The body of a person found last week in Saginaw County has been identified as Kelly McWhirter, a missing woman from Flushing. The victim, a 60-year-old former secretary at the county sheriff’s office, had been working at the county commission after retirement but had been missing since October 14. The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed her identity on Monday.
According to the police, it is believed that McWhirter was killed by her estranged husband, Steven Higgins. After his car was stopped by the police on October 20, Higgins fatally shot himself. Sheriff Christopher Swanson stated during a press conference that McWhirter’s body was not initially found because her husband had taken his own life. Her body was later discovered dumped in the woods in St. Charles Township between October 14 and 17. The cause of her death was determined to be blunt force trauma.
You may also like to watch : Who Is Kamala Harris? Biography - Parents - Husband - Sister - Career - Indian - Jamaican Heritage
The Genesee County Medical Examiner’s Office identified McWhirter through DNA results and dental records. Sheriff Swanson described her as a well-loved individual with a positive personality. He expressed deep sorrow that her life was taken by domestic violence, calling it an act at the highest level.
Though the sheriff does not suspect the involvement of anyone else in McWhirter’s death, investigators are still conducting thorough checks to ensure no one else was involved. The partially decomposed body of McWhirter was discovered by a hunter who was training a bird dog. The clothing found on the body matched what McWhirter was reported to be wearing when she went missing.
Sheriff Swanson acknowledged the grief that McWhirter’s family continues to endure and hopes that the identification of her body brings some closure. He expressed a mixture of relief and sadness, emphasizing the unsettling fact that her body remained undiscovered for 45 days. He believes that now is the time for healing to begin.
