COLON, MI (WTVB) – St. Joseph County Sheriff Mark Lillywhite says the death of a Colon woman just over a week ago has been ruled a homicide by strangulation and that her boyfriend has been charged with her murder.
Lillywhite told WWMT-TV 33-year-old Chelsea Wallen was strangled at her home on October 15.
35-year-old Michael Lafler was arraigned on Friday while he was being held in the St. Joseph County Jail on a murder charge. St. Joseph County District Court on line records show his bond was set at $1 million. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for next Tuesday, November 2 with a preliminary exam set for November 9.
Friends and family celebrated Wallen’s life that past Saturday at New Beginnings Church in Sturgis.
She attended Colon High School and resided in Colon her entire life. Wallen worked as a manager at Countryside Quality Meats in Union City.
A memorial fund has been set up to help with funeral expenses at www.gofundme.com.
Wallen’s death is the second murder investigation in Colon in less than two years.
55-year-old Todd Schwartz was killed in November of 2019. The murder case against 20-year-old Ethan Dingman was later thrown out by District Court Judge Jeffrey Middleton when he determined there was not enough probable cause to send the case to trial in Circuit Court.
Comments