May 16, 2018 - 4:15 PM
MUSKEGON, Mich. - The Latest in the trial of a man charged in the kidnapping and slaying of a western Michigan gas station clerk. (all times local):
7:10 p.m.
Jurors have convicted a man of kidnapping and killing a western Michigan gas station clerk.
The Muskegon County jury deliberated about 1 1/2 hours Wednesday before finding Jeffrey Willis guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Jessica Heeringa, who disappeared in 2013 while working late at a gas station in Norton Shores. Her body has never been found.
Defence attorney Fred Johnson said in his closing argument there's no evidence Willis killed or kidnapped Heeringa.
Willis is scheduled to be sentenced June 12. First-degree murder in Michigan carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Willis was convicted last year in the 2014 fatal shooting of jogger Rebekah Bletsch. He's already serving a life sentence in her death.
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6:14 p.m.
A Muskegon County jury is deliberating the fate of a man charged in the kidnapping and slaying of a western Michigan gas station clerk.
Closing arguments ended Wednesday in the murder trial of Jeffrey Willis. He is accused of killing 25-year-old Jessica Heeringa, who disappeared in 2013.
Defence attorney Fred Johnson has argued there's no evidence Willis killed or kidnapped Heeringa, whose body hasn't been found.
Willis was convicted last year in the 2014 fatal shooting of jogger Rebekah Bletsch. He's serving a life sentence in her death. Willis denied wrongdoing during that trial.
Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson has said Willis had computer files containing information about the Bletsch and Heeringa cases.
Willis also is expected to stand trial in the 2016 attempted kidnapping of a teenager.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018