A 34-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting deaths of a mother of two and another woman after authorities found their bodies buried in southwest Michigan.
Junior Lee Beebe of Bangor was arraigned Friday by video at the District Court in Paw Paw on two counts of open murder and two counts of possession of a firearm during a felony. He was ordered held without bond.
The bodies of 30-year-old mom, Amy Henslee, and 36-year-old Tonya Howarth, were found buried in a wooded area in Bangor Township, about 60 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, after a tracker dog discovered traces of blood Thursday afternoon.
Henslee was last seen by her husband as he left their Hartford Township home for work Monday.
Court-appointed defense lawyer David Hunt says he couldn't immediately comment on the case.
Van Buren County Prosecutor Juris Kaps first told reporters of the bodies' discovery at a news conference earlier Friday.
Kaps said Beebe is a cousin of Henslee's husband. Howarth and Beebe were in a relationship, a family member told NBC station WOOD-TV.
"Like any couple, they argued, they fought," the station quoted the relative as saying.
Police found the bodies on land occupied by Beebe, who also goes by the name BJ, WOOD-TV reported.
Authorities said they have information indicating that Henslee left her home with Beebe voluntarily, WOOD-TV reported.
James Henslee became concerned after he could not reach his wife at home after several attempts, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported on its website. He called the police after the stay-at-home mom didn't show up to meet the couple's 8 and 10-year-old sons after school, the paper said.
