Overview
- Jurors were seated and opening statements began, followed by initial witnesses including a crime-scene analyst who testified the victim was likely decapitated on the bed where his body was found.
- Prosecutors said Michaels admitted being at Johnathan Willette’s home that night and described striking him during a massage, alleging she later decapitated him and poured chemicals on his body.
- Investigators reported finding Willette’s phone with blood outside Michaels’ home and his wallet and keys in her underwear drawer, while the victim’s head and the alleged murder weapon remain unrecovered.
- The defense advanced an alternate-suspect theory targeting Willette’s son, Deviere—who later married Michaels—citing years of intimate messages and photos, though prosecutors said data do not place him at the scene and he has not been charged.
- Testimony continues this week after the court heard that Deviere was interviewed multiple times by police and is among witnesses expected to take the stand.