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Allegan Co. Man’s Death Officially Ruled A Homicide

Posted at 5:32 PM, Mar 11, 2013
and last updated 2013-03-11 17:33:12-04

VALLEY TOWNSHIP, Mich. — An autopsy has shown Jody Ray Snyder was killed by a gunshot wound and now investigators have officially ruled his death as a homicide.

Snyder, 37, was found inside his home on the 3900 block of 122nd Avenue in Valley Township on Saturday. Allegan County Captain Frank Baker tells FOX 17 it was Snyder’s brother that found him and called 911 around 5:30 p.m.

Authorities have no suspects in custody and won’t say how many times Snyder was shot or with what kind of gun.

Lisa Ison tells FOX 17 that Snyder – Ison’s ex-husband and father of their 18-year-old son Seth – had fallen on hard times over the past two years. He’d lost his job and hadn’t found any new regular work. He was also being evicted from that Valley Township home.

She and her son were stunned by the news of Snyder’s death.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Ison said. “I cried. I was in shock.”

It’s been even harder on Seth.

 “I don’t think he still believes it,” Ison says. “I was talking to him last night and he said, ‘It would be nice if my dad would come back to life.'”

Ison says Snyder and his son were getting ready to leave for Missouri next week. They were planning on living there for a few months helping Snyder’s father with some automotive work, a favorite pastime of all three men.

A check of Allegan County court records shows Snyder was sentenced to 15 days in jail in January for a domestic violence conviction. The plaintiff is listed as the State of Michigan.