WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. – The foster father badly injured in a shooting in Northfield Township recalled what he experienced in court on Wednesday.
Gregory Callhan, 37, and Keith Finley, 60, appeared in court on Wednesday, April 16, for their preliminary examinations.
A preliminary examination is a hearing where the facts in the case are brought to the judge, and the judge decides whether or not there is enough evidence to move to trial.
The third person charged in this case, Shuvonne Vinson, was in court on March 20 for a motion hearing, and the judge scheduled a hearing about her competency for May 22. Due to this, her preliminary examination has been delayed.
Vinson, Callhan and Finely are accused of being involved in the murder of Jennifer Bernhard, 42, and Stevie Smith, 74, and the attempted murder of Jeffrey Bernhard, 52, on Nollar Bend Road in Northfield Township on Jan. 1, 2025.
Foster father testifies
Jeffrey Bernhard, the foster father injured in the shooting, testified in the preliminary examination on April 16 and recalled the events leading up to him being shot and what happened after he regained consciousness. He was the first witness to take the stand.
He said he, his wife, his father-in-law, his now 10-year-old daughter and his 4-year-old foster daughter were living at his Northfield Township home.
He and his wife took their 4-year-old foster daughter into their care in April 2024. He said things were improving as they had her go to therapy, and she was doing great in school.
He remembered New Year’s Day being relatively relaxing until evening.
He was upstairs when he heard something outside that night. He looked outside and saw an unknown car in the driveway. His wife was at the bottom of the stairs and told him she believed the Amazon driver was in the driveway.
He didn’t think anything of it because he said they were still expecting packages meant for Christmas. He went to the garage to put on his shoes and heard a loud noise from the living room and his children screaming.
He initially thought the children screaming was nothing out of the ordinary because he said the girls scream all the time for any reason. But he then heard his wife scream.
“It was a scream of terror,” he recalled.
He went around the corner and saw three people inside his house. One man pointed a gun at him and told him to sit down.
Bernhard explained he recognized the three based on previous threats he and his wife received while caring for their foster daughter. He identified Vinson as the biological mother of his foster daughter.
He remembered Vinson ordering the two men, Callhan and Finley, to get his father-in-law out of the den area and into the living room.
He said all three had guns, and Vinson was ordering the two men what to do the entire time. He remembered she kept using the term “gangster” while she was directing them.
One of the men took the dog into the living room after Vinson expressed concern about the dog being near Bernhard.
Vinson told his biological daughter to come to the other side of the kitchen, facing him and his wife.
He thought initially the only reason the suspects were there was to retrieve his foster daughter.
He was “baffled” as to why they were there as long as they were.
Vinson then asked where the money was. He offered his wallet and electronics, but she said she wanted a lot of money.
He then gave her his phone and wallet. She then sent money to a Zelle account using his phone.
He remembered she kept asking for more money.
Vinson then reportedly told the 4-year-old to get her coat and put on her boots.
Vinson told the two men to take the 4-year-old. Bernhard recalled his foster daughter being emotional and scared.
Vinson also took Bernhard’s biological daughter.
Bernhard testified the two men took his wife’s phone and tried to destroy it with a knife.
He recalled that one man had a handgun, and the other had a longer gun. He also said Vinson had a gun but wasn’t sure what kind she had.
He testified that he didn’t remember for sure what he said, but he believed it triggered them, leading him to be hit with the butt of a gun. He didn’t recall which gun was used to hit him.
Vinson began to question his wife. He said she accused his wife of doing something to their foster daughter.
He was then shot in his chest area. He said he was the first one to be shot. He was then shot in the face and head.
He doesn’t remember who shot him, as he testified he and his wife were told to put his head down.
“I recall being aware that I was shot in the face,” he said.
He was expecting, within moments, that he’d be dead.
As his head was on the ground, he remembered saying, “God help me.”
He prayed and said he was ready.
He regained consciousness after passing out. He didn’t recall how long he was out. He then got back up on the bench near him.
“I looked over at my wife, who was sitting right next to me,” he said. “I didn’t have to say a word. I knew she was dead.”
He then, with all his strength, left the house. When he got out of the house, he noticed the suspects’ car was gone. He went to a neighboring home for help.
“My neighbors were amazing,” he said.
He remembered telling police he was able to identify who may have shot him and spelled her name to the responding officer.
He underwent surgery that night at the hospital.
Injuries Bernhard suffered from shooting
Bernhard said he no longer has vision on his right eye as a result of the shooting. A doctor told him he was shot at least twice in the head, but it’s uncertain because of the amount of fragments in his head. He no longer has feeling on the right side of the top of his head.
He needed surgery to remove bullet fragments from his mouth and jaw area.
At least three ribs were broken. He also required surgery on his chest area.
During his testimony, he testified he still has bullet fragments on his body.
He didn’t wake up from initial surgery until at least a day later. On the fourth day, medical staff let his daughter in his hospital room.
“She’s been a daddy’s girl since she could move,” he said.
Here is our previous coverage on the shooting:
Foster family attacked
Jeffrey and Jennifer were married with a 9-year-old biological daughter and a 4-year-old foster child. The foster child is Vinson’s biological daughter. Both children witnessed the attack, according to police.
Northfield Township Detective Sgt. Jason Roberts testified about the events that unfolded.
A neighbor allegedly discovered a man had been shot in the face, and officers who responded to the scene were directed to a nearby address, where they discovered the other victims.
Roberts said that Jeffrey Bernhard told him that Vinson knocked on the door of their home before entering with two armed accomplices, Keith Finley and Gregory Callhan. After forcing Jeffrey and Jennifer to transfer funds to her bank account, the situation escalated quickly and violently, police said.
“Jeffrey stated to me that he was pistol-whipped first, hit with the butt of a gun… then he was shot in the chest, and then he was shot in the head,” Roberts said. “He said right after that, his wife was shot in the head.”
9-year-old daughter witnesses attack
The Berhards’ 9-year-old daughter told Roberts that she saw Vinson “shoot her father in the head, shoot her mom in the head, and her grandfather, Steven, was lying on the floor,” according to the detective’s testimony.
“[The 9-year-old] was no more than 20 feet away from her mother when this happened,” Roberts said.
9-year-old, 4-year-old foster child abducted
After Jennifer and her father, Stevie, were murdered, Vinson and her accomplices, Callhan and Finley, allegedly abducted the victims’ 9-year-old, the 4-year-old foster child and the family’s dog.
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. But, Callhan said they took her because they “were going to take her and sell her for money.”
They headed to Vinson’s mother’s home in Ypsilanti Township, where the 4-year-old was dropped off.
3 arrested in Ypsilanti Township
Washtenaw County deputies saw the vehicle near Vinson’s mother’s home and conducted a traffic stop.
Vinson, Callhan and Finley were arrested, and the children were recovered safely.
When police asked Callhan why they went to the foster family’s home in Northfield Township, he said Vinson told him that she was going to go there and “kill them.”
Vinson told police that she went there “to protect her daughter and to prevent these people from ever harming another child again in their lives.”
Charges in foster family double murder
Vinson, Callhan, and Finley are facing 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 also facing seven more 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 also faces an additional count of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person.
