NEWPORT, Mich. – A 38-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl he is accused of kidnapping hours before she was expected to testify against him in connection with allegations that he sexually assaulted her were found dead inside a van in a Newport Cemetery Wednesday night.
Raymond R. Bush, of Newport, was scheduled to appear Wednesday afternoon in 80th District Court in Clare County, where he was charged with two counts of third-degree sexual conduct.
Eileen Taylor Manley, of Reed City was expected to be the main witness in the case. An Amber Alert was issued for Manley Wednesday afternoon after he father reported her missing when he came home from work in the morning.
The minivan was discovered in St. Charles Cemetery in Newport on Wednesday night and authorities were alerted, police said.
Michigan State Police quickly arrived on the scene and began investigating whether Bush and Manley were still in the area.
Police said they initially believed Bush was armed in the cemetery and warned residents to take cover.
“The Michigan State Police emergency support team was activated due to the unknown circumstances behind who was in the vehicle or what the exact circumstances were. The emergency support team made entry into the vehicle and found two deceased bodies,” Michigan State Police Lieutenant Mary Kapp said.
Both were found dead inside. Police would not comment on how they died, but Local 4 has learned investigators suspect the two may have entered in some sort of suicide pact.
Autopsies were scheduled for Thursday to determine cause of Death.
Police had reported that Manley was missing from Reed City in Osceola County, where her father lives, but Wilson said the girl primarily lived with her mother in Harrison, about 35 miles southeast in neighboring Clare County.
The charges against Bush stem from a July report made by Manley and her mother to the Clare County sheriff's department about sexual contact between the girl and a man, Wilson said.
The age of consent in Michigan is 16 years old.
Police tell Local 4 that Bush and Manley have been involved with each other since she was 14, when her mother and her lived in the Monroe area. Police said Bush was acquaintances with Manley's mother.
After she moved away, the two remained in contact and the relationship turned sexual, police said.
Bush has a tattoo with Manley’s name on the back of his neck.
Local 4 has learned Bush called his brother around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and said that he had killed his girlfriend and was headed to the St. Charles Cemetery, where their grandparents were buried.