Preliminary exam against murder suspect underway. 

Beekman with attorneys Al Swanson and Naesha Leys

Preliminary exam against murder suspect underway. 

#MasonCountyCrime #BeekmanCase

LUDINGTON —Corey Ryan Beekman, 32, of 10550 N. US 31, Free Soil Township is currently in a preliminary examination hearing in 79th District Court at Mason County Courthouse. Beekman is accused of killing William Craig Buchanan, Jr., 32, of Mears, and injuring Katlyn Buck, 32, at Beekman’s residence.

MCP/OCP is in the courtroom and will post updates on the hearing.

Dep. Adam Lamb

A preliminary examination is not a trial. It is a hearing where the prosecutor presents evidence to prove that the felony case should be bound over to circuit court. The hearing includes testimonies from witnesses, along with law enforcement personnel. 

Emergency responders were called to Beekman’s residence at 6:54 a.m. on April 16, 2019 where they found Buchanan fatally injured by a gunshot wound and the female also shot and injured. There were also two young children in the home as well.

Beekman’s charges include homicide — open murder, assault with intent to murder, and two counts of weapons — felony firearm.The woman and two children inside the home were transported by ambulance to Munson Health Manistee Hospital. The woman has since been released from the hospital, and the children were not physically harmed.

In Michigan, the felony charge of open murder allows the prosecutor to choose between first or second degree murder when issuing a complaint or at trial. A prosecutor may charge open murder, which is a combination of first and second degree murder, and the jury may determine the appropriate degree based on the case. First degree murder is a mandatory life sentence and is charged when the murder is committed in the course of another felony, murdering a peace officer in the line of duty or premeditated murder. Second degree murder may be sentenced up to life in prison and is defined as causing death plus intending to kill or do great bodily harm or knowingly creating a very high risk of death or great bodily harm knowing that death or such harm would be the likely result of the defendant’s actions.

Assault with intent to commit murder is a felony charged punishable by a maximum life sentence. It occurs when an individual who assaults another person and who intends to murder or kill that person.

Felony firearm is a punishable by up to two years imprisonment.

Beekman has been lodged in the Mason County Jail on a $750,000 cash/surety bond.

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