IDLEWILD â The Lake County Sheriff s Office has brought in another detective to help tie up some loose ends in an investigation involving the discovery of a body last year near Idlewild.
The body of Richard Allen Ashbrook was discovered in June 2020 on a property in Pleasant Plains Township. Ashbrook was reported missing on Feb. 11, 2018.
Lake County Sheriff Rich Martin said they ve hired Pat Hedlund, who has some experience investigating cold cases in Newaygo County, to work on a part-time basis to double check some aspects of the case in preparation for prosecution. The family needs some answers, Martin said. We ve done our task. Now it s up to the prosecutor s office to make some decisions on how the case will move forward.
IDLEWILD â As deputies wrap up their investigation into the discovery of a body earlier this year in Lake County, they re also preparing to submit their findings to the prosecutor and ask for a grand jury to be convened to hear testimony on the case.
Lake County Sheriff Rich Martin anticipated they ll be submitting the case to the prosecutor s office in the next couple of weeks.
Martin said some of the witnessesâ statements have become inconsistent over time, which is why he d like a grand jury to hear their testimony now and get something on the record. It will create some accountability, Martin said. If their testimony doesn t stay the same, they could perjure themselves.