Cops: Michigan murder suspect had "VICS" file on computer
MUSKEGON, Mich. - The prosecutor presenting evidence against a man suspected of murder and kidnapping called the case "the most disturbing" he had ever seen, reports CBS affiliate WWMT.
Jeffrey Willis, 46, is accused of killing Rebekah Sue Bletsch, 36, while she was out for a jog in 2014. He is also a suspect in the April kidnapping of a 16-year-old, and a "person of interest" in the 2013 disappearance of Jessica Heeringa, 25. A judge decided Wednesday that there is sufficient evidence to try Willis for Bletsch's murder.
WWMT reports that in court on Wednesday, officials testified that a search of Willis's computer revealed videos of necrophilia, "kidnap and kill" videos, and a folder labeled "VICS" with a sub-folder labeled "RSB" and including the date of Bletsch's death.
MLive.com reports that a former co-worker of Willis's testified she believes he stole her .22 caliber handgun in 2013, two months before Heeringa's disappearance, and that Willis routinely asked her for her underwear.
According to a detective's statement in the kidnapping case, investigators found a pistol, ammunition, syringes with liquid, a ball gag, chains, a mask and a bar with wrist restraints in Willis's van. WWMT reports that police say they also found the gun used to kill Bletsch in the vehicle.
According to MLive, police apprehended Willis after the teenage kidnap victim picked him out of a photo array. The teen told police she got lost walking home, when a man pulled over, offered her his cell phone and ultimately forced her inside his van.
The Detroit Free Press reports that the teen told police she jumped from the moving van, and ran bloody and barefoot in search of help.
"She probably doesn't realize how much of a hero she is," Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson said of the girl.
WWMT reports that Willis' cousin, who happens to be a prison officer, is also charged with lying to police in the cases Willis is connected to in Muskegon County - including Bletsch's murder.
Investigators say Kevin Bluhm, who is currently in custody, lied about both Bletsch's murder and the 2013 disappearance of Jessica Heeringa.
Hilson says that investigators are still working on the Jessica Heeringa case.