BAY CITY, Michigan — Years after the mother of five children was allegedly executed and set on fire in rural Bay County, after the mother of six children served time and was indicted in an Arizona prison. , was taken back to Michigan.

Britany A. Letourneau, 43, appeared before Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the Bay County District Court on Thursday afternoon, April 27, for public murder, body removal, mutilation, dismemberment, and felony firearms 2. A point arraignment was sought. The indictment stems from the August 2020 murder of his 36-year-old Heidi E. Dowd of West Branch.

Letourneau gave an address on the 200 block of North Grant Street in Bay City as his current residence.

Attorney Matthew B. Hewitt asked Kelly to file a plea of ​​not guilty on Letourneau’s behalf. Describing Letourneau as in need, he also asked Kelly to refer her case to the attorney’s office.

The judge mandated both requests.

Hewitt said Letourneau has six children, three of whom are minors. Aside from his recent prison life in Grand Canyon, Letourneau has lived in Michigan his entire life, he continued.

Hewitt added that Letooneau has an extensive history of medical and mental health problems. Hewitt said she had 16 of her convictions and zero for violent crimes. He also said she never failed her court appearances.

“She has maintained the same residence during her two-year incarceration[in Arizona]and always intends to return to Bay County,” Hewitt said, adding that she has a local support network.

Hewitt asked the judge to set a reasonable bond, possibly using a GPS tether.

Bay County Prosecutor Nancy E. Borsico objected and demanded a $1 million bond instead.

“This defendant has appeared in court under multiple pseudonyms, well over 10, I think,” Borsico said. She disputed Hewitt’s assertion that none of Letourneau’s convictions were violent, despite Letourneau’s string of convictions. Her nine felony convictions include assault with dangerous weapons, counterfeiting, speaking and publishing, and retail fraud.

“She is definitely in danger of escape,” Borsico said. “This is a person with an extensive criminal record. It was nowhere near the gravity of the accusation.”

Kelly granted Borsico’s request and set up a $1 million cash bond. A condition of Letourneau’s bond is that she has no contact with her Dowd family or her accomplice Aaron M. Wyse.

Wyse, 45, was arraigned on April 20 on charges of removing, mutilating, or dismembering a corpse.

Dowd’s body was found on the afternoon of August 17, 2020 in a wooded area within Block 500 of West Neumann Road in Mount Forest Township. An owner unrelated to the murder found her body and called Bay County police. Sheriff Troy R. Cunningham said:

Cunningham said Dowd had nothing to do with the property. The sheriff declined to say why investigators tracked down his two suspects or what their motives were, but said the killings were not random.

According to Dowd’s death certificate, she sustained a single gunshot wound to the left parietal region of her head. A deformed bullet was recovered from her skull, the document said, adding that Dowd’s burns were inflicted after her death.

Letnough was living in Bay City when Dowd died. She and her Dowd’s Facebook accounts were linked as friends.

Letourneau is also known by the surnames Lewis, Johnson, Tigner, and Raymo, and by the alternate names Marciea A. Fordyce, Marcia Ann Moses, and Marcia Reyes. At her arraignment, Judge Kelly said she counted the 14 aliases Letourneau used for her.

Authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of Letourneau and Wyse on December 7, 2022. Letourneau was imprisoned Arizona State Penitentiary Complex Perryville-Santa Cruz Unit under the name Marcia A. Fordyce.

In March 2021, Letourneau/Fordyce appeared in Yavapai County Superior Court in Prescott, Arizona and pleaded guilty to possession of dangerous drugs by a prohibited person and possession of a weapon. Prosecutors have dismissed charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession or use of a weapon in a drug offense.

A judge in April 2021 sentenced Letourneau/Fordyce to two years in prison. During her imprisonment, Letourneau/Fordyce had three of her disciplinary offenses, two for failing to follow verbal or written orders and one for disrespecting staff.

While in prison, Letourneau appeared in Ossego County Circuit Court in Michigan in October 2021 via Zoom and pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and second-degree possession of a controlled substance.

The following month, Ossego County Circuit Court Judge Colin G. Hunter sentenced Letourneau to 23 months to 10 years and 23 months to 4 years in prison. In that case, Letourneau still owes $781.20.

The Arizona Department of Corrections released Letourneau/Fordyce into community supervision on March 21, 2023, but records show she was arrested shortly thereafter and extradition was pending.

On April 18, the Bay County Commission unanimously approved a payment of approximately $3,106 to the Marshals Service to transfer Letourneau from Maricopa County Jail to Bay County.

Wise, on the other hand, Judgment handed down in May 2022 An Ossego County judge handed down concurrent sentences of two to five years and three to 10 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine and possession of a concealed weapon.

Before being incarcerated in Bay County Jail, Weiss recently imprisoned At the Ernest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon Heights. His earliest possible release date is his September 26, 2024, and his maximum possible discharge date is his July 26, 2031.

Prison records show Weiss has a gunshot wound to his chest.

Both Letourneau and Wyse are scheduled to appear for preliminary judging on May 9 at 11am.

Dowd graduated from Harry S. Truman High School in Taylor.

“Heidi enjoyed spending time with family and friends, decorating for the holidays, reading books and listening to music,” her obituary stated.

She left her husband with five children and one stepchild.

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