Man Convicted Of Killing Elderly Michigan Couple
GRAND RAPIDS (AP) - A jury has convicted a man of first-degree murder for killing an elderly couple in their Grand Rapids-area home before stealing their car.
The Kent County Circuit Court jury reached the verdict Monday, a few hours after resuming deliberations. There was no physical evidence against Javonte Higgins, but prosecutors presented many days of circumstantial evidence.
Eighty-one-year-old David Bouwman and 80-year-old Vivian Bouwman were shot in their Kentwood home in January 2013. Defense attorney Valerie Foster acknowledged to jurors that Higgins stole the couple's car but said someone else must have pulled the trigger.
Son-in-law Tom Kelly says the 23-year-old Higgins is the "lowest form of humanity."
A mandatory no-parole sentence is next for Higgins. Foster says an appeal is planned.
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