GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A man has been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of his estranged wife more than a decade ago in western Michigan.
Michael Pagel, 55, was arraigned via video Thursday in Grand Rapids. Bond was set at $2 million.
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Renee Pagel, 41, was stabbed to death in 2006 in her Courtland Township home, northeast of Grand Rapids. The couple was married for nine years and going through a divorce when she was slain.
Michael Pagel was arrested Thursday in Saginaw County, about 100 miles east-northeast of Courtland Township.
He moved with the couple’s three children to Saginaw County after the slaying, according to MLive.com. Two of the children now are adults.
The investigation eventually was turned over to a cold case team.
“Following Renee’s death, the initial investigation had run its course with no charges filed, and eventually was classified as a cold case,” said Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young. “Although we did work on this case subsequently throughout the years as new information might come to us, we were not making any progress on this case.”