NORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Details from a court document describe how police say a woman killed two members of her daughter’s foster family, just feet away from their 9-year-old child, in Washtenaw County.
Detective Sgt. Jason Roberts, of the Northfield Township Police Department, explained his understanding of what happened while he was under oath during a swear-to on Jan. 3, 2025, at 14A-1 District Court in Ann Arbor.
People involved
Three people have been charged in this case: Shuvonne Laverne Vinson, 42, Keith Lamar Finley, 60, and Gregory Dwight Callhan, 37.
They are accused of being involved in the murder of two people: Jennifer Bernhard, 42, and Stevie Smith, 74, as well as the attempted murder of Jeffrey Bernhard, 52.
Jennifer and Jeffrey Bernhard were married with a 9-year-old daughter. They also had a 4-year-old foster child -- that child is the biological daughter of Vinson.
Smith is Jennifer Bernhard’s father.
Vinson’s parental rights
Court documents said Vinson did not have any in-person contact with her daughter.
She was only allowed Zoom visitation or FaceTime calls.
Police called to Northfield Township
Police were called at 8:33 p.m. Jan. 1, 2025, to the 2000 block of Nollar Bend Road in Northfield Township, where a neighbor found someone who had been shot in the face, according to Roberts.
It’s not clear if that person was Jennifer Bernhard or Smith.
When officers went to that person’s house, they found the other person who had been killed, as well as an injured Jeffrey Bernhard, they said.
Bank transfer
Roberts told the court his understanding of what happened, based on accounts from Jeffrey Bernhard, Vinson, and the 9-year-old girl.
Jeffrey Bernhard told police that Vinson arrived at the home and knocked on the front door. Vinson would later tell police during an interview that she went into the house because the door was open.
The 9-year-old girl told police that three people walked into the home with guns.
Jeffrey Bernhard said there was some conversation before Vinson took his phone and his wife’s phone. She made them transfer money from their bank accounts to her bank account, according to Roberts.
2 people killed, 1 injured in front of child
Jeffrey Bernhard said he was pistol-whipped shortly after the bank transfer. Then, he was shot in the chest and head, Roberts said.
Jennifer Bernhard was then shot in the head, according to police.
The 9-year-old girl told police that Vinson shot her father in the head and then her mother in the head.
The 9-year-old also told officers that her grandfather was “lying on the floor.” She believed he was “tired or sick because he was lying on the floor,” the document said.
Roberts said the 9-year-old told police that Vinson shot her grandfather while he was lying on the ground.
The girl was no more than 20 feet away when the shots were fired, Roberts said. She told police that someone was repeatedly yelling “get down” and “keep your head down.”
House ransacked
Police said at least one of Finley and Callhan ransacked the house.
Some items taken from the home were with them when they were found by police, Roberts said.
Girls abducted
Police said Vinson, Finley, and Callhan took both the 9-year-old and the 4-year-old with them when they left, as well as the 9-year-old’s dog.
Roberts said he received differing stories from Vinson and Callhan when he asked them why they took the 9-year-old girl.
Vinson said she took the 9-year-old along so the girl wouldn’t go back inside and see what had happened to her family. Vinson claims she took the girl to protect her, Roberts said.
Callhan said they took the 9-year-old because they “were going to take her and sell her for money.”
Police said the group drove to a home on Lexington Parkway in Ypsilanti, where Vinson’s mother lives. The 4-year-old girl was left here, officials said.
Stolen gun, car discovered during arrest
Roberts said Washtenaw County deputies saw the car linked to the case in the area of Vinson’s mother’s home and pulled it over.
Vinson, who was driving, was taken into custody, police said. A handgun stolen out of Riverview was found in her purse, Roberts said.
Vinson told officers that the car had been given to her by her daughter, but Roberts said it had been stolen out of Detroit.
When police asked Callhan why they went to the house in Northfield Township, he said Vinson told him that she was going to go there and “kill them.”
Callhan told police that Vinson told him to bring his shotgun, according to Roberts.
Vinson told officials that she went to the Northfield Township house “to protect her daughter and to prevent these people from ever harming another child again in their lives.”
Vinson’s outburst during arraignment
Vinson didn’t stay silent during her virtual arraignment on Jan. 3.
She interrupted Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Reiser in the beginning, saying, “No, I did not,” in response to the murder charges.
Vinson’s lawyer asked her to stop talking. But when Reiser started talking about the allegations, Vinson interjected again.
“I don’t care,” she said. “The m----------- f--- with my kids, f--- them and ya’ll.
“I’m telling you, I’m telling you right now. They f---- with my baby. They lying saying I f------ had my child around a (inaudible). (Inaudible) kids see s----, stop lying b----.
“These m----------- deserved to die, f------ with my kids, f---- them all.
“Let me up out of here, I’m done, bro. Like I said, f---- ‘em all. F--- with my baby, I’m not the m----------- that need to be in jail, b----.
“They need to be in—m----------- who f---- with me, you’ll see. Because you all on the recording.
“F---- them dead, m-----------, b----. F--- ‘em.
“I’m telling ya, f---- ‘em.
“They assaulted my m-------------- child, b----, and anybody else who would do that s---? (inaudible).
“Do you hear me? (Inaudible) The f---- you talkin' ‘bout. Let me out.”
She then left the Zoom call.
Charges
Vinson, Callhan, and Finley all face the following charges and the possibility of life in prison.
- 2 counts of open murder.
- 1 count of assault with intent to murder.
- 1 count of home invasion in the first degree.
- 2 counts of kidnapping -- child enticement.
- 1 count of conspiracy to commit murder.
- 1 count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping -- child enticement.
- 1 count of conspiracy to commit home invasion in the first degree.
- 1 count of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent.
- 1 count of stolen property -- receiving and concealing a motor vehicle.
- 1 count of felony firearm.
Vinson is facing an additional seven charges:
- 4 counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer.
- 1 count of carrying a concealed weapon.
- 1 count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
- 1 count of possession of ammunition by a prohibited person.
Finley faces an additional count of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person.
