Curious onlookers view the home of the murdered couple in the aftermath of the double homicide and arson.
Couple Stabbed to Death May Have Witnessed
Drive-By Drug House Shooting
David, Sharron Hetzel Killed by Knife-Wielding Assailant Bent on Revenge?
August 2, 2008
By: Dave Rogers
This article reports the story from the scene in the immediate aftermath of the event. Over the next five days the true nature of the crime slowly emerged proving it to be a murder suicide.
This article and the reader feedback it generated remains, unchanged, in the historical archive of MyBayCity.com.
To read the publisher's follow up article
click here.
Reliable sources say a prominent couple, David and Sharron Hetzel, both 56, murdered early Saturday morning had been witnesses to a recent drive-by shooting at an alleged "drug house" in the area.
Unconfirmed reports were the couple was stabbed to death on the second floor of their Victorian home.
Hetzel's Farragut Home Location.
According to sources, drug activities had been occurring in a nearby house and a drive-by shooting occurred in the area recently. The Hetzels reportedly had seen the shooting but it is not known what, if any, information they may have given to police.
The sources theorized the perpetrators of the drive-by shooting learned who the couple was that had witnessed the crime and inflicted retribution on them.
Police would not comment on any investigation or details of the crime or cause of death of the Hetzels. However, a police source reportedly confirmed the cause of death was "a crime," without specifying a weapon or the method by which the murder was carried out.
No details were available on the alleged drive-by shooting or the suspects in that case.
An officer stood guard in a patrol vehicle parked outside the house Saturday evening, and placed on the porch a vase of flowers delivered by a weeping woman, believed to have been a friend of the murdered pair. Other vases and pots flowers also were on the porch, having been delivered earlier.
Bay City Police issued a press release Saturday announcing: "At approximately 6:45 a.m. officers from the Bay City Police Department along with members of the Bay City Fire Department were dispatched to the 400 block of N. Farragut St. on the city's east side for a house fire.
"Upon arrival they discovered a two story home with a large amount of smoke coming from the roof area. Entry was attempted to be made into the home by the police and they were forced back by the amount of smoke.
"Bay City Fire personnel made entry into the home and discovered two bodies on the second floor. Both subjects were deceased."
David Hetzel was a well-known caterer and for a time ran the Real Darn Good Food Company on Third Street. Sharron Hetzel was a non-profit organization executive and most recently headed Studio 23.
The police press release, issued by Lt. Nancy Feinauer, patrol operations, said: "It took fire personnel approximately four hours to extinguish the fire and make the building safe for investigators.
"Bay City Police investigators along with a Bay City Fire Department and Michigan State Police State Fire Marshal are investigating the cause of the fire. Michigan State Police Crime Lab is assisting the Bay City Police to determine the cause of death."
Reports were that several houses suspected of being havens for drug dealers and users are located in the area, not far from the neighborhood known as "the Hood" in past years.
Police reportedly entered the house where drug activity was suspected, and where the drive-by shooting occurred, and found it had been vacated. The only furnishings were mattresses on the floor.###
