LANSING (WWJ) – Two Mid-Michigan men have been bound over for trial in a cold case murder investigators believe they have solved.
Thomas Olson of Grand Blanc and Robert Rodway of Saint Johns, both 34 years old, appeared in 65-A District Court in St. Johns this week, both facing charges of felony murder and felony firearm.
Olson and Rodway are accused of killing 68-year-old Chong Yang in November 2018 while hunting in the Rose Lake State Game Area near Bath Township, northeast of Lansing.
They allegedly stole Yang's headlamp, knife, backpack, and shotgun that he always took hunting with him.
Attorney General Dana Nessel's office says Yang frequently hunted in this area, and his wife was alarmed when he didn't come home.
His family volunteered to look for him and when they arrived, they found the victim's car in the parking lot and followed two sets of footprints in the snow which led them to his body, around 100-150 yards from his tree stand, according to a report from the Lansing State Journal.
Yang was lying face down with a gunshot wound to the head when police showed up.
Witness testimony and a plastic bag with hunting spray that was recovered near the scene led police to Olson and Rodway.
Investigators found evidence on Rodway and Olson's phones linking them to the murder, including multiple text messages referring to the investigation, according to LSJ.
"We're grateful to be bringing this cold case one step closer to trial and will continue our work to provide justice to the family as well as healing to this community," Nessel said, per a press release. "I am thankful for the broad, cohesive effort between our department, the Bath Township Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and our prosecutors for their dedication to pursuing justice for this brutal, senseless crime."
Olson and Rodway are both being held without bond. Their next court date has not been confirmed.
