COLDWATER - High bonds were set as four suspects charged with conspiracy to kidnap, rape and murder a child began to appear in court on Monday.
Court officials said one of the four suspects was arraigned Sunday night and a second Monday afternoon; the remaining two were still awaiting arraignment Monday afternoon.
Four people, Matthew Toole, 32, of Battle Creek and his girlfriend, Talia Furman, 32, of Springfield, Jayme LaPointe, 19, of Athens and David Bailey, 37, of Coldwater have been arrested and charged with a plot to kidnap a child to torture, rape and kill.
The office of the Michigan Attorney General issued the charges Friday following an investigation by the Michigan State Police Computer Crimes Unit.
All four already are charged with manufacturing and distributing child pornography as well as criminal sexual conduct and child abuse for using their own children to make the pornography.
Toole and Furman are scheduled to appear next in Calhoun County District Court on those charges and Bailey and Furman are awaiting hearings in Branch County.
The conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct were issued by Attorney General Bill Schuette after state police investigators found text messages and chats by the four suggesting they kidnap a child for rape and torture, Detective Sgt. Gerald Yott said.
He said state police determined they chatted and texted about their plans and also met to discuss the plot beginning in the fall of 2017 and continuing into this summer.
Yott said Friday and again Monday that investigators have no evidence that the group carried out the plan.
"We don't know but hopefully they didn't," he said Monday.
Toole, Furman and LaPointe were in custody before the new charges were issued and Bailey was found Friday by the Michigan State Police Fifth District Fugitive Team and taken to the Branch County jail.
Court officials said he was arraigned Sunday night and ordered held without bond. LaPointe appeared in court Monday afternoon and her bond was set at $5 million.
Court officials said they were trying to coordinate a closed circuit video arraignment for Toole and Furman between the jail in Battle Creek and the court in Coldwater for either late Monday or Tuesday.
Bonds for both are expected to be several million dollars and all four are scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination on Oct. 11.
They all face up to life in prison if convicted on the conspiracy charges.
Contact Trace Christenson at 269-966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson
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