MUSKEGON (WKZO AM/FM) — Jeffrey Willis will spend the rest of his life in prison for the kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa.
Even as Willis insisted that he was innocent, a judge handed him the life sentence on Monday.
Willis is convicted of abducting and killing the Norton Shores gas station attendant as she worked on April 26th of 2013, but Heeringa’s body has not been found.
He is already serving a life sentence for the 2014 murder of Rebekah Bletsch.
After that sentencing, Willis left the courtroom without hearing the victim impact statements and blew a kiss as he walked out the door.
That sparked a change in state law requiring that criminals must remain in the courtroom and hear the statements.
Unfortunately, nobody was present to give a statement at Willis’ sentencing in the Heeringa murder because the victim’s family still believes that Heeringa is alive and out there.
