KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office is saying nothing about the death of Ronald French or the discovery of the 71-year-old’s body under a tree near Fulton, but his family is talking.
French’s Daughter, Rhonda Hamilton, tells WOOD-TV that they have been told her father’s death is being investigated as a possible homicide and that a man named Joshua Wessel was found living in her faher’s 2016 Chevrolet Silverado.
Wessel has been charged with unlawfully driving away a vehicle and his bond, at $50,000, was set high.
Court documents confirm the truck involved in Wessel’s arrest was French’s, but investigators aren’t commenting beyond that. Undersheriff Pali Matyas issued an unusual press release to press the point that they won’t comment until the investigation is complete.
“The sheriff’s office will have no updates nor provide information regarding the investigation until it is complete. The sheriff’s office is in hopes that this action will enhance the course of the investigation and lead to a more expedient conclusion.”
Wessel is not charged with anything other than driving away someone else’s vehicle at this point, as the investigation continues.
