Corey LaValley, 3
2, of Dorr, was bound over Thursday to Circuit Court trial by Allegan County District Judge William Baillargeon on three open murder charges, arson and felonious use of a firearm.
LaValley was charged with three counts of murder, second-degree arson and felony firearms for killing a woman and her two children last March and then setting their mobile home on fire.
The victims were 32-year-old Debra Sheppard, Emma McComber, 12, and his biological son, Corey Jr., 10. Both children were students in the Hopkins Public Schools system
Testimony in court revealed a “rocky relationship” between LaValley and Sheppard worsened when the woman told him he wasn’t the biological father of their son.
Prosecutors allege that LaValley shot the three, left and then returned to set the house on fire.
LaValley has been determined to be competent to stand trial for the murder.
A fire investigator from Michigan State Police testified that he found three areas in which the fire was set deliberately. The victims were found on beds, inside the home with gunshot wounds to their heads.
Investigators also said they found gasoline on part of the carpet.
It was reported that LaValley has a previous criminal record that includes convictions of assault and battery, misdemeanor controlled substance possession, disturbing the peace and retail fraud.
He was ordered to remain in jail without bond.
PHOTO: Corey LaValley
