As serial killer Jeffrey Willis tries to appeal two murder convictions, he will do so with new legal counsel.
A Muskegon County judge ruled this week that court-appointed attorney Ann M. LaBreck would be allowed to withdraw from representing Willis as he tries to have two murder convictions overturned.
In 2017, a judge sentenced Willis to life without parole for the 2014 killing of Rebekah Bletsch and the 2013 kidnapping and killing of Jessica Heeringa.
According to a motion filed by Labreck, Willis had stated multiple times that he is “dissatisfied with the quality of services his lawyer is providing.”
Last week, LaBreck filed a motion to be removed from the case, and a judge Tuesday granted that request.
Both the Bletsch and Heeringa murders had stumped detectives until authorities say Willis abducted a 16-year-old jogger who managed to escape by jumping from his moving van and running to a nearby home for help.
When police arrested Willis, they confiscated a gun and evidence in his van that connected him to the two victims.