MUSKEGON, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – It took two and a half days, but a 14-member jury was impaneled on Thursday afternoon in the murder trial of Jeffrey Willis in Muskegon County Circuit Court.
Attorneys whittled down the pool of over 300 people to find what will eventually be 12 jurors and two alternates that will hear arguments and testimony involving the man charged with open murder in the 2014 death of jogger Rebekah Bletsch. The 14 members will not be sequestered, but have been instructed to avoid any conversations about the case, along with steering clear of news coverage and social media comments. Court observers believe that the trial will last through mid-November.
In separate cases, Willis is also charged in the 2013 disappearance of Norton Shores convenience store clerk Jessica Heeringa and an attempted kidnapping of an unnamed teenager that eventually led to his arrest.
