Detective vividly remembers unsettling murder-suicide scene on Michigan highway
Editor's note: This is the second chapter of a five-part series in which Free Press columnist Jeff Seidel shares the story of a Michigan survivor of gun violence. These chapters include descriptions of a gruesome crime scene as well as devastating injuries, and discuss domestic violence, child abuse and suicide. If you or someone you know is a survivor and seeking help, you’ll find a list of resources at the end of this article.
Jan. 6, 2018, Ionia County
Ionia County Central Dispatch received the first 911 call at 9:37 p.m.: a man reported he saw two people on the side of the road west of the 60-mile marker.
“It looked like there were three of them, waving for help,” the man said. “By the time we noticed them, we couldn't turn around.”
A woman called 911: “There was a van on the side of the road that looks like the back hatch was open and things were strewn everywhere. No lights, no nothing. It just looked kind of funny.”
At 9:56, a man called: “I'm a Meijer's driver and I'm on 96 heading east. I just came past a car and there was a person standing out there, frantically trying to flag somebody down.”
“At the 60-mile marker, a van?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yeah.”
“Yep,” dispatch said. “We have help on the way.”
Deputy Tyler Kohl arrived at the scene at 10:01 p.m., expecting to help somebody with car trouble. He found a vehicle pulled over, the back hatch open, an empty long gun case on the ground next to a box of Remington shotgun shells. Not far from the vehicle, in the snow, he found Lisa Somers laying face first, with both arms out, as if to catch herself. She had been shot in the left side of her skull.
David Somers was farther away, facedown in the snow, south of the vehicle. A portion of his skull was missing.
With his gun drawn, Kohl went to the vehicle to clear it. He found Amedy in the back seat. Part of her face was missing. She wasn’t moving and didn’t appear to be breathing. Kohl thought she was dead and called dispatch. “I got another subject in the car,” he said. “I got two on the ground here.”
He scanned the woods, unsure whether the shooter lurked in the darkness. He studied the snow for clues and the footprints seemed to stop with the subjects.
“I believe I got all parties,” he told dispatch. “I don't see any other foot tracks into the woods.”
Kohl rushed to his patrol car, grabbed a medical kit and put on plastic gloves. He ran back to the bodies while scanning the woods. He checked Lisa and couldn’t find a pulse. She was cold to the touch. He moved on to David on the ground in the ditch. He had been shot in the head.
CHAPTER 1 of AMEDY'S STORY: Michigan woman shot in face as teen recounts chilling details of stepdad’s murderous rage
'Who shot you?'
Amedy woke to voices.
“There’s two dead bodies,” she heard somebody say.
“And I'm like, 'oh my goodness help!' ” she said. “So I started screaming — screaming, screaming, screaming — I'm hitting everything.”
Kohl saw movement in the vehicle out of the corner of his eye. Amedy was waving her right hand. He went to the passenger door and she sat up and reached for his hand.
“The cop goes ‘Holy (crap)!’” Amedy said. “And I'm like, ‘Yeah, I'm right here.’ ”
More police officers arrived and shut down the highway.
Amedy was asked her name and officers believed she said: “Annie.”
Her mouth was destroyed by the shotgun blast.
“I’m cold,” she shivered and somebody wrapped her in a blanket.
“Who shot you?” an officer asked.
But he couldn’t understand the response, so he tried to ask it a different way.
“Did he or did she shoot you?” he asked.
“He shot me,” she replied, clear enough for them to put in a report.
'One of the worst scenes'
Sgt. Phillip Hesche, a detective from the Ionia County Sheriff’s Department, was at a movie in Grand Rapids when he was called about the shooting.
“I stopped and grabbed my car, and ran out to the freeway,” Hesche said.
He found the scene unsettling. It was a desolate stretch of highway, surrounded by woods and farm fields, the sky pitch-black and the weather unbearable.
“I remember vividly because it was like negative-9 degrees,” he said. “We were out there for hours on that scene.”
Hesche had been a detective since 2009 and this was the first time he had encountered a highway shooting.
“It was brutal,” he said. “That night was one of the probably one of the worst scenes that I've ever been on.”
Several things didn’t make sense in his initial assessment.
Where was the murder weapon? Why were there bloody smears on the steering wheel and around the outside of the vehicle?
He came up with an early working theory: The victims must have been chased around the vehicle like some violent game of ring-around-the rosy.
“Now instead of having fresh blood on the car, we're dealing with frozen blood,” he said. “Everything was ice cold, it was just brutal — skin-hurting cold. And I remember it was very dark out there. It's a very rural part of our county. So everything we were doing was by flashlights and floodlights from the cars.”
When David’s body was moved, police found a gun under him. It was a 12-gauge Remington pump action shotgun. The positioning of his body and the gun made it likely, in Hesche’s view, that this was a murder-suicide.
In David’s pocket, police found a brown wallet and $205.
Police searched the vehicle, looking for clues, trying to piece together what happened.
They found two coolers behind the front passenger seat with cans of Busch Light, Budweiser Select 55 and a small bottle of Fireball cinnamon whiskey. The Budweisers were sweating and still cool to the touch.
In the vehicle, police found a blue purse containing a wallet with Lisa Somers' driver’s license, $385 and Norwegian Cruise Line receipts. Two suitcases in the back of the vehicle had cruise tags. Curiously, the suitcases were stained with blood smears.
It was obvious to police that David, Lisa and Amedy were coming from the Grand Rapids airport. But that didn’t make sense. Why were three people from Kaleva — a northern village in Manistee County between Traverse City and Ludington, traveling on Interstate 96 eastbound near Saranac on a Saturday night? Because they were heading in the wrong direction.
As police studied the scene, taking pictures and finding clues, Amedy was in an ambulance on her way to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids.
Hesche didn’t expect her to live. He spent part of the night picking up pieces of her teeth and face off the highway.
But he didn’t know about her superpower.
An incredible will to live.
Come back to read Chapter 3 of Amedy's story: 'That girl is the toughest human being I've ever met.'
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
If you are experiencing domestic violence or struggling with thoughts of suicide, there are local and national services that can help.
Resources for people experiencing domestic violence
The National Domestic Violence Hotline: Text "START" to 88788, call 800-799-SAFE (7233) or chat at thehotline.org. The website said Thursday that it is experiencing wait times that may be longer than 15 minutes to connect with a someone over call or chat.
In Macomb County, Turning Point has a 24-hour hotline: 586-463-6990. More information on Turning Point's services is available at turningpointmacomb.org.
In Oakland County, Haven operates a 24-hour hotline at 877-922-1274 or 248-334-1274 and a live chat option on its website haven-oakland.org.
In Wayne County, First Step operates a 24-hour hotline at 734-722-6800. More information is avialable at firststep-mi.org.
Across Michigan, 866-VOICEDV (864-2338); Text at 877-861-0222 and chat at mcedsv.org
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has a list of agencies throughout the state that support people experiencing domestic violence at michigan.gov/mdhhs/safety-injury-prev/publicsafety/crimevictims. Click on "Find Services Near You."
Resources for people experiencing thoughts of suicide
The 988 Lifeline (formerly the National Suicide Prevention Hotline): Dial 988 on your phone, text 988 or use the service's webchat at 988lifeline.org/chat. Veterans can get specialized help by pressing "1" when they dial.
Macomb County County Community Health runs a 24-hour crisis hotline at 586-307-9100.
In Wayne County, Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network has a 24-hour helpline at 800-241-4949.
In Oakland County, Common Ground operates a 24-hour hotline at 800-231-1127, and can connect people throughout southeast Michigan to resources.
More services are available based on where you live. Check out the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' list of available helplines and groups at michigan.gov/mdhhs.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detective vividly recalls finding Amedy Dewey in gruesome I-96 scene
