MUSKEGON, Mich. – A Michigan Supreme Court ruling issued Wednesday means the trial of Jeffrey Willis in the murder of Rebekah Bletsch will soon begin.
The court upheld a Court of Appeals ruling saying that notes seized by guards while Willis was in custody can be used in his trial in the 2014 murder of Bletsch. Willis is also charged with the murder of Jessica Heeringa in 2013 and an abduction of a teen in 2016.
Willis’ defense had argued that the notes had been improperly seized by the guards, but a local court and the Court of Appeals disagreed. Willis’ trial was supposed to start this month, but has been delayed. The Supreme Court ruling means a trial date can now be set for some time in October.
