MUSKEGON, Mich. -- Jeffrey Willis, the man who prosecutors say is responsible for the deaths of Rebekah Bletsch and Jessica Heeringa, was called to the stand in a Muskegon County courtroom Friday afternoon during an evidentiary hearing.
The hearing was part of the ongoing prosecution for the 2014 murder of Bletsch, the young mother who was shot and killed while out jogging near her rural Muskegon County home.
Willis was in court as several jail officers were called to the stand before him. The defense raised concerns that attorney-client privilege may have been violated during his time in lock up.
Testimony revealed Willis' jail cell and person were searched on multiple occasions. During one of those searches, officers found "notes" in Willis' jumpsuit pocket. Those notes were the focus of the defense's concern.
Willis and his attorney maintained those notes were kept as part of their planned defense in the case and shouldn't have been removed from Willis' possession, leading to the claim that his attorney-client privilege has been violated.
"You can't unring the bell once my client's notes have been read," said Brian Hosticka, Willis' defense attorney. "They are notes for me basically revealing our case and the prosecution and the state knows what we've been talking about and what our position is on various issues in the case. I'm asking for the judge to rule that there's been a breach of attorney-client privilege and that it was deliberate and that as a result of that breach there's been a violation of the sixth amendment right to council of the U.S. Constitution."
Video from Willis' jail cell and one of the searches by jail officers were also played in court as part of the hearing.
Willis is charged with murder in the Bletsch case as well as in the 2013 Jessica Heeringa case.
