Bay City man told police he strangled man he met on Grindr, and more Bay County news

BAY CITY, MI — During a recent court hearing, a suspect from here confessed to killing and dismembering a man last month, according to District Court documents.

For a recap of that story and other top headlines in the Bay City region, here is a breakdown of news coverage from the last week:

Bay City man told police he strangled man he met on Grindr, then dismembered him

BAY CITY, MI — Justie T. Stilwell left his Bay City home one September night to meet up with a man he knew through a dating app. He then disappeared, failing to show up for work at a local middle school.

The mystery took a horrendous turn when Stilwell's arms and legs were found floating in the Saginaw River. Within days, police developed a suspect, in part from information gleaned from the dating app and from a concerned friend of Stilwell's.

When they confronted their suspect, he confessed to killing and dismembering Stilwell, then discarding his body parts at different locations in the city, according to police.

These details were disclosed during a probable cause hearing the morning of Sept. 27, just hours before suspect Robert D. Tweedly Jr., also known by the alias Justin A. Powell, was arraigned on charges of open murder and disinterment or mutilation of a dead body.

Appearing before Bay County District Judge Mark E. Janer, Bay City Public Safety Sgt. Nate Kamp revealed specifics of the probe initiated with the discovery of Stilwell's limbs.

MLive submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the District Court for a transcript of the hearing. The court provided it on Thursday, Oct. 3.

Read more here .

Single boat seeks love: Read this meet-cute sales pitch for retired Bay City ferry

BAY CITY, MI — Who wants a very big boat?

Bay City Boat Lines officials on the company's website recently began advertising the sale of Islander, a 53-foot-long, double-decker vessel long moored on the Saginaw River, off Middlegrounds Island.

Written as if it was narrated from the former ferry in first-person perspective — with a narrative that at times resembles a pitch uploaded to a dating app or pet adoption center website — the sales pitch describes the Islander as a "fun-loving steel boat seeking companionship and care."

The asking price for that companionship: $20,000.

"I may look petite, but my two decks provide ample room for you and 126 of your friends," the advertisement reads. "I'm an experienced hostess and have spent my entire career plying the fresh waters of Lake Superior, where I grew up (near the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin), the Chicago River in mid-life, and now, the Saginaw River and Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay in my adopted home port of Bay City."

Read more here .

Bay City murder suspect injected woman with heroin, then shot her on I-75, codefendant says

BAY CITY, MI — When a woman he had a crush on called him asking for help in getting a friend out of town, Aaron M. Wyse jumped at the opportunity. As he drove south out of Bay County on Interstate 75, the two women were initially chummy in his SUV's backseat.

They didn't get far before Wyse heard a gunshot from behind him. Turning around, he saw one woman was dead, the other holding a pistol in her hand. The shooter, Britany A. Letourneau, told Wyse she'd shot the other woman because a dose of heroin was taking too long to kill her.

For the next several hours, Wyse drove around with the body of 36-year-old mother of five Heidi E. Dowd in his vehicle, stopping at gas stations and a fast-food restaurant to get Letourneau food.

Such was the testimony the 47-year-old Wyse gave on Tuesday, Oct. 1, during Letourneau's trial in Bay County Circuit Court. The 44-year-old Letourneau — also known by the surnames Lewis, Johnson, Tigner, and Raymo and aliases Marciea A. Fordyce, Marcia Ann Moses and Marciea Reyes — is charged with open murder, removing, mutilating, or disinterring a dead body, and two counts of felony firearm in connection with the death of the 36-year-old mother of five Heidi E. Dowd.

Wyse is charged with removing, mutilating, or disinterring a dead body. His head shaved and a ruddy beard hanging to his chest, Wyse sat with his hands shackled as he flatly answered questions posed by Bay County Prosecutor Nancy E. Borushko.

Read more here .

Bay County murder suspect told police woman was killed to maintain MS-13 drug connection

BAY CITY, MI - In her first conversation with a detective, Britany A. Letourneau initially claimed she did not know Heidi E. Dowd, found shot to death and set on fire behind a former Bay County schoolhouse. She quickly shifted to describing Dowd as an acquaintance, telling the detective she refused to believe she was dead.

In a second interview, initiated at Letourneau's request, she gave a tearful account of how she witnessed Dowd's execution and was forced by her killer to help dispose of her body, all to maintain an alleged drug connection to a notorious gang.

"He said he had to do it because she was about to rat on the MS-13 connection," Letourneau tells the detectives through her sobs. "I didn't know he was gonna kill her."

MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is an international criminal organization originating in Los Angeles.

"The gang is well-organized and is heavily involved in lucrative illegal enterprises, being notorious for its use of violence to achieve its objectives," states the U.S. Department of Justice.

Read more here .

Bay County man returns to federal prison for running Adderall-meth pill factory

BAY CITY, MI — Shortly after the year began, police executed a search warrant on a house in rural Bay County, discovering an illicit pill factory. The homeowner operating the endeavor was already on federal supervision for drug offenses.

As a result, he's heading back to federal lockup for the next several years.

The man in question, 42-year-old Ryan Lee VanOchten, in May pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The first charge is a 20-year felony, while the latter carries a minimum sentence of five years that can be extended up to life.

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