Stevie Ray Smith,Jennifer Lyn Bernhard Obituary, Death; – A shocking incident of extreme violence has resulted in the deaths of two adults and the abduction of two children.
The children were residing in a foster home in Washtenaw County when chaos erupted. On New Year’s Day, law enforcement reported the rescue of one of the two abducted children on Rowley Court.
“I looked out, and there were three or four police cars, and I saw someone being taken away in handcuffs,” recounted a neighbor who witnessed the rescue. According to sources, the second child was located approximately two minutes away on Lexington Parkway near Rambling Road. The children, aged 7 and 4, are not related.
Authorities indicated that both children were taken from a residence on Nollar Bend Drive in Northfield Township, which served as a foster home for one of them.
Police described the incident as a violent confrontation that resulted in the alleged shooting deaths of two adults in the home and left a third individual critically injured around 8:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day. “Just strange. You know, we don’t have those kinds of things happen here,” remarked neighbor Lee Maulbetsch.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers discovered 74-year-old Stevie Ray Smith and 48-year-old Jennifer Lyn Bernhard, both residents of Northfield Township, deceased. Investigators reported that her husband, 52-year-old Jeffrey Bernhard, sustained serious injuries and is currently hospitalized in stable condition.
FOX 2 has learned that he serves as an assistant director for the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Sources indicate that the shooting is connected to a child custody dispute, although FOX 2 is in the process of verifying the details. Authorities confirmed that the children are safe and in good health.
