VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Police are investigating after a 63-year-old woman was found fatally shot at her Van Buren Township home.
The shooting happened before 1 a.m. Tuesday at the Village Pointe Estates on Fay Drive near Belleville and Ecorse roads in Van Buren Township, police said.
Residents in the area said it’s one of those places that everyone wants to live, the neighbors know each other and when school’s out the kids are out playing. That peaceful suburban existence was shattered last night, according to residents.
“Never would I think for one minute that she would ever been in danger,” neighbor Julie Mahle said. “She was such a great friend, great grandma, a great mother. She was just a wonderful sweet lady."
Police said the victim’s son contacted police around 1 a.m. asking police for a wellness check. Police said the son had heard from his father, who said he’d shot the victim and driven away from the home. Investigators who arrived on scene found the mother dead. They located the suspect by pinging his cellphone.
Police in the St. Joe area stopped his vehicle on I-94 and arrested him.
Mahle said she had a great relationship with both the husband and wife.
“Family gatherings -- we got together, you know,” Mahle said. “I’ve had people in my family that passed. They were right there for me.”
Mahle said she can’t wrap her mind around what possibly could have happened.
“They may have had their problems, every married couple does, but to think something like this? Never,” Mahle said. “Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think something like this would occur over there, ever.
Van Buren police detectives said they will pick up the husband from the Berrien County Jail. He will be questioned before the case is taken to the prosecutor.
READ: Woman found dead after husband calls son to say he shot his wife in Van Buren Township, police say