Suspects are charged with murder and child abduction in the Northfield Township tragedy

After a Washtenaw County judge read the charges against her, Shuvonne Vinson went on a tirade.

Vinson, 42, and Gregory Callahan, 37, are both charged with two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, assault with intent to murder, home invasion, conspiracy and weapons charges – along with a number of others – in connection with the New Year’s Day tragedy in Northfield Township that left two people dead and a third was injured. Another suspect, Keith Findley, 60, was also charged but refused to be arraigned on Friday, Magistrate Odetalla Odetalla said.

In the opening moments of her video arraignment in 14A-1 District Court, Vinson shouted profanities directed at the deceased victims.

“You attacked my mother——g-child, b—h,” she screamed.

After her tirade, Vinson left the room before the arraignment was complete.

On a GoFundMe page set up by the Brighton Assembly of God, the church wrote that a Northfield Township couple’s daughter and their foster child were kidnapped.

Vinson was the subject of a foster care case in 2018, the results of which were not immediately known, according to Wayne County court records.

Northfield Township police responded to the tragedy at 8:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day. Jennifer Lyn Bernhard, 48, and Stevie Ray Smith, 74, were shot. Smith was the woman’s father, the church wrote on the GoFundMe page.

Jennifer Bernhard’s husband, Jeffrey Alan Bernhard, 52, was shot but survived, police said. Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Reiser said in court that the suspects stole his cellphone, but he managed to call 911 from a neighbor’s home.

Then the police learned that two children had also been abducted from the house.

It was deputies from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office who found the suspects and the abducted children overnight in Ypsilanti Township, the agency confirmed to the Free Press.

One of the suspects was known to officers. They located the suspect in a vehicle in the 1200 block of Lexington Parkway – that car was similar to the one involved in the tragedy in Northfield Township, authorities said.

Vinson, Finley and Callahan were arrested. There were two shotguns in the car, Reiser said. And a handgun was found on Vinson.

The abducted children, aged 9 and 4, were found unharmed and taken to hospital for examination. Reiser said one of the children was found in the allegedly stolen vehicle, but did not provide further details or disclose where the other child was found.

Vinson faced even more charges after she spit on an officer, threatened to kill officers and tried to grab a gun during her arrest, Reiser said. She was also charged with four counts of resisting or obstructing a police officer.

Vinson’s previous criminal history includes a drug possession charge in 2017, to which she pleaded guilty, and a case in February 2024 in which she made 13 charges, most of them gun-related. She finally pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon in June of that year. All other charges were dismissed, court records show.

Reiser said the trio conspired to break into the home on Nollar Bend Road, commit the murders and kidnap the children. The murders occurred in front of underage children, she said.

“It is one of the most horrific crimes I have seen in my career,” Reiser said.

Odetalla said the allegations were difficult for him to endure. He rejected a commitment between Vinson and Callahan.

Shauna White, an attorney for the suspects, didn’t say much about her clients. Callahan had no criminal record, she said, and Vinson should have remained silent.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. Contact them at [email protected] or on X: @andreamsahouri.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Suspects charged with murder, kidnapping in Northfield Twp. tragedy