(WWJ) — A Flint-area man has been convicted of killing a man who was hunting in a state park near Lansing in 2018.
A Clinton County jury on Thursday found Thomas Olson of Grand Blanc guilty of second-degree murder for the shooting death of 68-year-old Chong Yang at the Rose Lake State Park in Bath Township, just northeast of Lansing.
Olson, 35, was also found guilty of felony firearm for the shooting, which had remained a cold case until authorities arrested Olson and another man in late December of 2022. Olson is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
On Nov. 16, 2018 — the second day of firearm deer season in Michigan — Chang went hunting at Rose Lake State Park, which was a frequent hunting spot for him, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.
Yang’s wife was alarmed when he didn’t come home that night. Family members volunteered to look for him and found his car in the parking lot, with two sets of footprints leading to his body.
Yang was found lying face down with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head.
Authorities say Olson and Robert Rodway — who had the same charges against him dropped in late 2023 — stole Yang’s headlamp, knife, backpack and shotgun.
GPS data and DNA evidence found on hunting spray inside a plastic bag near the scene led police to Olson.
The Bath Twp. Police Department worked with the FBI and other local agencies to gather evidence, establish a timeline and locate the suspects, according to previous reporting.
During the trial, which began on Feb. 13, prosecutors introduced text messages between Olson and Rodway “in which they joked about the killing or the investigation,” according to a report from the Lansing State Journal.
Prosecutors argued the messages “amounted to admissions,” according to the report. The defense claimed they were “jokes made in poor taste.”
Prosecutors also said Olson had searched multiple times on the internet for news about Yang’s death prior to news that a suspect had been identified.
“I am grateful for the dedicated work of the prosecutors in my office, as well as the determination of the Bath Township Police Department and the FBI in their yearslong pursuit in resolving this cold case,” Nessel said, per a press release. “This murder shocked the Bath Township and Michigan hunting communities, and it is our hope that this conviction may bring some peace and healing to Mr. Yang's friends and family.”