Amy Henslee and Tonya Howarth: Missing Mom, 2nd Woman Found Buried in SW Mich.
(CBS/AP) Two women who were fatally shot, including Amy Henslee who was reported missing days ago, have been found buried in woodlands in southwest Michigan, and a man who knew them has been charged in their slayings, authorities said Friday.
Investigators discovered the bodies of stay-at-home mom Henslee, 30, and 36-year-old Tonya Howarth in Bangor Township, about 60 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, after a tracker dog found traces of blood in the area Thursday afternoon.
"It appears that they both died of multiple gunshot wounds," Van Buren County Prosecutor Juris Kaps told reporters at a news conference in Paw Paw, the county seat. Kaps said investigators believe they were killed Monday morning.
Junior Lee Beebe of Bangor was arraigned by video Friday morning on two counts of open murder and two counts of possessing a firearm during a felony.
Beebe didn't enter a plea, but when Judge Robert Hentchel asked him about whether he was aware of the charges in Henslee's death, Beebe responded: "Did or didn't? No I didn't."
The 34-year-old from Bangor, who was visibly distracted and didn't attempt to stifle yawns during the brief hearing, told the court he doesn't have a job and that he takes care of his father.
Amy Henslee's husband, James, last saw her alive on Monday morning when he left for work from their home in Hartford Township, just south of where the women were temporarily interred. The Sheriff's Department said he is not a suspect, and initially did not suspect foul play in Henslee's disappearance.
At some point Monday morning, Amy Henslee left the house, locking the door behind her and leaving her purse inside. Authorities said Friday they think she left voluntarily with Beebe.
Kaps, a spokesman for the county's Major Crimes Task Force, said Beebe is a cousin of Henslee's husband, and that Howarth was an acquaintance of Henslee, and possibly a friend or girlfriend of the suspect.
Sheriff's Sgt. David Walker said investigators found the bodies of Henslee and Howarth buried on land owned by Philip Beebe, the suspect's uncle. He said Junior Beebe was in the process of buying the property.
On Friday, the judge ordered Beebe to be held without bond.
More on Crimesider
Jan. 28, 2011 - Amy Henslee Update: Two Bodies Found, Relative of Husband Arrested
