05/16/2007

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
Family members of Dawnette Harrell weep during the arraignment of Justin Scott Stair on Tuesday.

Suspect arraigned on count of murder

Justin Stair, Harrell's boyfriend, allegedly shot and killed her

By VICTOR SKINNER

vskinner@record-eagle.com

Stair

TRAVERSE CITY — Dona Hart struggled for a year over the disappearance of her pregnant daughter Dawnette Marie Harrell — a sleepless, emotionally draining stretch rife with unanswered questions.

But the arrest of a suspect in her daughter's slaying offers the Traverse City woman and her family hope that justice will prevail.

"When they found my daughter, we turned another page. When they made an arrest, we turned another page,” Hart said Tuesday. "Now we have to start a new chapter with the criminal justice system.”

Justin Stair, Dawnette Harrell's boyfriend and the apparent father of her unborn child, was arraigned Tuesday on an open count of murder and a count of assault of a pregnant individual after he allegedly shot and killed Harrell at his parents' Whitewater Township home.

Harrell, 29, was 10 weeks pregnant when she disappeared after meeting with Stair on April 2, 2006.

Stair, 20, clad in a jail-issued jumpsuit and shackles, sat motionless and stared at the floor as Hart's sobs broke the near silence prior to the suspect's arraignment.

Cameras flashed and Harrell's family members wiped away tears as 86th District Judge Michael Haley read murder and assault charges against Stair.

"Those both are life sentences. Do you understand that?” Haley asked.

"Yes,” Stair said. He was ordered held without bond.

Stair's parents did not attend the arraignment.

At the urging of Deanna Fredrickson, Harrell's sister, state police on May 3 searched the wooded area near Stair's parents' Williamsburg home at 5433 Samels Road and found Harrell's body in a shallow grave about 100 yards from the house, records show.

Monday, state police arrested Stair after a search of his parents' home uncovered a .32 revolver and Harrell's purse and car keys in the ceiling tiles of the home, records show. Authorities also found traces of blood in the home.

A forensic examination determined Harrell died of a gunshot wound to the forehead. Police believe a .32 was used in the slaying.

Harrell's family is relieved to finally have answers to questions that haunted them since her April 2006 disappearance, but confronting a series of court hearings will be another challenge, Hart said.

"I need the public to keep praying as we travel down this new road trying to find justice. It is going to be a hard, long, road,” Hart said. "For Dawn and this baby we are all going to make it through this road and get justice.”

Hart said she still has visions of her daughter, described by her family as a petite and upbeat woman who always smiled despite her personal struggles.

"It has just been so hard because of Mother's Day, my birthday, Christmas; all these days just make it harder,” she said. "Just seeing the look on Dawn's face when she found out she was pregnant. I will never forget that smile.”

Timothy Harrell, Dawnette's estranged husband, did not return calls for comment Monday, but his mother, Barb McPherson, expressed their family's emotions over the discovery of the body and Stair's arrest.

"Our family is glad Dawn was found, but we are saddened in the manner in which she was found. We now can have some closure,” she said. "Our prayers go out to all of Dawn's family, friends, and all who knew Dawn. Dawn didn't deserve this. Nobody does.”

Hart and her family are anxious to receive Dawnette's remains so they can put her to rest, and she expressed hope that other families will not take their time together for granted.

"I just want for all the moms and dads out there to kiss and hug their children because you never know if they are going to come back home,” she said.