St. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Investigators say a St. Joseph Township soldier was murdered by his wife’s lover right after bringing her food from a family gathering.
Investigators say around 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Tyrone Hassel III was shot and killed in the driveway of his father’s Colfax Avenue home where he and his wife, 22-year-old Kemia Hassel, had been staying.
The 23-year-old Army sergeant and his wife were on leave to visit family over the holidays when the murder happened. Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic says they had their 1-year-old child with them.
Kemia Hassel was formally charged with first-degree murder Monday. Detectives believe she plotted the murder with Jeremy Cuellar, who is also charged with first-degree murder, according to Sepic.
Authorities believe Kemia Hassel and Cuellar, both soldiers stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where having an affair. Sepic says Cuellar traveled from Fort Stewart to Chicago a few days before New Year’s Eve and waited for Kemia Hassel to tell him when to ambush Tyrone Hassel.
The Berrien County prosecutor says local investigators explored numerous leads before the Fort Stewart Army base tipped them off to the alleged plot.
Authorities suspect the two wanted to continue their relationship and reap the Amery’s death benefit from Tyrone Hassel’s murder.
A judge set Kemia Hassel’s bond at $2.5 million with the condition she where a GPS tether if released.
Cuellar is also facing a felony firearm charge. He remains in jail in Liberty County, Georgia, awaiting extradition.
Kemia Hassel’s next court hearing is slated for Jan. 23.