7/12/13 - State Police have identified the body discovered in the woods of the Brighton State Recreation Area Thursday. An autopsy has confirmed that the body was that of 43-year-old John Willey of Howell. The cause of death was determined to be a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Hikers who were in the woods training their dogs located the body at approximately 11:30 Thursday morning in the area of Shafer and Brady Roads in Genoa Township. Meanwhile, Howell Police Chief George Basar confirms for WHMI that Willey was the suspect they had been seeking in a hit and run accident that happened in the city last Thursday. In that incident, police said a man traveling west on M-59 struck the driverâs side of a 2007 Ford Focus about 9pm as he turned south on Michigan Avenue. The driver, later determined to be Willey, fled. Howell officers later found Willeyâs 2004 Ford pickup on Tanger Trail, but as they pulled up, Willey fled into a home and slammed the door. He then fled out the rear door. A request for charges had been turned over to the Livingston County Prosecutor's Office. Basar said they had information that Willey was seen alive as late as Sunday. (JK)
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