MUSKEGON, Mich. — It’s been 29 years since Barb VanBogelen’s husband was brutally murdered, yet vivid memories of the tragedy, including the cavalier attitude of a teen killer, occasionally bubble to the surface.
She remembers screaming and staggering when police told her that her husband’s frozen body was found propped up against a tree in Muskegon County’s Fruitport Township, not far from the family’s home.
Her mind revisits the anguished faces of her son and daughter when they learned their fun-loving father wasn’t coming home.
“My kids heard me scream outside; that’s what they can remember,’’ VanBogelen says from the living room of the family’s home. “I think of having to walk in my house and tell my kids who were 7 and 12 at the time that their dad was gone.
“And they said ‘what do you mean gone?’ And I said, ‘daddy died.’’’
And she remembers the disbelief upon learning a 16-year-old girl named Amy Black and her 19-year-old lover beat and stabbed David VanBogelen after sizing him up as an easy target because he was drunk.
But nothing prepared her for the shock of learning that one of the convicted killers might be set free because of her age when the killing occurred.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 said mandatory life sentences for juveniles amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
Life sentences are still possible, but only under the rarest of circumstances.
Amy Black is now 45 and serving her life term at a state prison in Ypsilanti for the Dec. 7, 1990 slaying.
The VanBogelen family says that is where she should stay.
“I promised my kids, I will fight until I have no more breath left in me to keep her locked up,’’ Barb VanBogelen said. “Because this world is not a better place with Amy Black in it.’’
HORROR REVISITED:
So, who is Amy Lee Black? Back in December of 1990, she was a troubled 16-year-old who left her home in Kalamazoo and was living with her boyfriend, 19-year-old Jeffery T. Abrahamson.
David VanBogelen was 34 and had a management position at a local foundry. He drove a company-provided pickup. He was a devoted husband and father who also shared a passion for motorcycles with friends and family.
He crossed paths with his killers at a restaurant, where VanBogelen had gone after an evening out with friends. Abrahamson and Black saw he had a wad of cash and appeared intoxicated. They invited him back to their apartment in Muskegon Heights.
It is there, police say, Black beat VanBogelen over the head with a weighted whiskey bottle.
“Four times in the head with a Jack Daniels bottle filled with beer pull tabs,’’ Barb VanBogelen said. “She openly said she did her fair share in the killing; that she was the one that hit him.’’
Black and Abrahamson then led him to his company pickup, stuffed him inside, and drove to a remote area near Brooks and Ellis roads in Fruitport Township where Abrahamson stabbed him numerous times.
They left VanBogelen along a two-track, cleaned up blood from the apartment and the pickup, and took off for Barry County. They were arrested there three days later.
Abrahamson admitted to the stabbing. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Abrahamson’s sentence is not up for review because he was an adult at the time of the murder.
Black initially told police she participated in the murder.
“I always wanted to know if you could just kill somebody, and the cops not know it was you,’’ she told police after her December, 1990 arrest. “I did. I always wondered that.’’
At trial, Black tried to portray herself as a victim - a frightened teenaged girl who went along with Abrahamson out of fear.
A Muskegon County jury didn’t buy it. Nor did Barb VanBogelen.
“Amy Black is manipulative,’’ she said. “She’s a liar. She hurts people. And she’s only out for one person. And that’s Amy Black.’’
Attorney Mayer Morganroth represented her at the trial. He says a term of years, rather than a life sentence, is justified.
“She’s no longer the naive young girl who, under manipulation and control of her then-boyfriend, made serious mistakes,’’ Morganroth said. “It’s time for her to revisit free life as the person she has become.’’
Amy Black is unique in that she is one of only a handful of women locked up for murders committed as teens.
KILLERS REVISITED:
The 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life terms for juveniles was cruel and unusual punishment impacted 2,300 inmates serving no-parole sentences for murders committed before they were 18.
Four years later, the court made the decision retroactive.
Michigan at the time had 369 people serving life terms for crimes committed as juveniles. About half of the cases have been resolved with resentencing hearings.
All but a handful of Kent County’s 24 juvenile killers have been resentenced; the majority had their life sentences reduced to a term of years. The one case in Ottawa County resulted in a life term being upheld.
Muskegon County has seven juvenile killers coming back for resentencing hearings. Amy Black will be the first.
“From my view of the evidence, it’s pretty clear she was an active participant,’’ Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson said. “And certainly, that plays a big factor in some of the decisions that we’re making.’’
Black’s hearing has been scheduled and rescheduled. An October date was put on hold until the Michigan Supreme Court hears a Macomb County case that could impact how resentencing hearings are conducted.
“Our office discussed this issue with the family of the victim in person and explained to them the benefit in allowing the Michigan Supreme Court to resolve this important issue,’’ Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy M. Maat said. “Ms. Black will remain in prison while this issue is being decided.’’
Hilson says he understands the frustration of bringing old cases back into court after so many years.
“They live this once and they want to only live it once,’’ he said. “And we’re essentially ripping the scabs off some old wounds. Which is unfortunate.’’
WAITING GAME:
And so, the VanBogelen family waits. It is frustrating, to be sure.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I thought any of us would ever have to go back and do this again,’’ Barb VanBogelen said. “That person that you did that to is six feet underground. They can’t come back. So why should you?’’
Her daughter, Amanda VanBogelen, relies on family photos and stories to keep her father’s memory alive. Certain sights, smells and sounds also rekindle memories.
The prospect that her father’s killer might have her sentence reduced is a source of frustration and anxiety.
“It kicks my anxiety in knowing the one closure that we had with this is now uncertain,’’ Amanda said through tears. “The not knowing is really hard.’’
David VanBogelen’s son – also named David, agrees. Amy Black, he said, helped rob him of a normal childhood.
“I didn’t know quite how to deal with it. I just didn’t. Every day was different,’’ he said of his grief. “I can just remember being so angry in my teenage years and exploding on everybody. All the time.’’
For that, Barb VanBogelen continues to grieve. It is hurt she can’t assuage.
“I couldn’t fix it. I could not take that pain away,’’ she said. “That’s a terrible feeling for a mom to not be able to take the pain away from your kids.’’
The family printed up yellow T-shirts bearing David’s image from a family vacation in Atlanta. When Amy Black finally has her day in court, they will be there, dressed in yellow.
“I want everyone in that court to look at these shirts and to see Dave was a person; a person who is still in our hearts,’’ Barb VanBogelen said. “And I will have backing in that courtroom. They will know.’’
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