BUTMAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A dive team recently searched a Michigan lake as part of the investigation into a cold case linked to a Canton Township abduction and a Washtenaw County murder.
Local 4 has confirmed that Washtenaw County divers were in Lake Lancer the last week of November for a search connected to the murder of Beverly Wivell, 31.
Buster Robbins is scheduled to go to trial in February 2026 in connection with Wivell’s murder. He is accused of kidnapping her while she slept in her car in Canton Township.
Prosecutors accuse Robbins of sexually assaulting Wivell before shooting her in Superior Township. He’s charged with open murder.
1989 investigation
Detective Casey Luke with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office testified that on Sept. 18, 1989, deputies were sent to the area of Ford and Gotfredson roads for reports of a woman who had been shot and was found on the side of the road. Luke said investigators later identified the woman as Wivell.
She had been shot with a 45-caliber pistol. Her vehicle was discovered later that night in Canton Township. The vehicle was still running, the driver’s door was open, and her purse was inside.
Luke said she had dropped her son off at school at 8:30 a.m. Deputies were called to the scene of the crime at 9:40 a.m.
A witness reported hearing a gunshot and seeing a blue vehicle, similar to a Chrysler New Yorker with a white top, speeding near the scene.
DNA test
In January 2024, DNA taken from the rape kit completed on Wivell was sent to Michigan State Police, who sent it in for forensic genealogy testing. The testing led investigators to Robbins.
Investigators conducted several days of surveillance over a period of several weeks on Robbins’ home, where he lives with his wife. On Sept. 24, 2024, investigators collected several items, including used plastic straws, which were sent to the Michigan State Police lab for DNA comparison.
Forensic scientists found that DNA from one of the straws matched the DNA from the rape kit.
Investigators said that Robbins’ wife told them that in 1989, Robbins drove a vehicle that matched the description reported by the witness. They also found a 45-caliber magazine with ammunition in the home while conducting a search warrant.