Updated: Two arrested in burned body case
ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A break has come in a November murder case in Allegan County.
In November, officers found 25-year-old Brandon Silverlight near a burned-out vehicle in a remote area north of South Haven. Officers say his body was burned beyond recognition.
On Tuesday, investigators announced the arrests of two people in the case, Justin Terpstra and Alison Martin, both of Kalamazoo. Terpstra and Lane have been charged with open murder and conspiracy.
Investigators in Allegan County say Terpstra and Martin planned out the brutal murder. Detectives say Silverlight had once been in a relationship with Martin, and on the day he was killed, he showed up for a planned meeting with Martin at a South Haven restaurant.
The Sheriff's Department says Silverlight went with Martin to a seasonal mobile home lot, where Martin's fiancée, Terpstra, was waiting.
"There was an assualt that happened at one location, he was taken to a second location where a second assualt happened," said Lt. Scott Matice of the Allegan County Sheriff's Department.
The second location was along 74th Street in Casco Township. Investigators say the Silverlight had both his hands and feet bound, and that the assault included a brutal beating, and according to a probably cause report, Silverlight was stabbed and had his throat cut. An accelerant was then used to set the 25 year old on fire.
“Out of my fifteen years, the most brutal thing I ever investigated,” said Lt. Matice.
