MI MI - Jessica Heeringa Missing From Norton Shores - #10 (J. Willis GUILTY)

[imamaze]

Norton Shores Police Looking For Missing Woman

"NORTON SHORES, Mich- The Norton Shores Police Department is investigating a missing person which occurred in late evening hours of April 26, 2013 at the Exxon Mobil gas station located at 1196 E. Sternberg Rd. Around 11:15 p.m. Norton Shores Police officers were dispatched to the gas station on a suspicious activity report. Customers called 911 after entering the store to find no employees present. The employee scheduled to be working, Jessica Heeringa, was not able to be located.
Contact has been made with friends and family of 25 year old Jessica Heeringa but as of April 27, 2013 at 2:00 pm Jessica has not been located.
Jessica is described as a white female, 25 years old, 5’1 tall, approximately 110 lbs., blond shoulder length hair, and blue eyes. Jessica is also known to wear wired rim glasses. She may be wearing a blue collared shirt saying “Sternberg Exxon”.
Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity near the Exxon Mobil gas station is asked to contact Silent Observer at 231-72-CRIME

231-72-CRIME (231-722-7463

231-722-7463) or call 911."

Suspect sketch

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Thread #9

Link to article discussing fake sketch: http://www.wzzm13.com/story/local/2013/05/01/1598280/

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[YaYa_521]

Continue the discussion here.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

MUSKEGON, MI – As serial killer Jeffrey Willis continues to appeal his convictions for killing two Muskegon County women, he may have to go through the process with a new defense attorney.


Willis’ court-appointed attorney filed a motion this month asking to withdraw from representing the two-time murderer in his appeals’ cases. A judge is scheduled to consider her motion next week.

Willis, 52, is serving life without parole in a Michigan prison for the 2014 killing of jogger Rebekah Bletsch and the 2013 kidnapping and killing of Jessica Heeringa, an attendant at a Norton Shores gas station

“(Willis) has intermittently questioned (LaBreck’s) abilities and stated dissatisfaction numerous times with the quality of services (LaBreck) is providing,” according to the motion. " … (It’s) evident in the letters that (Willis) has been sending to the Court.”

Willis asked LaBreck to “delve” into investigating a chain of evidence records from the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office, Michigan State Police, Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Muskegon Police Department for his cases involving Bletch and Heeringa’s murders, the motion states.
More:

Serial killer Jeffrey Willis’ attorney wants to withdraw from appeals cases, motion says

Jeffrey Willis questioned his attorney's abilities and stated his dissatisfaction numerous times with the quality of services the attorney has provided, according to the motion filed in Muskegon County Circuit Court.

www.mlive.com

Serial killer Jeffrey Willis granted new attorney to appeal his murder convictions

The 52-year-old is serving life without parole in a Michigan prison for the murders of Rebekah Bletsch and Jessica Heeringa in Muskegon County.

www.mlive.com

Jeffrey Willis Investigation | WOODTV.com

The Latest News and Updates in brought to you by the team at WOODTV.com:

www.woodtv.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

FYI: Documentation

https://www.house.mi.gov/sessiondocs/2017-2018/testimony/Committee430-2-6-2018.pdf

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
JEFFREY THOMAS WILLIS, Defendant-Appellant.

https://casetext.com/api/print/document/people-v-willis-2043?includeHighlights=false&includeKeyPassages=false&isTwoColumn=&download=true&cookieId=pdfDownloading_people-v-willis-2043_1663230799716

 

[PommyMommy]

DEC 5, 2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/nine-years-dateline-s-missing-america-188-still-missing-n1301708

Jessica Heeringa

Jessica Heeringa was working alone at a gas station in Norton Shores, Michigan on April 26, 2013, when she disappeared. A witness told police he saw the 25-year-old mother being forced into a silver Chrysler minivan. Investigators found Jessica's cell phone, keys and purse inside the store. In September 2016, officials charged Jeffrey Willis with abduction and murder in relation to Jessica’s case. He pleaded not guilty. At the time he was facing charges for the April 2016 abduction of a teenager who ended up escaping. The teen led police to a van where, according to court testimony, investigators found bondage items and lists of women’s names and addresses. According to NBC affiliate WOOD-TV, investigators said they found a file labeled “VICS” (short for victims) that contained a folder labeled with the initials of a jogger named Rebekah Bletsch who had been found shot to death in 2014. The folder also contained a code for her date of death. In November 2017, Willis was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder in the Rebeka Bletch case. Police told WOOD-TV there was also a file bearing Jessica’s initials on Willis’s computer. On May 16, 2018, Willis was found guilty of Jessica’s kidnapping and murder. Willis is serving two life sentences: one for killing Jessica in 2013 and the other for killing Rebekah Bletsch. On December 3, 2019, Willis asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to grant him a new trial in Jessica’s murder, stating that some of the evidence that the jury saw in his trial should not have been admitted, according to WOOD-TV. The court agreed some evidence should have been excluded at trial, but said that didn’t outweigh other “strong untainted evidence” that showed Willis was responsible for Jessica’s death. On December 27, 2019, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that Willis’s arguments had no merit and that his conviction for Jessica’s kidnapping and murder would stand. Jessica’s body has not been found. Lieutenant Marc Vanderstelt of the Norton Shores Police Department confirmed that officials have still not found Jessica's body. He said that while there are no active searches for Jessica’s body, they will still investigate any tips that may come in regarding the location of her remains. Lieutenant Vanderstelt urges anyone with information to contact the Norton Shores Police Department at (231) 733-2691 or the Silent Observer at (231) 722-7463.

 

[StillDiggin]

Where is Jessica Heeringa? She’s still missing 10 years later despite serial killer’s conviction

Investigators aren't sure where Jessica Heeringa's body is despite searching more than a dozen locations over the last decade, and serial killer Jeffrey Willis claims he doesn't know either.

www.mlive.com

 

[JnRyan]

Where is Jessica Heeringa? She’s still missing 10 years later despite serial killer’s conviction

Investigators aren't sure where Jessica Heeringa's body is despite searching more than a dozen locations over the last decade, and serial killer Jeffrey Willis claims he doesn't know either.

www.mlive.com

I couldn't bring up the article but if Willis can't remember WHERE her body is did he have an accomplice that did it for him? In any event, I don't believe him.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A 911 call, silver van, murder: Key moments in young mother Jessica Heeringa’s disappearance

It has been 10 years since Jessica Heeringa, who was working a night shift at a West Michigan gas station, was reported missing.

www.mlive.com

 

[gregjrichards]

A 911 call, silver van, murder: Key moments in young mother Jessica Heeringa’s disappearance

It has been 10 years since Jessica Heeringa, who was working a night shift at a West Michigan gas station, was reported missing.

www.mlive.com

Thank you for posting this video @imstilla.grandma it is hard to believe ten years have passed since Jessica’s disappearance. I remember all the posts we all made with news updates, all the analysis we did and the posts discussing theories about what may have happened to Jessica desperately trying to help in anyway we could.

My thoughts and prayers are with Jessica and her loved ones on the tenth anniversary of her disappearance. It is an unimaginable terrible tragedy that Jessica left for work as normal on that horrendous day and she never came home. Willis has been convicted of murdering Jessica but Jessica’s family don’t believe he did or that Jessica has been murdered because her remains have not been found. I can’t begin to imagine what they have gone through for the past ten years and the tremendous loss they continue to suffer everyday. There has been no resolution to Jessica’s case for law enforcement because they have so far been unable to locate Jessica’s remains and return Jessica to her loved ones.

 

[gregjrichards]

‘I don’t know where the body is,’ Jeffrey Willis says 10 years after Jessica Heeringa disappearance​

“I don’t want to be badgered. I’ve stated multiple times to multiple people that I didn’t do it. I’m innocent and I don’t know where the body is,” Willis said moments before hanging up.”

‘I don’t know where the body is,’ Jeffrey Willis says 10 years after Jessica Heeringa disappearance

The convicted serial killer talked to MLive briefly in a phone interview from a Michigan prison days before the 10-year anniversary of when Jessica Heeringa went missing from a Norton Shores gas station.

www.mlive.com

I noticed he says on the call “I don’t know where the body is” it gives the impression he doesn’t want to acknowledge Jessica was a person. He could have said I don’t know where Jessica is or I don’t know where Jessica’s remains are but he Is talking about her as just a body and not a human being with a family who miss her immeasurably.

I’m glad he is going to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole for Rebekah Bletsch murder and Jessica’s abduction and murder. Unfortunately it looks like he is the type of offender who will continue protesting his innocence till the end.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Heeringa was last seen at work at a gas station in Norton Shores that day. The search for the young mother stretched from months into years, and more than 2,000 tips poured in. The family never lost hope that they'd find the 25-year-old.

"Did I ever think it was gonna go cold? Yeah, there's a part of you that starts withering on that," retired Lieutenant Michael Kasher says.

He was the lead detective on the case, and he stuck with the case for years.

"I felt if it didn't get solved, it was going to be on my plate the rest of my life," Kasher says.

It took more than three years for a suspect to be charged. Willis was first charged with the attempted kidnapping of a teenage girl in 2016. Shortly after, he was linked to both Heeringa's disappearance and another local woman's death.

Rebekah Bletsch was found shot and killed back in 2014, but Heeringa's body was still missing. The conviction came five years later in 2018 after her disappearance.

Without a body, some of the evidence that tied Willis to the scene was a piece of his gun found at the gas station, along with the van that police say was central to his killings and seen at the gas station by a witness.

10 years later | The disappearance of Jessica Heeringa

The 25-year-old mother was last seen at work in Norton Shores on April 26, 2013.

www.wzzm13.com

 

[dotr]

'Apr 26, 2023
It’s been 10 years since the young mother disappeared, her body never found. Now, for the first time, the lead detective is revealing where he thinks Willis, now a convicted serial killer, buried her.'

 

[ArianeEmory]

Why do a YouTube/video interview instead of going to find her, I wonder?

(If anyone is willing to transcribe/summarize, it would be much appreciated.)

 

[JnRyan]

'Apr 26, 2023
It’s been 10 years since the young mother disappeared, her body never found. Now, for the first time, the lead detective is revealing where he thinks Willis, now a convicted serial killer, buried her.'

Well that "interview" with Willis was a waste of time. It is interesting that her family doesn't believe he killed her. Wasn't there a relative of Willis that said he saw a girl resembling Jessica in the house of a relative of Willis that he had access to? And she was bound? If that wasn't Jessica then he was guilty of abducting SOMEONE.

 

[youarentsilly]

I couldn't bring up the article but if Willis can't remember WHERE her body is did he have an accomplice that did it for him? In any event, I don't believe him.

Just to be clear, there has never been any insinuation or evidence that he had an accomplice, right?

 

[lisette]

Just to be clear, there has never been any insinuation or evidence that he had an accomplice, right?

I recall something about a cousin of his that was supposed to be involved somehow? That he supplied info of some kind?
Am I remembering right? I'll try to find it.

Found this on thread #9
JW’s cousin, Kevin Bluhm, was released from the Muskegon County Jail in January of 2018.
Here are a few articles about his sentencing and release:
Kevin Bluhm leaves jail after sentencing in Heeringa case
Kevin Bluhm will continue to wear tether
Willis' cousin Kevin Bluhm expected to exit jail Tuesday | wzzm13.com
Bluhm never served real prison time — county jails are a whole different experience from the Michigan Department of Corrections prison network.

IMO Bluhm really got off WAY too easy. His silence allowed Willis the opportunity to kill Rebekah Bletsch, traumatized the young girl Willis attempted to abduct, and left Jessica’s family completely devastated. If Bluhm had gone to the police immediately, they likely would have located Jessica’s body and her family would have the answers they so desperately need. And his apparent obsession with Rebekah Bletsch before her murder is beyond hinky to me. He definitely knows more than he has ever told anyone. Bluhm was, however, required to keep his GPS tether; the judge ruled so before his release in 2018 because Jessica’s body had not been found. I don’t know if that part of his sentencing is still in force?

ETA It looks like Bluhm was sentenced to 5 years probation. The GPS tether might be in force until he has completed that?

 

[otto]

Just to be clear, there has never been any insinuation or evidence that he had an accomplice, right?

Read this article about a friend who wiped his phone and handled the gun used in the Rebekah Bletsch murder.

Jeffrey Willis testifies in his trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch

Jeffrey Willis took the stand Wednesday afternoon in his trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch.

www.woodtv.com

 

[otto]

What I remember from the time of the arrest is that the suspect and one other person were implicated, but there was insufficient evidence for a murder conviction for both. Jessica was quite likely injected with insulin after being taken out of the back door of the gas station at night. Not sure I'm remembering correctly, but did the suspect own a cabin, or spend time around a remote cabin?

"Insulin found in Jeffrey Willis' van could have incapacitated a person, especially someone small, within minutes, a physician testified during the second day of the Jessica Heeringa murder trial Wednesday.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson called Dr. Robert Rood, an endocrinologist, as a witness to explain the effects of the insulin that was found in a vial and in a loaded syringe inside Willis' van. Earlier testimony indicated the insulin and empty syringes were in a lock box under the driver's seat that also contained a gun and ammunition.

Rood explained that a nondiabetic - someone who produces enough of their own insulin and doesn't need injections of it - could suffer brain damage within minutes depending on the size of the person, the type of insulin and the amount injected.

The insulin in Willis' van was fast-acting, Rood said. The amount in the syringe, which appeared fully loaded with 50 units of insulin, would have been enough to incapacitate a person, especially someone who is lean without much fat, he said."

Jeffrey Willis trial: Insulin in van could incapacitate in minutes, doc says

Willis is being tried for the kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa.

www.mlive.com

 

[otto]

Here it is ... the accomplice mentions a remote cabin where he saw Jessica

"Bluhm called police to tell them he had seen Willis with the nude body of "gas station girl" at Bluhm's late grandfather's vacant house, police testified earlier. He told them he helped carry the body to Willis' van and bury her, according to testimony."
...

Bluhm was distraught, police said, and told police he would take them to where Heeringa was buried. But the spot he showed them near Willis' home did not contain her body, which has never been found. Bluhm pleaded guilty to lying to police and later was charged as an accessory after the fact to Heeringa's murder.​

Jeffrey Willis trial: Defense says cousin Kevin Bluhm killed jogger

Bluhm fingered his cousin, Willis, in the Jessica Heeringa murder, police say.

www.mlive.com