A Michigan woman reacted angrily during her arraignment after being charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of homicide and attempted murder of a foster family.
Shuvonne Vinson, 42, appeared for a video arraignment on Jan. 3 following the Jan. 1 murders of Jennifer Lyn Bernhard, 48, and Stevie Ray Smith, 74.
Vinson and one of her alleged co-conspirators, Gregory Callahan, 37, were charged with their deaths as well as the attempted murder of Bernhard’s husband, Jeffrey Alan Bernhard, 52, who was shot and critically injured. The Bernhards fostered two children, and Smith was Jennifer Berhard’s father.
According to Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor Amy Reiser, who was also present at the video arraignment obtained by Michigan’s MLive, Vinson, Callahan, and Keith Finley, 60.
A third alleged co-conspirator who reportedly refused to appear, allegedly planned to break into the Bernhards’ Northfield Township home, murder the Bernhards, and kidnap the two children, ages 9 and 4. The Bernhards’ daughter is nine years old, and the four-year-old is a foster child.
On the night of January 1, three suspects allegedly entered the Bernhards’ home armed with shotguns and a handgun, shot the Bernhards and Smith, and stole Jeffrey Bernhard’s cellphone.
The three suspects then allegedly fled the scene, accompanied by the two children.
Jeffrey Bernhard was able to reach his neighbor’s house, where he called 911 for assistance. He is still hospitalized in critical but stable condition and is expected to survive.
Reiser stated that police discovered the three suspects and the children unharmed in nearby Ypsilanti Township.
During the arraignment, Vinson seemed to imply that the foster child was her own, saying, “They assaulted my motherf——- child, b—-,” and “I’m not the one who needs to be in jail.” When Reiser read the charges against Vinson, she interrupted and became increasingly agitated.
In her argument against setting a bail amount, Reiser stated that Vinson “literally murdered a mother in front of her daughter.”
Vinson interjected, “No, I did not.”
Vinson’s apparent frustration grew until she said of the victims, “Those motherf—-s deserved to die.” She then stood up and asked to leave the arraignment ahead of schedule.
Vinson, Callahan, and Finley were each charged with 12 felonies: two counts of open murder, one count of assault with intent to murder, one count of home invasion, two counts of kidnapping, one count of conspiracy to commit murder.
One count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, one count of conspiracy to commit home invasion, one count of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, one count of stolen property, and one count of felony firearm.
Vinson was also charged with four counts of assault, resisting, or obstructing a police officer, one count of carrying a concealed weapon, one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition.
According to Northfield Township police, Vinson and Callahan are being held without bond.
