Traverse City News and Events

Murder Charges Filed Against Teen In Traverse City Death

By Patrick Sullivan | July 4, 2019

A teenager told a friend on Snapchat that he “killed a homeless guy” by slitting his throat, according to charges filed in the case of a man who was killed while he camped next to the Boardman Lake Trail in May.

Joshua Todd Vandehoef, 18, faces life in prison on an open murder charge filed in Grand Traverse County District Court following an investigation by Traverse City Police. He turned himself in to the Grand Traverse County jail at 5:27am Wednesday.

A walker on the Boardman Lake Trail found the body of 62-year-old James Clair Chisholm May 29 around 20 feet from the lake.

Later, a woman told police she received Snapchats from Vandehoef in which he seemed to brag about the murder and another in which he stated that he didn’t even take the man’s marijuana or alcohol, according to the charges. Investigators also said they used GPS information to determine that at 1am May 28, Vandehoef’s Google phone was located within meters of the spot where Chisholm was found.

Vandehoef lived with his mother seven-tenths of a mile from the scene of the murder. He also had an address in Carmichael, Cal., a suburb of Sacramento.
 
 
 

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