On New Year’s Day 2025, investigators found 74-year-old Stevie Ray Smith and his 48-year-old daughter Jennifer Lyn Bernhard shot to death inside their home on Nollar Bend Road in Northfield Township near Whitmore Lake, Michigan. The attack occurred about 8:30 p.m.; Jennifer’s husband Jeffrey Alan Bernhard was also shot but survived and was hospitalized in stable condition.

Two children, ages nine and four, were abducted from the residence that night. They were later recovered and taken for evaluation. Authorities say one of the abducted children was a foster child in the Bernhards’ care, and that 42-year-old Shuvonne Vinson is the child’s biological mother.

Police from Northfield Township, Ann Arbor, Michigan State Police and the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office arrested three suspects: 42-year-old Shuvonne Vinson, 37-year-old Gregory Callhan, and 60-year-old Keith Finley. The three face multiple counts, including two counts of open murder, assault with intent to murder, two counts of kidnapping, and various conspiracy and firearms charges. During a court appearance Vinson reportedly had an outburst saying the victims deserved to die.

Are there readers who knew the Bernhard or Smith families or who can help fill in what led up to this custody dispute?