MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — More than five years after Jessica Heeringa vanished, Jeffrey Willis will stand trial for the kidnapping and murder of the 25-year-old mother and gas station clerk.
Jury selection begins Tuesday morning in Muskegon County Circuit Court. It is expected to take two days. The entire trial is slated for 12 days.
The case against Willis will be largely circumstantial, in part because Heeringa's body has not been found. Among the strongest evidence against him is an electronic file found on his computer. Titled "VICS," it contained a subfolder labeled with Heeringa's initials and a code for April 26, 2013, the date she disappeared from the Norton Shores gas station where she worked.
Additionally, a piece of a laser site found at the gas station would fit a gun found in Willis' possession.