Family In Shock After MI Woman Found Dead In Benton Harbor

Vena Mathis has been named as the woman who was found dead in Benton Harbor on Sunday. Police believe that her long-term boyfriend, William Edwards, was responsible for the murder.

Mathis, aka, Novena P. Mathis, 38, was reported as an endangered missing person on Sunday after she didn’t return home for several hours.

The Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety began to investigate, and they found her vehicle parked at the Hayward Wells apartment complex in Benton Harbor. Mathis’s body was found in the vehicle. Police suspected foul play, and they say they were able to quickly identify the suspect as Edwards, also 38, from Benton Harbor. source

Edwards and Mathis had been in a relationship for about 20 years, and they had two children.

Mathis’s death was ruled a homicide by gunshot wound.

Police say Edwards went to Kalamazoo and had been arrested on unrelated drug and weapon charges.

A warrant was authorized for open murder, felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends at this difficult time.