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Author Topic: 25 Year Old Jessica Heeringa Missing Since 4/26/13 in Norton Shores, MI Presumed Deceased  (Read 164611 times)
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grace-land
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« Reply #320 on: November 03, 2017, 10:00:01 PM »

http://woodtv.com/2017/11/03/prosecutor-says-more-trials-ahead-for-jeffrey-willis/

Prosecutor says more trials ahead for Jeffrey Willis
Barton Deiters
Published: November 3, 2017, 5:51 pm  |  Updated: November 3, 2017, 6:37 pm
 
Although Willis will be sentenced next month to life in prison without the possibility of parole, this prosecutor believed justice demands convictions in the 2013 presumed homicide of Jessica Heeringa and the attempted abduction of a teenage girl in 2016.

“I don’t see any need whatsoever to get rid of any of the cases against Mr. Willis, in my opinion, he deserves no break,” Hilson said.

Hilson said the family of Jessica Heeringa has been waiting too long for justice and deserves to see Willis convicted in that case.

But with Willis never leaving prison, will there be any incentive for him to cooperate with revealing where her body is located?

“He knows exactly where her body is, whether or not he wants to tell us that or tell anybody that matter, that’s on him and if he did, we would be willing to listen,” Willis said.

After the trial, Willis’s defense attorney Fred Johnson said there are many grounds for an appeal.

“This case is not over, this case is gonna be going on for 10 years. They’re gonna be appealing this stuff,” Johnson said.

Hilson said a year in appeals is more like it.

“We will be certainly ready to respond accordingly,” Hilson said. “I don’t anticipate that taking 10 years.”

Throughout the case, the defense contended that it was Jeffrey Willis’ cousin Kevin Bluhm who killed Rebekah Bletsch.

The prosecution demonstrated to the jury that there was no way Bluhm could have committed the crime.

.Bluhm already admitted lying about the case and now faces trial Nov. 28 on charges of being an accessory after the fact, he faces a maximum of five years in prison

“There’s nothing as of right now anyway, any evidence that suggests he was involved in the Jessica Heeringa murder, so until evidence or leads point us in that direction, It is what it is with Mr. Blum and we’re gonna pursue that charge to the fullest,” Hilson said.

Hilson said when the trial for Heeringa would take place is still some time away.

He said the publicity of the Bletsch trial needs to wane first.

He said the next trial will look very similar to this one.

“The three cases, that being Jessica’s case, Rebekah’s case and MJN’s case are so interconnected, ther’s so many similarities and interconnections you really can’t try one of these cases without introducing evidence form the other two,” Hilson said.

Willis will be back in court Dec. 18, where he will receive the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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grace-land
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« Reply #321 on: November 03, 2017, 10:09:00 PM »

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/muskegon/prosecutor-and-lawyer-weigh-in-on-whats-next-for-willis/488824373

Prosecutor and lawyer weigh in on what's next for Willis
Jon Mills, WZZM 5:33 PM. EDT November 03, 2017

 
Muskegon County prosecutor D.J. Hilson is seeking conviction on all the crimes WIllis is charged with

"Whatever Mr. Willis doesn't plead to I will try," Hilson said. A trial for the murder of gas station clerk Jessica Heeringa has not been scheduled. It will likely happen in 2018.

"He knows exactly where her body is," Hilson said. "Whether or not he wants to tell us, we would be willing to listen."

And Hilson expects appeals will be filed. "Anybody convicted in a jury trial has the automatic right to an appeal at the court of appeals level," Hilson said. "We will certainly be ready to respond accordingly."
 
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« Reply #322 on: November 29, 2017, 03:53:59 PM »

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

Kevin Bluhm enters plea in Jessica Heeringa murder case
Updated Nov 28, 6:59 AM; Posted Nov 27

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Jeffrey Willis' cousin, Kevin Bluhm, has pleaded no contest to being an accessory after Jessica Heeringa's murder.

Bluhm entered the plea in Muskegon County Circuit Court Nov. 27, according to Matt Roberts, chief trial attorney for the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office.

Bluhm was accused of knowing Willis had committed murder and/or kidnapping and that he protected Willis from law enforcement. The charge is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

Bluhm's trial was set to begin Tuesday. His plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such at sentencing.
 
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« Reply #323 on: November 29, 2017, 04:00:48 PM »

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/11/28/man-charged-jessica-heeringa-plea/900510001/

Cousin of man charged in Jessica Heeringa's death enters plea
Published 7:22 a.m. ET Nov. 28, 2017

MUSKEGON — A cousin of a man charged in the slaying of a 25-year-old western Michigan gas station clerk is expected to avoid additional jail time for helping him afterward.

Kevin Bluhm pleaded no contest Monday to being an accessory after the fact of murder. He's been jailed since September 2016 on the charge. A no contest plea isn't an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing, which is scheduled Jan. 9.
 
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« Reply #324 on: December 11, 2017, 08:58:23 PM »

http://fox17online.com/2017/12/08/prosecutor-jeffrey-willis-to-be-tried-for-heeringa-murder-in-march-2018/

Prosecutor: Jeffrey Willis to be tried for Heeringa murder in March 2018
Posted 4:48 PM, December 8, 2017, by Bob Brenzing, Updated at 04:51PM, December 8, 2017

MUSKEGON, Mich. – The murder case of Jessica Heeringa will go to trial in March 2018, almost five years since she disappeared from a Norton Shores gas station.

Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson tells FOX 17 that the trial of Jeffrey Willis will begin on March 6, 2018 at the Muskegon County Courthouse.  Hilson says he expects the trial to last about 12 days.

Willis was convicted of the 2014 killing of Rebekah Bletsch in November.  He is to be sentenced on December 18 for that murder.  Willis is also accused of abducting a teen in 2016.  He has not yet been tried for that crime.
 
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grace-land
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« Reply #325 on: December 20, 2017, 07:02:16 PM »

 
http://woodtv.com/2017/12/18/willis-blows-kiss-leaves-court-before-bletsch-murder-sentence/

Willis blows kiss, leaves court before Bletsch murder sentence
Published: December 18, 2017, 10:19 am  |  Updated: December 18, 2017, 6:26 pm

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — Jeffrey Willis was sentenced Monday morning for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch, but not before an unusual exit from a Muskegon courtroom.

Shortly after Willis entered the courtroom, he asked to leave
.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson called the request “unprecedented,” but Judge William Marietti pointed out there is no law that requires Willis to be present for his sentencing.

“It’s unfortunate that he’s choosing this cowardly way of doing it. That certainly he’s been convicted, the family deserves the right to address the court which they intend to do and they also in some respects deserve the right to address the person convicted of killing their daughter and sister. But, that being said, whatever the court decides, the court decides,” said Hilson.

As Willis was being escorted out, he turned and blew a kiss to the people in the courtroom, some of which were calling him a coward.
 
The judge sentenced Willis to life in prison without the possibility of parole for felony first-degree murder as well as a consecutive three-year sentence on a felony firearm charge.
 
The judge declined to comment during Willis’ sentencing because of the defendant’s pending cases in the kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa and the attempted abduction of a 16-year-old girl.
 
In March, Willis will be back in court to stand trial for Heeringa’s disappearance and death. She vanished from a gas station in Norton Shores during her shift on the night of April 26, 2013.

Her body has never been found, but prosecutors say a file titled “VICS” found on one of Willis’ hard drives and containing a subfolder labeled with Heeringa’s initials and a code indicating the date of her disappearance is evidence she’s dead. Another subfolder in that “VICS” file was labeled with Bletsch’s name and a code for the date of her death.

Bletsch’s family also wants Willis’ cousin, Kevin Bluhm, locked up. Bluhm was arrested for lying to police and eventually pleaded no contest to being an accessory after the fact in Heeringa’s murder. Bluhm told police he helped Willis dispose of Heeringa’s body, then told investigators he lied.

Bluhm will be sentenced in January.
 
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« Reply #326 on: December 21, 2017, 12:26:16 PM »

thank you for the updates grace-land
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goodmorn,goodnite, got to go, as always its been wonderful, talking with you, and most of all have a great day, and dont forget to smile
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« Reply #327 on: January 15, 2018, 11:17:57 PM »

thank you for the updates grace-land

 

You're welcome, cw618!
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« Reply #328 on: January 15, 2018, 11:23:40 PM »

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2018/01/kevin_bluhm_walks_free_for_his.html

Kevin Bluhm walks free for his role in Jessica Heeringa's murder
Updated Jan 9; Posted Jan 9

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Jeffrey Willis' cousin, Kevin Bluhm, was to be set free Tuesday following sentencing for his involvement in the murder of Jessica Heeringa.

But he won't be free from prying eyes, as he will be required to wear an electronic GPS tether to monitor his whereabouts for at least a year.

Bluhm, 49, was sentenced Jan. 9 by Muskegon County Circuit Judge William C. Marietti to time he has already served in the Muskegon County Jail, where he has been lodged since Sept. 20, 2016.

Marietti also ordered Bluhm to serve the maximum of five years probation and to wear the monitor, which the judge said he would review in a year. Matt Roberts, chief trial attorney for the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office, requested the tether, saying Bluhm may have information about where Heeringa's body is located.

Bluhm, dressed in jailhouse blues, sat with his back to the gallery, which included his wife and daughter.

Bluhm pleaded no contest on Nov. 27, 2017, to being an accessory after the fact in the murder of Heeringa, who disappeared in April 2013 from her night job at a Norton Shores gas station. Willis has been charged in her murder, and the trial is scheduled for early March.
 

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grace-land
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« Reply #329 on: January 23, 2018, 09:28:46 PM »

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/muskegon/williss-next-trial-in-march-may-be-delayed-judge-to-decide/508891507

Willis's next trial in March may be delayed, judge to decide
5:55 PM. EST January 17, 2018

MUSKEGON, MICH. - The man who's serving a life prison sentence for the death of Muskegon County mother Rebekah Bletsch is scheduled to go to trial for the death of store clerk Jessica Heeringa in March.

However, a new motion filed in the case could delay the trial for weeks, if not months.
 
The motion may delay the trial scheduled to begin on March 6.

Johnson says he and other attorneys at the public defenders office have too much to review before trial. Johnson is also waiting for transcripts from Willis' first trial.
 
Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson say he opposes the motion, will ask the judge to deny it, and he'll continue preparing for the trial to start in March.

Judge Marietti will hear the motion on Jan. 26 at 10 a.m.
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« Reply #330 on: January 23, 2018, 09:34:18 PM »

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/muskegon/prosecutors-seek-to-combine-willis-criminal-cases/509246344

Prosecutors seek to combine Willis criminal cases
6:05 PM. EST January 18, 2018

MUSKEGON, MICH. - Muskegon prosecutors are asking a judge to put two outstanding cases together against convicted killer Jeffrey Willis.

County Prosecutor DJ Hilson is asking a judge to join the case of the April 2013 kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa in Norton Shores, and the 2016 attempted abduction of a 16-year-old girl north of Muskegon.

Prosecutors are arguing the crimes are the continuation of a pattern of behavior by Willis. Prosecutors say that pattern also fit Willis' murder of Rebekah Bletsch in 2014.
 

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« Reply #331 on: January 26, 2018, 10:12:55 PM »

http://woodtv.com/2018/01/26/judge-delays-willis-trial-for-jessica-heeringa-murder/

Judge delays Willis trial for Jessica Heeringa murder
Published: January 26, 2018, 11:51 am  |  Updated: January 26, 2018, 6:46 pm

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — Convicted murderer Jeffrey Willis will have more time to prepare for his trial in the April 2013 kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa.

In a 15-minute hearing on Friday, Judge William Marietti agreed to delay Willis’ trial, which was slated to start March 6. It’s now expected to begin in early May, which was the time period public defender Fred Johnson was requesting.
 
Hilson wants to move forward faster — so he again filed a motion to combine the Heeringa murder case and the attempted abduction of a teen girl in 2016 into one trial. Hilson said much of the evidence against Willis in those cases is the same.

>>Inside woodtv.com:  Complete coverage of the Jeffrey Willis investigation

Marietti previously denied the same request before the Bletsch trial.

“It just makes sense,” Hilson said. “It’s going to become harder and harder to find individuals in Muskegon County who can objectively view the evidence.”

Johnson, on the other hand, wants to keep the two trials separate.

“This isn’t about economy — this isn’t about efficiency. This is about justice. And if takes multiple trials to get justice in this matter, that’s what we should do,” Johnson said.

Marietti is expected to rule on whether or not to combine the cases sometime within the next few weeks.
 
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2018/01/jeffrey_willis_trial_delayed_f.html
Jeffrey Willis' trial delayed for murder of Jessica Heeringa
Updated 10:40 AM; Posted 10:11 AM
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« Reply #332 on: February 09, 2018, 08:55:56 PM »

http://woodtv.com/2018/02/04/willis-claims-innocence-im-not-going-quietly/

Willis claims innocence: ‘I’m not going quietly’
Jeffrey Willis changed passwords to 'JLH42713' after Jessica Heeringa vanished
Heather Walker, Target 8 investigator
Published: February 4, 2018, 11:56 pm  |  Updated: February 5, 2018, 12:07 am

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — When asked if he is a serial killer, Jeffrey Willis laughed.

“No,” he told Target 8.

But if convicted in May of the murder of Jessica Heeringa, Willis will meet the FBI’s definition of one: someone guilty of killing at least two people in separate events.

Three times of the course of three days, Willis spoke to Target 8 from the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, where he’s being held on a life sentence for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch.

The interviews were scheduled after Willis reached out to Target 8, claiming in a letter that he’s innocent, that he was framed in both murder cases and that he has proof. The conversations took place over the phone because that was the only way the prison would allow Target 8 to record them.

When asked if he killed Heeringa, Willis replied, “No.” When asked if he had anything to do with her 2013 disappearance, he again replied, “No.”
 
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« Reply #333 on: April 23, 2018, 08:29:00 PM »

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2018/04/willis_returns_to_court_for_he.html

Willis returns to court for hearing on upcoming Heeringa murder case
Updated April 23, 2018 at 3:01 PM; Posted April 23, 2018 at 12:30 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Convicted murderer Jeffrey Willis was back in court for a hearing on whether he will face just one trial for the murder of Jessica Heeringa and the kidnapping of a teen girl.

The judge ruled he won't, with the Heeringa case set to begin May 2 in the courtroom of Muskegon County Circuit Judge William C. Marietti. The kidnapping case has not been scheduled.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson had asked that the cases be combined since they are "almost identical" with most of the same witnesses.

"To me, it's common sense because they're so intertwined with one another that they be tried together," Hilson said.

Willis was convicted last November of killing Rebekah Bletsch, and is serving a life sentence.
 
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« Reply #334 on: April 27, 2018, 08:00:26 PM »

 Sad
http://www.woodtv.com/news/jeffrey-willis-investigation/heeringa-family-holding-hope-5-years-after-disappearance/1143613346

Heeringa family holding hope 5 years after disappearance
By: Heather Walker
Updated: Apr 26, 2018 07:11 PM EDT

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) — It has been five years since Jessica Heeringa disappeared from a Norton Shores gas station. She hasn’t been seen since, but investigators and prosecutors believe that she was murdered by Jeffrey Willis.

Willis will stand trial for Heeringa’s kidnapping and murder next week.

On Friday, a post on the “Find Jessica Heeringa” Facebook page appearing to be from Heeringa’s mom said, “I will never quit looking for my daughter, the police have, let’s make this the year, Jes comes home. she is alive she is out there….”

The Norton Shores Police Department says they haven’t stopped searching despite the charges.
 
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ARUBA: It's all about Natalee...we won't give up!


« Reply #335 on: April 30, 2018, 09:18:12 PM »

http://www.mlive.com/expo/erry-2018/04/d946ad94d47505/jeffrey_willis_goes_on_trial_f.html

Jeffrey Willis goes on trial for Jessica Heeringa's murder, abduction
By Lynn Moore | lmoore8@mlive.com | Posted April 30, 2018 at 10:13 AM


MUSKEGON, MI - Five years after Jessica Heeringa disappeared, the trial of her alleged murderer, Jeffrey Willis, will begin in a Muskegon County courtroom this week.

Willis, already convicted of first-degree murder, will be tried in the abduction and murder of Heeringa, 25, who disappeared from the gas station where she worked in April 2013.

The road to justice has been a long one. Willis was arrested in May 2016,  almost exactly one month after the abduction of a teenager who identified him as the man who tried to shoot her when she ran from him.

His arrest was the missing piece to a puzzle investigators had been trying to solve for years. It included the unsolved murder of Rebekah Bletsch, also along a Muskegon County road in 2014.

Willis was convicted of killing Bletsch as part of a "scheme" to kidnap, rape and kill vulnerable women, the prosecutor has alleged. As a result, the kidnapping of the 16-year-old and the murder of Bletsch  will figure prominently in the Heeringa trial.

An estimated 300 people will be on standby to serve as jurors in the upcoming trial. Pre-trial publicity of the Heeringa case could make it difficult to seat an impartial jury. Jury selection begins Tuesday, and is expected to last several days

Heeringa disappears
Jessica Heeringa, the single mother of a 3-year-old boy, disappeared while working the late shift at the Exxon gas station on Sternberg Road in Norton Shores on April 26, 2013.

A customer called police after he arrived at the station to find no one working. Arriving officers found Heeringa's purse and coat and evidence she was preparing to close the station for the evening.

They also found evidence outside the back of the gas station near an exit door: small batteries, a battery cover from a gun sight and a drop of blood that testing later would show was Heeringa's.

But Heeringa was nowhere in sight.

A gas station manager would tell police later that night that she had been riding her motorcycle past the station and had seen a suspicious silver van behind the station around the time Heeringa disappeared. Concerned, the manager parked her bike nearby and watched as a man drove off.

Flyers with images of Heeringa, the silver van and a drawing of the suspect driver were circulated throughout the community. Though investigators followed up on thousands of tips, the case remained unsolved for years.

 

Evidence
When police searched Willis' home and van following his arrest on May 17, 2016, they came up with evidence that tied Willis not only to MJN, but to Heeringa and Bletsch.

On his computer they found a folder labeled as "VICS," or victims, with subfolders containing information related to Heeringa and Bletsch. In his van, they found a gun -- missing its sight -- and ammunition, and a toolbox filled with bondage items and sex toys.

Also on his computer, police found thousands of violent videos depicting abductions, torture and rape of women. Other items included a list of serial killers and stolen panties belonging to a co-worker from whom police said Willis also stole the gun.

The gun itself is the piece tying Willis to all three crimes, police have said. In the Heeringa trial, material evidence will be critical due to the lack of witnesses.

However, there is one witness who has already been convicted of helping Willis after the murder of Heeringa. That's Willis' cousin, Kevin Bluhm, who was sentenced in January to time served -- 476 days -- for being an accessory after the fact to murder. Bluhm in an interview with police on June 16 and 17 of 2016, told them Willis had called him over to their grandfather's home on Norton Shores.

There, Bluhm told police, he saw a nude dead woman, identified by Willis as "Jessica, the gas station girl," who was tied up and a video camera on a table next to her, according to law enforcement testimony. She had injuries to her head and consistent with a sexual assault, he told police, officers testified. He also said he helped get rid of Heeringa's body, though he later recanted everything he said.

Heeringa's body has never been recovered.

Willis' trial for Heeringa's abduction and murder is scheduled for 12 days -- through May 18 and not on Mondays -- in the courtroom of 14th Circuit Judge William C. Marietti. It's the same courtroom in which Willis was tried, convicted and sentenced for Bletsch's murder.

Prosecuting the case will be Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson, who only tries major cases, leaving others to his assistants. Representing Willis will be Fred D. Johnson, director of Muskegon County's Public Defender office.

Among the witnesses expected to be called are teenage kidnapping victim MJN, the woman to whose house she ran, the man who found the gas station empty the night Heeringa disappeared, the woman whose panties and gun Willis allegedly stole, and numerous law enforcement officers and lab technicians.

Bluhm could also be called to testify, but he invoked the Fifth Amendment against self incrimination in the Bletsch case and may do so again.

Willis may also take the stand, as he did in the Bletsch trial.

The public is allowed to attend the trial, which will start each day around 9:30 a.m. once the jury is seated. The trial will be broadcast live on MLive's Facebook page, and live commentary will be provided on the MLive website.

 
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I stand with the girl, Natalee Holloway.

"I can look back over the past 10 years and there were no steps wasted, and there are no regrets,'' she said. "I did all I knew to do and I think that gives me greater peace now." "I've lived every parent's worst nightmare and I'm the parent that nobody wants to be," she said.

Beth Holloway, 2015 interview with Greta van Susteren
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« Reply #336 on: May 03, 2018, 07:58:46 PM »

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2018/05/testimony_in_jeffrey_willis_tr.html

Testimony in Jeffrey Willis trial to begin Tuesday for Heeringa murder
Updated 3:52 PM; Posted 3:51 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Testimony in the trial of Jeffrey Willis for the kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa is expected to get underway on Tuesday.

Attorneys continued one-on-one questioning of potential jurors Thursday and expected to move to a large-group format Friday afternoon. The trial is not scheduled for Mondays, so Tuesday is the anticipated day for opening statements and the beginning of the prosecution's case, court officials said.
 

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2018/05/evidence_that_jeffrey_willis_j.html
Evidence that Jeffrey Willis jury will, will not hear in Heeringa case
Updated 9:09 AM; Posted 9:09 AM
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« Reply #337 on: May 05, 2018, 10:11:08 PM »

http://fox17online.com/2018/05/04/jury-seated-in-willis-trial-for-heeringa-murder/

Jury seated in Willis’ Heeringa murder trial, which begins Tuesday
Posted 6:27 PM, May 4, 2018, by FOX 17 News, Updated at 12:15PM, May 5, 2018

MUSKEGON, Mich. — A jury has been set for the trial of Jeffrey Willis.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys came to an agreement on jurors on Friday, according to Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson.  The court took four days to find the jurors.
 
The trial is expected to start on Tuesday, May 8. We’ll have updates from court throughout the week.  The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

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« Reply #338 on: May 07, 2018, 10:00:07 PM »

https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/first-witnesses-to-testify-tuesday-in-jeffrey-willis-trial-for-death-of-jessica-heeringa/69-549700792

First witnesses to testify Tuesday in Jeffrey Willis trial for death of Jessica Heeringa
Author:   Jon Mills 
Published:   4:56 PM EDT May 7, 2018 
Updated:   5:19 PM EDT May 7, 2018 
 
MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. - A jury has been selected and now it's on to opening statements Tuesday morning, May 8 at the trial of Jeffrey Willis for the murder of Jessica Heeringa.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson is expected to call more than 30 witnesses. The trial should last all of this week and stretch into part of next week too.

The first witness is expected to take the stand following opening statements by Hilson and Willis' attorney, Muskegon County Public Defender Fred Johnson.
 
The trial

Eight women and six men make up the jury. Eventually two will be considered alternate jurors.

Prosecutor Hilson has the added burden of proving Heeringa is dead, because her body has never been found. Evidence includes computer files on Willis' computer titled VICS, presumably short for "victims." And there is a subfolder JLH—Jessica Heeringa's initials.

Jurors may also hear about a handwritten note police found in a trash can at Willis' grandfather's home. That is the location investigators believe Heeringa was killed. The note is believed to be written by Willis, and it lists a number of items including restraints that were located in a locked tool box hidden in Willis' van.
 
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« Reply #339 on: May 08, 2018, 10:25:41 AM »

Live updates at the link

http://www.woodtv.com/news/jeffrey-willis-investigation/heeringa-murder-trial-to-begin-tuesday/1161808829

Willis trial for Heeringa murder begins
By: 24 Hour News 8 web staff
Updated: May 08, 2018 11:05 AM EDT

The latest in the Jeffrey Willis trial for the kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa:

11:02 a.m. – Judge William Marietti orders a 10 minute break before the defense gives its opening statements.

11 a.m. – Hilson tells jurors that Heeringa’s case generated thousands of tips. One of the tips came in from Starbucks about Jeffrey Willis who was “kinda creepy” and drove a silver minivan, according to Hilson.

He talks about how Willis’ statements to investigators don’t add up, based on Willis’ testimony from his former wife.  She previously testified that a message from a detective on the answering machine to her never reached her, and she never had his cellphone, like he told detectives.

Hilson lays out how detectives tracked Willis’ cellphone signal to his late grandfather’s house the night Heeringa disappeared. He said Willis had keys to the house, which contained bleach. He said a detective found a handwritten checklist in the trash that included restraints, sex toys, zip ties that Willis previously testified to writing.

Hilson says Willis’ ex-wife will testify that she and Willis served as caregivers for Willis’ grandfather, and that she had an insulin pump to regulate her diabetes, meaning she had no need for insulin injections.

Hilson wraps up his summary at 11:01 a.m. – approximately one hour after he started.
 

Livestream--
http://www.woodtv.com/live-streaming-video
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