'They deserved to die': Northfield murder suspect's expletive-laced outburst
YPSILANTI, Mich. (FOX 2) - On Friday, two of three suspects charged with killing two adults, injuring a third, and abducting two young girls from a home in Northfield Township, were arraigned on dozens of charges including murder. But it was punctuated by an outburst by one of the suspects as she declared that the victim's "deserved to die".
Shuvonne Vinson, 42, Gregory Callhan, 37, and Keith Finley, 60, were all charged murder, kidnapping, assault, and more, for the New Year's Day double murders that shook the town of Northfield.
The three suspects, all from Detroit, are being held in the Washtenaw County Jail.
What happened in court on Friday?
Vinson and Callhan each appeared for the arraignment via Zoom. After a delay, Vinson was arraigned first.
After charges were read, Prosecuting Attorney Amy Reiser asked for Vinson to be held without bond, saying there was no reason for her to be free.
"She murdered a mother in front of her daughter," Reiser said.
That drew an outburst from Vinson.
"No I did not," Vinson said.
After being quieted by her attorney, Vinson sat and listened as Reiser continued to push for no bond - saying that the three suspects killed the two in front of children.
"One of the most horrific crimes that I’ve seen in my career," she said.
Reiser said when police tracked down the suspects after the murders, Vinson tried to get to the officer's weapon and threatened to kill the officers.
"I don't care about no bond," Vinson said. "Those motherf****** f***ed with my kids. F*** them and y'all."
Vinson continued on, despite her attorney's pleading with her to stop.
"They f***ed with my babies. Don’t lie and say I f***ing had my child around a death," Vinson said. "I didn’t let neither one of them kids see s***. Stop lying, b****. Those motherf****** deserved to die. They f***ed with my kids. F*** em all."
Vinson then stood up and demanded to be let out of the arraignment room.
As she waited, she hurled more expletives before making a claim about the people who were killed.
"I'm not the one that needs to be in jail," Vinson said. "They assaulted my motherf***** child b****. And anybody else will do that."
The judge muted Vinson's camera and she was ordered held without bond as she was removed from the room.
WATCH THE UNEDITED COURT FOOTAGE HERE:
Callhan was arraigned next on many of the same charges as Vinson.
He sat mostly quiet during the arraignment as Reiser asked for him to be held without bond – until she said that the took the children from the home.
"I didn’t take anyone out of there," Callhan said, before his attorney told him to stop speaking.
He was also held without bond.
The third suspect, Keith Finley, was not arraigned on Friday. He refused to be arraigned and will be scheduled for arraignment on Saturday.
What are the Northfield murder suspects charged with?
All three are charged with 12 counts from the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office.
- Two counts of open murder.
- One count of assault with intent to murder
- One count of home invasion in the first degree
- Two counts of kidnapping – child enticement
- One count of conspiracy to commit murder
- One count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping – child enticement
- One count of conspiracy to commit home invasion in the first degree
- One count of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent
- One count of stolen property - receiving and concealing a motor vehicle
- One count of felony firearm
Additionally, Vinson was charged with 7 more charges for her actions during the arrest.
- Four counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer
- One count of carrying a concealed weapon
- One count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person
- One count of possession of ammunition by a prohibited person
Finley faces an additional charge of possession of a gun by an ineligible person.
What happened in Northfield on Jan. 1, 2025?
Police said the three suspects showed up to a home on Nollar Bend Drive in Northfield Township around 8:30 p.m. on January 1.
74-year-old Stevie Smith and a married couple, 48-year-old Jennifer Bernhard and 52-year-old Jeffrey Bernhard were inside the home with two young children, ages 9 and 4.
Police said when the three suspects arrived, there was an argument and all three victims were shot.
Smith and Jennifer Bernhard were both killed in the shooting. Jeffery Bernhard is in the hospital and is listed as stable.
After the shooting, police said the suspects took the young children from the home.
The girls, ages 4 and 9, were taken from the home but were later found safe and physically healthy. One of the girls was found on Rowley Court in Ypsilanti and the other little girl was on Lexington Parkway, about two minutes away.
"This is a tragic incident for any community to have to deal with and we could not have managed this incident without the assistance of our local law enforcement agency partners to include the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department, Ann Arbor Police Department, Michigan State Police and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office," said Chief Martin Smith.
Why were the Northfield victims shot?
Sources said one of the kids was in foster care at the home and that the shooting and kidnapping were the result of some kind of child custody dispute.
Police have not yet confirmed the details or motivation for the shooting.
The Source: FOX 2 Detroit news crews were in Ypsilanti for the virtual arraignments of the suspects.