On an autumn day in Farwell, Michigan, the life of 39-year-old Wade Harlan Bacon was tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence. On October 20, 2021, Bacon, a man known for his willingness to lend a hand, was at a home on South Harrison Avenue with his friend, Zachary Salminen, to do some work on the roof for an elderly man. It was there that they were both shot and killed.
The two men were not the only victims that day.
Inside the residence, law enforcement discovered the bodies of 85-year-old Henry Boyer and his 61-year-old daughter, Patricia 'Patti' Boyer. The subsequent investigation into the quadruple homicide quickly focused on a single suspect: Judy Marie Boyer, the daughter of Henry and sister of Patricia.
Following the discovery of the victims, a search was initiated for Boyer, who was considered armed and dangerous. She was apprehended the next day in neighboring Wexford County. The investigation revealed that Boyer had used a. 22-caliber rifle to kill her father, her sister, and the two handymen, Wade Bacon and Zachary Salminen. Authorities also discovered a 'hit list' created by Boyer, suggesting that the day's tragic events could have been even more devastating.
In the aftermath of the killings, Judy Boyer was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony firearm offenses. In September 2022, she pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree premeditated murder for the deaths of her father and sister, and two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Wade Bacon and Zachary Salminen. In November 2022, Boyer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder convictions and 60 to 100 years for the second-degree murder convictions.
Another individual, Boyer's nephew Ryan Beatty, was initially arrested and charged as an accessory after the fact, with allegations that he helped his aunt dispose of the murder weapon. However, after a thorough review of the evidence, the charges against Beatty were dismissed. It was determined that he was unaware of the murders of his mother and grandfather when he entered the home and was in another part of the house when Bacon and Salminen were shot. His cooperation with law enforcement ultimately led to the recovery of the murder weapon and Boyer's capture.
