The Murder of Devon Guzman
For this case, I watched two shows. The first was Forensic Files, season 9 episode 6, titled ‘Cries Unheard.’ The second show was Wicked Attraction, season 2 episode 8, titled ‘My Girl.’
A 19-year-old is found dead in her car.
Background
Devon Guzman was a typical teenager. She liked to go out with her friends. She was full of life and spunky. Her parents were very supportive of her when she told them that she was bisexual. At the time of her death, Devon had been involved with two women, Keary Renner and Michelle Hetzel.
Devon lived at the Mineral Springs Hotel with Keary. The two were known to have a tumultuous, even abusive relationship, according to Devon’s dad Rick. Devon was said to be more in love with the other woman in her life, Michelle Hetzel, who was married to a man named Brandon Bloss.
Devon Guzman
Devon and Keary Renner
Where is Devon?
In the early morning hours of June 15, 2000, Keary and Michelle went out to search for Devon.
Keary would later say that she and Devon had gotten into one of their fights the previous evening. Devon then stormed out, and didn’t come home.
The two eventually found Devon’s car near the National Canal Museum in near Easton, Pennsylvania. Devon was lying in the backseat, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Staged Scene
It was very clear to the police that the crime scene had been staged, and that Devon had been killed in a secondary location.
Devon’s throat had been cut. She had a knife in one hand, but the knife didn't have any blood on it. There was also a syringe in the waistband of Devon’s pants. Devon had no drugs in her system, according to her toxicology report.
Devon had small defensive cuts on her hands. She also had mud and grass stains on her clothing. It was obvious to the police that Devon was killed somewhere else, dragged to her vehicle, and dumped.
The police made one more note: Devon most likely knew her killer. A jacket was put over most of Devon’s body, like the killer couldn’t handle seeing her that way.
The Love Quadrangle
The first suspect was Keary Renner. Keary was questioned for about 4 hours. She told the police that she and Devon had gotten into an argument. A bar patron at the bar below their apartment had even gone upstairs to check it out. Devon left sometime after that.
A search warrant was obtained for the apartment. A small amount of blood was found in the bathroom. Keary said Devon had cut herself weeks prior. A car mat was also found in the shower. Keary said they had gone camping, and had spilled food on the mat. The testing on the mat would later show signs of food, not blood.
The police did a luminol test in the shower. It did glow for signs of blood, however, the amount was not consistent with Devon’s neck wound. The Forensic Files episode said it seemed to be more consistent with menstrual blood.
Keary wasn’t ruled out immediately, but the police soon were looking at the other woman in Devon’s life. Michelle Hetzel was a married woman. She had met her husband Brandon in foster care. She had been seeing Devon on the side even after she got married. Brandon didn’t like Devon, and it caused a lot of tension between all three of them and Keary.
A few weeks before Devon died, she and Michelle had gone on a trip to the Virgin Islands. They purchased wedding rings, and made a promise to each other to leave their partners. However, that didn’t happen, and Devon ended up dead. Michelle also charged about $7,000 to Brandon’s credit cards, leading to a blow out fight between them.
A Ruse
On June 15, 2000, Brandon and Michelle paged Devon several times. Brandon told Devon that Michelle was sick, and that she wanted to see her. Keary went along with Devon, but Brandon had told her to leave.
A neighbor of Brandon and Michelle’s told the police that he had seen Devon at their home around 12:35am. The medical examiner put the time of death between 12:30-3am.
A search warrant was obtained for Brandon and Michelle’s home. A pair of Michelle’s jeans were found soaking in water in the washing machine. There was a syringe cap consistent with the syringe found on Devon’s body. The water also had signs of blood in it, but the blood was diluted, so a sample of DNA wasn't taken.
The police also sprayed items with fluorescein, which is similar to luminol, in the backyard of the home. There was blood found on a pool cover and on the nozzle of a gardening hose.
The Bite Mark
Michelle and Brandon’s house was put under a 24 hour surveillance.
Lt. Barry Golazeski was watching the home, when Brandon went outside to discard the trash. Lt. Golazeski jumped at the chance to look through their garbage, which was now public property.
In the garbage, he found a used telfa pad, which are used to cover opened wounds. The wound was in the shape of a mouth.
The telfa pad was examined using alternative light sources. The image was consistent with a bite mark.
Brandon’s body was examined. On his left forearm, there was an impression of a bite mark. All bite marks were examined from Keary, Michelle, and Devon. However, Devon’s body had to be exhumed in order for this testing to be done.
Richard Scanlon, a forensic odontologist, took a cast of Devon’s teeth. He then used the cast to compare the bite mark on Brandon’s forearm. The bite mark came back as being consistent to Devon Guzman.
The police also had Michelle’s car in their possession. She had parked too close to Devon’s car on the day that they found her. In the trunk, was Brandon’s bloody clothing. The DNA was tested, and it came back as being Devon’s.
At Michelle’s mom’s home, the police also found the wedding rings that Michelle and Devon had bought. They also found a key from the physician’s office where Michelle had once worked, where she had access to syringes.
On August 13, 2000, Michelle Hetzel and Brandon Bloss were both arrested and charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The Convictions
The prosecution believed that the motive for murdering Devon was jealousy. Michelle was jealous that Devon had still been involved with Keary, and Brandon was jealous of Michelle and Devon’s relationship.
At trial, it was revealed that Michelle had attempted to hire someone to kill Devon before. It was a man that would let the underage girls drink at his home. Michelle had offered him sex or money to take Devon out.
It has never been revealed who actually killed Devon, but Michelle and Brandon both pointed the finger at each other.
Michelle and Brandon were both convicted of murder, and sentenced to life in prison.
Michelle Hetzel and Brandon Bloss
FINAL THOUGHTS
Devon helped solve this case. She tried so hard to fight back, but it was 2 against 1. Devon obviously cared about Michelle, and it’s tragic that Michelle turned on her, and took her life. Michelle and Brandon both deserve each other, and deserve to rot in prison forever.
I also feel bad for Keary. She and Devon did have a violent relationship, however, she could’ve been locked away in prison forever for a crime she didn't commit.
Sources
https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-2000-09-07-3317328-story.html
https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-2001-10-05-3387756-story.html
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/pa-superior-court/1315945.html
https://preview.aer.io/Lipstick_And_Blood-MjU1NTU5?social=1&retail=1&emailcap=0
