BATH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (TCD) — A man has been convicted in the 2018 cold case death of a 68-year-old hunter at a state park.
According to the Michigan Department of the Attorney General, on Feb. 22, a jury found 35-year-old Thomas Olson guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of felony firearm in the shooting death of Chong Yang at the Rose Lake State Park. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8.
On Nov. 16, 2018, between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., Yang left his home to go hunting in the wildlife area, the FBI said in a news release. He reportedly hunted there frequently.
According to the attorney general’s office, Yang’s wife became concerned after her husband failed to return home later that evening. Yang’s family members searched for him and later located his vehicle in the parking lot. They followed footprints and found Yang lying face down with a gunshot wound to his head.
Investigators identified Olson as the primary suspect in the case following witness testimony and after finding a plastic bag with hunting spray near the scene.
According to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Olson “killed Yang while hunting and stole the victim’s headlamp, knife, backpack, and shotgun.”
Nessel said in a statement, “This murder shocked the Bath Township and Michigan hunting communities, and it is our hope that this conviction may bring some peace and healing to Mr. Yang’s friends and family.”
The Michigan State Police Fugitive Team initially arrested Olson and another man, 34-year-old Robert Rodway, in December 2022 on charges of felony murder and felony firearm. However, the Lansing State Journal reports prosecutors dropped the charges against Rodway in September 2023, just one day before his trial was set to begin.
Danny Wimmer, a spokesperson for Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, reportedly said the charges were dismissed “due to an unresolved issue regarding admissibility of evidence.”
According to the Lansing State Journal, investigators found messages on the men’s phones referring to Yang’s death, including an April 2020 picture of them in hunting gear at Rose Lake with the caption, “A couple of cold-blooded killers revisiting the crime scene.”
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