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Defense seeks to dismiss Rebekah Bletsch murder charge against Jeffrey Willis

Posted at 6:45 PM, Feb 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-03 18:54:07-05

MUSKEGON, Mich. -- The defense team for Jeffrey Willis -the man facing murder charges for Rebekah Bletsch and Jessica Heeringa as well as allegedly kidnapping a teen- asked a judge to dismiss Bletsch's murder charges against Willis.

Willis' defense attorneys filed a motion Dec.16, 2016 asking Muskegon County Circuit Judge William Marietti to dismiss the Bletsch murder case because Willis' constitutional rights were violated in jail searches from last August through the fall. They wrote,"the government contrived to obtain defendant's notes to his attorney and use them against him as a tool of the criminal investigation and prosecution."

The prosecution filed in opposition ultimately stating they did not read the notes and will not admit them as evidence.

Read the defense's motion and brief in full, filed here.

Read the prosecution's brief filed in response in full here.

First, in their 31-page brief, the defense wrote that law enforcement read, shared and searched for additional notes Willis wrote in jail, meant for his attorney, without notifying the court or defense team.

On Aug. 8 they say jail staff found notes in Willis' jumpsuit to be laundered, which were then handed over to investigators on the Major Crimes Task Force--the team handling the Bletsch, Heeringa, and kidnapping cases.

Then, Sept. 2, the defense writes, jail staff removed Willis from his cell without explaining they were going to search. Then investigators searched and found notes on a legal pad on a bookshelf, separate from Willis' folder marked "Attorney-Client." The defense wrote in these notes "[Willis] provides a narrative description of the MJN events and his whereabouts on the date of Bletsch’s death.” The kidnapping victim was referred to as MJN in court documents.

Finally, only jail staff searched Willis' cell again last October looking at the "Attorney-Client" folder, according to defense. According to the defense's brief, a sergeant testified he heard rumors that Willis was making lists of identifying information about jail staff and were concerned.

In response, the prosecution's 33-page brief filed Jan. 18 states Willis' rights were not violated. Prosecutors wrote while law enforcement saw Willis' notes the prosecution never did: "the prosecutor never saw the notes and is not privy to their contents and has no intention of using the notes or their contents at trial."

The prosecutors explained that the notes found in Willis' jail jumpsuit Aug. 8 were not marked for his attorney. They added Willis testified that when he asked for his notes back he did not tell jail staff the notes were meant for his attorney.

In September the prosecutors say investigators searched cells of both Willis and his cousin Kevin Bluhm, looking for evidence in Jessica Heeringa's murder case.

Their brief reads that when Bluhm stopped talking to investigators: "The task force decided it would be a good idea to toss both Bluhm and [Willis'] jail cells on the same day. This was to be a general search where the investigators were interested in tossing both cells to see if they could find anything that might assist in the [Heeringa] investigation, including journal type notes."

The prosecutors also reiterate the legal pad found in Willis' cell containing notes were not marked for attorney-client privilege.

Finally in October, during the second cell search, the prosecution wrote only jail staff searched Willis' cell due to the aforementioned safety concerns of staff.

It is unclear when Judge Marietti will issue an opinion on the matter. Friday, FOX 17 spoke with law enforcement leaving his office who said the Judge gave no inclination as to when he'd rule after they discussed this development Friday morning.

Also on Jan. 18, Judge Marietti filed an opinion in response to the prosecution seeking to introduce evidence regarding Willis' alleged involvement in the abduction and murder of Jessica Heeringa April 26, 2013, and allegedly abducting a minor, MJN, on April 16, 2016. The defense opposes the potential evidence, calling it irrelevant.

Judge Marietti wrote that some evidence will be admitted, including such that shows Willis executed a "common plan" when he allegedly assaulted these three young women in isolated areas, driving a silver van, each incident within three years of each other.