Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of assault and murder. Reader discretion is advised.
ABC 20/20 explores the crimes of Jeffrey Willis, who was responsible for the murder of one woman and the disappearance of another. Moreover, Willis allegedly attempted to kidnap a 16-year-old girl, but the teenager escaped and led authorities to him. The upcoming episode titled “The Murderer in the Minivan” will air on the network on Friday, February 2, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET.
Law & Crime reported that Willis stood two separate trials in the murders of Jessica Heeringa and Rebekah Bletsch. Heeringa disappeared from a gas station where she worked in April 2013 and was never found. Then, in June 2014, Bletsch was gunned down while jogging on a remote rural road. Investigators only linked Willis to both cases after he allegedly attempted to kidnap a teen in 2016. They found evidence on his property, in his van, and on a computer.
Jeffrey Willis’ convictions in Heeringa’s as well as Bletsch’s murders came after he stood two separate trials. He received life sentences in both cases. According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Willis is currently serving time in the Carson City Correctional Facility.
How did investigators catch Jeffrey Willis?
People Magazine reported that Jessica Heeringa’s disappearance and Rebekah Bletsch’s murder remained unsolved until 2016. Investigators only made a breakthrough after the attempted kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl in April 2016. The girl was reportedly walking home from a party when a man in a silver van asked her if she needed a ride. Once she was inside his van to use his phone, the man began to drive away. He also pulled a gun on the teenager, but she escaped by jumping out of the moving van.
The girl reported an attempted kidnapping incident to police, who then used surveillance footage to allegedly identify Jeffrey Willis’ van. Investigators, during a search of Willis’ home, found evidence that linked him to the teen’s alleged attempted kidnapping. Moreover, they found other incriminating evidence inside the suspect’s van that linked him to Jessica Heeringa and Rebekah Bletsch’s cases.
People Magazine and Law & Crime reported that the evidence also included files on Willis’ computer. The suspect had reportedly named one file labeled with Bletsch’s initials in a folder named “VICS” – short for victims, alleged police. A second filed was on Heeringa. They also found bondage equipment in his van. These included handcuffs, rope, chain, bail gag, and leather restraints. Among other items were lubricant, sex toys, syringes, insulin, gloves, and Viagra.
Investigators had found several downloaded videos depicting the kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder of women. He had stored these videos on computer hard drives. They also found videos Willis claimed he made of unsuspecting women and girls in parking lots.
When was Jeffrey Willis convicted of murder?
According to MLive, in 2017, Jeffrey Willis stood trial in the murder of Rebekah Bletsch on June 29, 2014. The jury returned with a guilty verdict, convicting him of premeditated first-degree murder and a felony firearm charge. He received a life sentence with an additional two-year term on the firearm count, per prison records.
Prosecutor D.J. Hilson had alleged that Willis intended to kidnap Bletsch so he could rape, torture, and kill her, as in the videos authorities found at his house. The prosecution also presented Bletsch’s DNA from a pair of gloves and a dildo that the investigator collected from the defendant’s house.
Law & Crime said that in 2018, Jeffrey Willis again stood trial, this time for the April 2013 kidnapping and murder of Jessica Heeringa. A jury convicted him of first-degree premeditated and felony murder and sexually motivated kidnapping. He received a life sentence on the murder count and 18 years and 9 months to 40 years for the kidnapping charge, as stated in prison records.
Heeringa reportedly disappeared from her job at an Exxon gas station on the night of April 26, 2013. Her purse and jacket were still in the gas station, but she was nowhere around. A witness claimed to have noticed a silver van behind the building and a man drive away in it. Fox 17 stated that police also found blood evidence at the scene.
Over a year later, on June 29, 2014, Bletsch, 36, was shot to death while jogging on a rural Muskegon County Road. She died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head, reported another Fox 17 report.
ABC 20/20’s upcoming episode on Jeffrey Willis will air on February 2, 2024.
