Man charged in murder of woman who disappeared from Halloween party
FRENCHTOWN TWP., Mich. - A 27-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Chelsea Bruck -- who disappeared after a Halloween party in Monroe County in 2014.
Daniel Clay was arrested Friday at his home in Frenchtown Township.
Appearing in court for an arraignment Monday, the accused said he's unemployed and needs a lawyer. He agreed when the prosecutor recommended that he be held in jail without bond.
Assistant prosecutor Michael Roehrig said Clay wasn't charged with first-degree murder because investigators don't believe the death was premeditated.
Bruck was last seen alive at a large party at a property in rural Frenchtown Township, 35 miles south of Detroit.
The 22-year-old's "Poison Ivy" costume was found about six months later at an industrial site, and her remains were discovered a few weeks later on April 24, 2015, in a wooded lot on Briar Hill Road in Ash Township.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner determined that Bruck died from blunt force trauma to the head.
On Friday, police announced an arrest had been made nearly two years after Bruck's murder.
The suspect's girlfriend allegedly said he called her from jail and confessed to the killing, claiming it was an accident that happened during rough, consensual sex.