KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A man accused of intentionally setting a fire during a Kalamazoo-area robbery that lead to the death of another man is set to face a jury trial.
51-year-old Andrew John McCormack was charged earlier this year with open murder, second-degree arson and tampering with evidence in a criminal case in connection with the murder of 53-year-old James Travis.
According to first responder testimony in Kalamazoo County District Court on Tuesday, March 25, Travis had been fatally stabbed and a fire appeared to have been intentionally set from a door to his body at his residence on June 18, of 2021.
The judge made the ruling that there was probable cause to send McCormack’s case to a jury trial following two hours of testimony from witnesses during a preliminary examination on Tuesday.
One Kalamazoo Township Police Officer who was one of the first responders to Travis’ house said that she had seen a person on the floor, dried blood on the interior walls and smoke in the house. During her testimony, she said that there was no open flame, but there was a smell of natural gas throughout the home along with a kitchen knife and a wrench that were found near Travis’ body.
Authorities determined Travis to have been killed during an alleged robbery of marijuana and money.
Bond is still denied for McCormack who remains in jail.
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