'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABhAAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACBAAAAQHAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEDEgIEBQYHESETJVEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQRAQACAgIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAEESJBgrH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AJexPddSp+Irj8LPXz8imi7uinY1CVb8dCWjEnlFwABaLJyt2RVCw4PUMZtUU10acoQIsqXlPPdfq5//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Heather Kelley, a Michigan mom of eight, was reported missing after she failed to return home to her kids on Saturday, December 10, 2022. Before vanishing out of sight, Kelley reportedly called her children at 10.20 pm, saying she was heading home after leaving her house an hour earlier that night.
Two months after her disappearance, officials, who suspected foul play in Heather Kelley’s disappearance, identified the victim’s boyfriend as a prime suspect in the case on February 9, 2023.
While officials are yet to officially charge the unnamed boyfriend with the murder, they provided an update on the case. Authorities said that Heather Kelley’s boyfriend, a convicted felon, who was released from federal prison in July 2022, was indicted on a felony escape charge on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, for violating his parole conditions a day after his Michigan mom disappeared on her way home.
Heather Kelley's boyfriend got rid of his GPS ankle monitor after she vanished
Heather Kelley was last seen on a surveillance video around 10 pm on Saturday, December 10, in the Comstock Township area after leaving her home. The next day, Heather Kelly's car was found abandoned in a burnt condition about three miles from the Comstock Township area.
At the time, officials investigating the case did not identify a suspect but later zeroed in on Kelley’s boyfriend, after discovering that a day after the disappearance, the suspect, who was on probation, got rid of his GPS ankle monitor. The suspect, who was part of the Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program, reportedly left the home after Kelley’s disappearance.
According to WWMT, a witness told authorities that the suspect had deep scratches on his chest and back three days after he returned to the probation home and was arrested on December 14 for violating his parole.
Authorities, who also found traces of blood in Kelley’s burned car, said that the suspect also lied about his whereabouts on the night of Kelley's disappearance.
As per Law and Crime, data extracted from GPS monitor and phone records showed that the victim and the suspect were at the Park club where the latter worked as a busboy on the night that Kelley vanished.
Authorities said that the suspect’s phone, which was turned off shortly after, was tracked to where the victim’s car was found abandoned.
However, the suspect maintained his innocence and explained his absence in the subsequent days of the disappearance, stating that he ran because he feared for his life. The suspect told authorities that the victim’s brother allegedly threatened harm after she disappeared, prompting him to escape his probation home. However, Kelley’s brother has denied the allegations.
While authorities have yet to pin Heather Kelley’s murder on the suspect, the FBI have accelerated their efforts in their search for the presumed dead Michigan mom by offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to her body.
In a Twitter statement, the FBI said:
“The FBI’s Detroit Field Office, along with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office and the Portage Department of Public Safety in Michigan, is requesting the public’s help in locating a missing person.”
Meanwhile, Kelley's boyfriend will remain in custody with the Federal Bureau of Prisons until April 26.
