, November 1, 2017

MUSKEGON, Mich. -- As the defense presented their case in day seven of testimony in the Rebekah Bletsch murder trial, her accused killer Jeffrey Willis took the stand.

Willis denied killing Bletsch or being involved with the 2013 disappearance of Jessica Heeringa.

Bletsch was shot and killed while jogging near her home June 29, 2014.  Willis was arrested in May of 2016, after an alleged attempted abduction of a 16-year-old teen girl lost, walking home from a party.  Willis is also accused of kidnapping and murdering Jessica Heeringa in 2013, but her body has never been found.

At times the exchange between Willis and Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson were snarky and a bit heated, with Hilson telling him not to be "cute" and answer the questions.

First, Willis says his former Herman Miller co-worker Michelle Schnotala sold her Walther P22 gun to him in 2013, with its serial number already scratched off. Experts testified that gun matched ballistics to the bullets found in Bletsch and at the murder scene in June 2014.  He also said Schnotala gave him her underwear.

Both attorneys asked Willis about the tens of thousands of gory "rape capture kill" videos of real women's murders saved on his hard drives.  Willis testified that he downloaded those videos, though says he did not watch them all.

When the prosecutor asked why would he have these, Willis explained that his wife at the time, who testified last week, had an abortion, that their sex life stopped and that these brutal videos were his "outlet."

Willis slightly tripped over his words when testifying about the MJN case, where a 16-year-old previously testified that Willis tried to abduct her and held a gun to her in April 2016.

"At first I thought I should stop, but she wasn't quite where I needed--she was on the other side of the road.  So I turned down Weber and thought 'Well, I'll go and see if she needs any help,'" Willis testified on Wednesday.

The jury could hear Willis stop himself after saying the teen, who FOX 17 is identifying only as MJN, was not "quite where he needed," turning back around to see if she needed a ride.  MJN previously testified that she did not ask for a ride but to use his phone because she was lost.

There were several discrepancies in Wednesday's testimony between Willis and previous experts.  At one point while discussing the MJN case, Prosecutor Hilson told Willis he knew he was lying to police, but Willis said no, that he was just being "evasive."  At that point, there was a muffled laugh in the courtroom when Hilson said that though Willis calls it evasive, he calls it lying.
 

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Updates during trial today...

http://woodtv.com/2017/11/01/jeffrey-willis-rebekah-bletsch-murder-trial-day-7-of-testimony/

Jeffrey Willis testifies in his trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch
Published: November 1, 2017, 4:30 am  |  Updated: November 1, 2017, 11:10 pm

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — The latest in the Jeffrey Willis trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch:

4:15 p.m. – The defense has rested its case. The prosecution will call its rebuttal witnesses Thursday before the case finally goes to the jury.

>>App users: Listen to Jeffrey Willis’ testimony here

The investigator points out Bluhm reset his phone the day after Jeffrey Willis was charged with Bletsch’s murder, and Bluhm had said he handled the gun used in her shooting.

However, Bluhm insists he reset his phone because there was porn on it.

“That was it. I had regular porn on there and I didn’t want to get caught with it,” he said.

“I didn’t want to be a part of it,” Bluhm says in reference to Willis.

Bluhm said he thought Bletsch was a “beautiful lady” when he met her at soccer.

“I looked her up on Facebook and stuff like that, but I would never hurt her,” Bluhm said. He said he never “hit on her” and they were just friends.

“I wouldn’t hurt her. I wouldn’t kill anybody. I’m the most honest guy in the world and I wouldn’t kill her,” he said in the transcript.

He said he would say “hi” to Bletsch on occasion at school after soccer season.

“After she died, I was so shocked,” Bluhm he said.

Bluhm later said he had saved “no more than 10” pictures of Bletsch on his phone after she died and he reset his phone because of the pictures and the porn.

Bluhm said two years after the murder, Willis told him he wanted to get rid of the gun he used to kill Bletsch.

“I told him no, I handed it back,” Bluhm said.

The investigator questions why Bluhm would show up at Willis’ house if he’s afraid of him.

“He’s trying to set me up and I said no. I handed it back. He killed those people,” Bluhm said.

“You’re a State of Michigan employee working for the Michigan Department of Corrections, you’d be the last person he’d go to, you know what I’m saying?” The investigator says.

Bluhm agreed he lied earlier when he said Willis handed him the gun to clean it.

Bluhm said Bletsch told him she lived on Automobile Road.

Bluhm said Willis tried to “lasso” Bletsch while driving and she got out of it, but fell.

4 p.m. – The court is now hearing a recitation of parts of Bluhm’s interview with police.

In the transcript, Bluhm said he handled Willis’ gun, looked at it and handed it back.

“I had no part of Becky’s or any of this,” Bluhm said in the transcript.

Bluhm said he learned about Bletsch and Heeringa’s cases through the news.

Bluhm said he knew Bletsch was shot with small .22-caliber type ammunition, and that there were marks on her body based on the media, but not what she was wearing.

In the transcript, Bluhm said he and Bletsch “crossed each others’ paths in the past” – that their children played soccer together.

Bluhm said he reset his phone on May 26 to clear out pornography.
 

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http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/11/jeffrey_willis_trial_bletsch_m.html

Jeffrey Willis trial: Bletsch murder case in jury's hands
Updated Nov 2, 2017; Posted Nov 2, 2017

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Did Jeffrey Willis kill Rebekah Bletsch? The answer to that question now rests with the 12-member jury following two weeks of testimony.

Final witnesses were called Thursday morning followed by the closing arguments of the prosecution and defense. Two of the original 14 jurors were excused, and the rest of the jury was handed the case around 3:40 p.m. Thursday.

They are to decide whether Willis purposely shot and killed Bletsch as she was out for a jog on Automobile Road in rural Muskegon County on June 29, 2014.

If they decide he did kill her, they must then determine if the murder was first or second degree. For first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life-without-parole sentence, the jurors must determine Willis either planned out the murder beforehand, or that he murdered her while committing or attempting to commit another crime such as kidnapping.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson claims Willis tried to lure Bletsch into this van and killed her as she ran away from him. The motive was to kidnap, sexually assault and then kill her, Hilson said. The time was just minutes after 6 p.m., he said.

Defense attorney Fred Johnson said it was Bluhm who pulled up to Bletsch and shot her, having stalked her, followed her to her address and learned her exercise routine. He didn't offer a motive for Bluhm's actions.
 

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Live updates during the trial today...

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/muskegon/live-blog-day-10-of-jeffrey-willis-trial/488368629

LIVE BLOG: Day 10 of Jeffrey Willis' trial
3:38 PM. EDT November 02, 2017

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MICH. - The trial of Jeffrey Willis for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch continues Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017 marks the tenth day of court.

The judge ordered no cameras be permitted into the court room, however, we were still able to provide audio. You can listen to it on our Facebook.

3:38 p.m.

Judge wraps up jury instructions, sends them to deliberate.

3:06 p.m.
 
Judge begins giving jury instructions.

3:03 p.m.

Prosecutor says not only does Willis have a willingness to lie but he has no problem killing people. Prosecutor rests.

3:02 p.m.

Prosecutor  says law enforcement did make attempt to ping Bluhm's phone but his records did not go back that far. The Prosecutor says  details of MJN and Heeringa was just there to upset the jury if that were the case is not correct, the judge would not have allowed it.

3:01 p.m.

Prosecutor has rebuttal statement. Prosecutor says defense argument is attacking his character. "For him to suggest that I'm invested in this case so much, bothers me," Hilson said
 

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Guilty!   

https://twitter.com/DanaChicklas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ffox17online.com%2F2017%2F11%2F02%2Fwillis-trial-continues-as-defense-tries-to-pin-murder-on-cousin%2F

Dana Chicklas‏Verified account @DanaChicklas · 3m3 minutes ago 
Someone from back of courtroom yelled “rot in hell” as Willis was escorted out of court room

Dana Chicklas‏Verified account @DanaChicklas · 3m3 minutes ago 
Willis to be sentenced Dec. 18

Dana Chicklas‏Verified account @DanaChicklas · 3m3 minutes ago 
Family erupted with cheers, tears, sighs

Dana Chicklas‏Verified account @DanaChicklas · 3m3 minutes ago
Willis guilty of felony firearm

Dana Chicklas‏Verified account @DanaChicklas · 41s41 seconds ago 
Jury finds Jeffrey Willis guilty of first degree murder

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http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/11/02/jeffrey-willis-convicted-2014-murder-jogger-muskegon-county/827787001/

Jeffrey Willis convicted in 2014 murder of jogger in Muskegon County
Associated Press and WZZM Published 9:13 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2017 | Updated 9:29 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2017

MUSKEGON, Mich. — Jurors quickly convicted a man Thursday of fatally shooting a woman who was jogging in 2014, one of two murder cases filed against him in Muskegon County.

Jeffrey Willis denied any role in Rebekah Bletsch’s death in Dalton Township, but jurors determined the evidence against him was strong. The jury met for less than two hours before returning a guilty verdict on the charge of first-degree murder.

The verdict brought sobs and cheers throughout the courtroom on Thursday afternoon. Emotions were raw as the reality of Rebekah's death struck her family members and the man responsible for the crime, sitting just feet away.

“We’re pleased that now we can heal up somewhat and move on,” said Nick Winberg, Bletsch’s father.

Willis faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole when he's sentenced on Dec. 18. Two other cases still are pending, including the 2013 murder of a Muskegon-area gas station clerk whose body hasn’t been found.