Woman’s death was made to look like a car crash — but Michigan cops weren’t fooled
A Michigan woman’s “suspicious death” was made to look like the result of a car crash, but investigators say that’s not the case.
Officers with the Chesterfield Township Police Department arrived at the scene of a reported crash, between a vehicle and a pedestrian, early in the morning on Feb. 13, the department said in a news release.
A woman with serious injuries was lying by an intersection when officers arrived, and she died at the scene, police said. She was later identified as a 42-year-old Chesterfield Township resident.
Though investigators were initially told her death was an accident, the story fell apart quickly.
“Evidence at the scene and witness statements were not consistent with a traffic crash,” the release said. “This suspicious death is the result of a violent domestic relationship.”
Two men were taken into custody, including 42-year-old John Galvan, also of Chesterfield. Galvan is facing several felony charges, police said. The second man, whose name police didn’t share, was released.
In an unreleased video obtained by police, a doorbell camera from a nearby home captures a pickup truck driving to the intersection of Hiddenbrook Drive and Burgess Lane, a man throwing a body onto the road, running over it, then leaving the area, WDIV reported.
Police say the truck comes back to the intersection 40 minutes later with two men in the cab, a father and son, and the former calls 911, the TV station reported.
The female victim and the son, Galvan, lived together at a home a short distance from the staged crash site, police told the outlet.
Galvan was arraigned Feb. 15, a police release said. He is charged with reckless driving causing death, manslaughter, failure to stop at the scene of a deadly accident and driving with a suspended license.
He is being held at the Macomb County Jail with his bond set at $500,000.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Woman’s death was made to look like a car crash — but Michigan cops weren’t fooled."