In the early morning hours of June 4, 2017, 38-year-old Edward Kuehn, a resident of Belleville, Michigan, met a tragic and violent end. He was discovered lifeless in the driver's seat of his car, which was parked in the lot of a Tim Hortons on Rawsonville Road in Van Buren Township. Kuehn had been shot twice in the head and neck shortly after purchasing a coffee at the establishment around 6 a.m.
The investigation swiftly led authorities to Mark Allen Germano, a 44-year-old man also from
Belleville. The motive for the killing was determined to be jealousy. Germano was reportedly enraged over a relationship his estranged wife had with Kuehn. It is believed that Germano confronted Kuehn in the parking lot with the intention of eliminating him, hoping this would lead to a reconciliation with his wife. The initial call to dispatch came from a woman, later identified as Germano's wife, who reported a victim in the parking lot and stated that the gunman had fled into the woods behind her home.
Following the shooting, Germano was found armed and hiding behind a barn at his residence on Bemis Road. Police were able to make contact with him via his cell phone and successfully talked him into surrendering from a wooded area near his home. Germano was taken into custody without incident and subsequently charged with first-degree murder and a felony firearm violation.
During legal proceedings, which included a preliminary hearing, evidence was presented against Germano. He was arraigned and held without bond in the Wayne County Jail. The case was eventually bound over to circuit court for trial. The death of Edward Kuehn, described as a hardworking man and a cancer survivor, left his family, including his two children, devastated by the senseless act of violence.
