MUSKEGON, Mich. — The prosecution will call rebuttal witnesses Thursday as Jeffrey Willis’ trial for the murder of Rebekah Bletsch winds down.
After the rebuttal witnesses’ testimony, the prosecution and defense with deliver closing arguments, after which the case will go to the jury.
On Wednesday, Willis took the stand in his own defense, countering one by one the pieces of evidence the prosecution laid out against him over the previous six days of testimony. He stated he did not kill Bletsch, who was shot three times in the head as she jogged near her home north of Muskegon on June 29, 2014. Willis said he was home mowing his lawn at the time.
He said he created two electronic files labeled with the initials of Bletsch and Jessica Heeringa, who he is also charged with murdering, to collect evidence of his innocence after he was questioned following Heeringa’s April 2013 disappearance. He said he didn’t because he doesn’t trust the police.
He responded to previous testimony from a teen who says he tried to kidnap her, claiming he was only trying to offer her a ride.
He brushed off the thousands of murder porn videos found on his external drives as an “outlet” for his feelings because his relationship with his wife, who has since divorced him, was suffering.
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