MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by suspected serial killer Jeffrey Willis to dismiss one of the murder cases against him.
“On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the June 2, 2017 order of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court,” the court order states.
An appeal claim to dismiss the Rebekah Bletsch murder case made by Willis’ defense team was also denied June 2 by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
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Willis’ defense team claimed guards and detectives violated his constitutional rightsby taking notes from his jail cell. They said the notes contained details about a separate kidnapping case where Willis claimed to be the day Bletsch was killed.
The prosecutor said the jail shared the notes with investigators, but not the prosecutor’s office. The Notes were potentially incriminating, but Willis never said they were for his attorney, the prosecutor said.
Court records said corrections officers searched the cell two more times and combed through envelopes marked for Willis’ attorney. The information from the envelopes wasn’t given to prosecutors, police told the prosecution “generally about the notes on a legal pad in the cell.
A start date for the Bletsch murder trail hasn’t been scheduled.