LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A woman faces a murder charge after the father of her children was found decapitated in his Henderson home, according to an arrest report.
Devyn Michaels, 45, was arrested on Aug. 15 on one charge of open murder.
On August 7 around 8:40 a.m., Henderson police received a call from a woman stating that she found her son, 46-year-old Jonathan Willette, in his bed and she believed that he was dead.
When officers arrived they discovered that Willette’s head had been severed from his body and was not in the room. Officers also immediately smelled chemicals, believed to be bleach and ammonia, which appeared to have been applied to the body since “smoke” was seen coming from it, police said.
When officers spoke to the victim’s mother, she told them that the last time she saw her son was the previous night around 10 p.m. with his girlfriend, Michaels.
Around 1 a.m. the victim’s mother came downstairs and saw Michaels in the kitchen washing dishes. Michaels told the victim’s mother that Willette was drunk and in bed and that they would be leaving early in the morning to register their kids for school, the report said.
The victim’s mother went back upstairs without seeing her son. Around 3 a.m., the victim’s mother woke up to the sound of the dogs barking. She thought it was unusual but decided to go back to bed.
Around 8 a.m., the victim’s mother came back downstairs to find the dogs locked outside and her son’s truck parked outside. She then searched the house for her son and found his body in his bed.
When police spoke to Michaels, she told them that she did not live with Willette but they were in the process of moving in together to make it easier on the kids. However, this move was complicated because Michaels was married and lived with Willette’s son.
Michaels said that she did not have an intimate relationship with Willette or his son and that she was only married due to medical reasons, the report said.
Willette and his son were not on good terms and his son was not happy with having to move out so his father could move in, the report said.
In an initial interview with police, Michaels said she left Willette’s home after speaking with his mother in the kitchen.
However, after detectives found Willette’s wallet, keys, social security card, and his phone with blood on it in Michael’s home, a polygraph test was conducted. During the test, it was determined that Michaels had a “significant reaction” to a question asking if she participated in the death of Willette, the report said.
When asked why she had this reaction, Michael told detectives that Willette was abusive toward her and would have his oldest child take showers in front of him, the report said.
She said that on the night of his death, the two were sitting on a bed and Willette was trying to get her to perform a sexual act on him. She said while he was laying face down rubbing her back, she grabbed a wooden stick and hit him in the back of the head, causing his arms to go limp.
Michaels told police that she didn’t want to kill him but wanted to hurt him enough so that he would have to go to the hospital because she wanted him out of the way so she could figure out what to do with her children, according to police.
Michaels never admitted to decapitating Willette and detectives never specified whether or not his head was located.
