FILE 532 / 28 September 2024 / 70 MIN / express

Battle Of The Neighbors - Crockery Township, Michigan

Nunica, MichiganListen

The town

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We are going to Crockery Township, Michigan ... the small town we'll be talking about is Nunica ... this is in Ottawa county, about 30 minutes outside of Grand Rapids about 0:03:14

History, in brief

Town note

Nunica means pottery or earthenware; quantities of Ottawa pottery were found near the mouth of Nunica Creek, which gave Crockery Township and Crockery Creek their names.

about 0:04:25

Town note

The first European settlers in the area were French Canadians, a father and son passing through, likely trappers.

about 0:05:15

1872

Nunica was officially incorporated in 1872; one website says the name comes from the Ottawa word for zinc.

about 0:05:47
All 13 history facts

Town note

Nunica means pottery or earthenware; quantities of Ottawa pottery were found near the mouth of Nunica Creek, which gave Crockery Township and Crockery Creek their names.

about 0:04:25

Town note

The first European settlers in the area were French Canadians, a father and son passing through, likely trappers.

about 0:05:15

1872

Nunica was officially incorporated in 1872; one website says the name comes from the Ottawa word for zinc.

about 0:05:47

1880

There were about a thousand people in the area in 1880.

about 0:06:00

1927

A big influenza outbreak in 1927 killed almost 800 people from this town.

about 0:06:10

1930

The 1930 census showed about five thousand people here.

about 0:06:32

1935

In 1935 about a third of Nunica was destroyed by the great Nunica fire, which was speculated to have started when the Nunica train station was struck by lightning and caught fire.

about 0:06:36

Town note

The train station was never rebuilt and the town never recovered from the fire.

about 0:07:13

1950

By 1950 there were only a thousand people there.

about 0:07:25

Town note

Currently there are about 350 people left there.

about 0:07:45

The figures, as told

Crime / national average

Police interactions in 2016
▲ at least 13

about 0:18:08

Police visits for neighbourhood disputes, 2014 to 2017
▲ 54 times in three years

about 0:35:45

Protection order requests denied by judges
▲ five times

about 0:36:06

Times prosecutors declined to charge Sheila
▲ at least twice

about 0:36:21

Money

Median home value$235,800
Median household income$81,161
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2024

Population of Crockery Township

"4,581"

Comparison: "about 4,500". No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:00

Population of Nunica

"about 350"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:03:39

Median household income

"$81,161"

Comparison: "above the national average by over $10,000". Direction: above.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:08

Median home cost

"$235,800"

Comparison: "very low in comparison to the rest of the country". Direction: below.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:13

Police interactions in 2016

"at least 13"

Comparison: "more than one a month". Direction: above.

As told in 2024 about 0:18:08

Police visits for neighbourhood disputes, 2014 to 2017

"54 times in three years"

Comparison: "almost twice a month". Direction: above.

As told in 2024 about 0:35:45

Protection order requests denied by judges

"five times"

Direction: above.

As told in 2024 about 0:36:06

Times prosecutors declined to charge Sheila

"at least twice"

Direction: above.

As told in 2024 about 0:36:21

The reviews

2.3 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“Christine says the service and food were wonderful, drinks were never empty, portions were perfect, and the bacon candy melts in your mouth; she lives two hours away but will drive back to eat there.”
about 0:08:05

1 star

“Scott complains of cold crappy housemade chips, angry, rude, unfriendly and unhelpful bar staff, and says he did not order an entree because the bartender was so unfriendly.”
about 0:08:32

1 star

“Pat says the restaurant does not like people in wheelchairs, has no accessible entrance or ramps, and that owners and managers make excuses.”
about 0:09:17

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The story

Crockery Township sits in Ottawa County in western Michigan, about thirty minutes outside Grand Rapids, and the story belongs to Nunica, a hamlet of roughly 350 people inside the township. The name Nunica is said to mean pottery or earthenware, after the Ottawa pottery found near the mouth of Nunica Creek, which is how the township came by the name Crockery. Zinc was found in the area in 1858, Nunica was incorporated in 1872, and by 1924 the zinc was gone. A 1927 influenza outbreak killed almost 800 people, and in 1935 about a third of the town burned in what locals called the great Nunica fire, said to have started when lightning struck the train station. The station was never rebuilt, the population fell from about 5,000 in 1930 to about 1,000 by 1950, and the town disincorporated itself in 1957. Median household income in the township is $81,161, above the national average by more than $10,000, and the median home costs $235,800, low compared with the rest of the country.

Sheila K. Bong was born on 29 October 1958 to Charles and Lila, grew up around Crockery Township, graduated from Coopersville High School, married, divorced, and raised three children. She worked for several years as a certified nurse's aide at Fountain View Estates until health problems forced her to stop. In 2005 she moved onto a one-acre parcel three miles south of Nunica, on an unmaintained gravel easement lined with side-by-side homes surrounded by farmland. The property belonged to her fiancé, the long-haul trucker Wayne Holman, who was rarely there.

Neighbours described him as calm, even-keeled and endlessly helpful. Sheila, by contrast, was at war with almost everyone. Over three years the police were called to the neighbourhood 54 times, at least 13 times in 2016 alone, over ducks, dead chickens, alleged rabbit poaching, stakes in the wrong place, snow blown onto cleared driveways and above all the gravel easement. In November 2017 Sheila drove past 81-year-old Donetta Gould and told her she hoped she would fall and break her hip; Gould gave her the finger and Sheila gave her two back. Mark Meurer filmed her dancing in his hay field and slapping her backside at him.

On Christmas Eve 2017 the s were served with a subpoena to testify in the Meurers' property dispute. He put her snow blower away, loaded her body onto a camouflage hunting sled, dragged her into the wood lot behind his house, stripped her, burned her clothes in a burn barrel and left her in the snow. He then drove to a bridge over the half-frozen Grand River and threw the gun in.

Her family reported her missing. Divers could not find the gun.

Mark Meurer testified that Sheila was relentless; Wayne Holman said the neighbours antagonised her. Sheila was cremated.

The case

Murder of Sheila Bong

Victims

Sheila K. Bong (59). Born October 29, 1958; certified nurse's aide at Fountain View Estates until health problems stopped her work; three children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; engaged to Wayne Holman

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 28 September 2024.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Wayne Holman. Sheila's fiancé, a long-haul trucker who owned her property; testified that the neighbours antagonised her
Beth Meurer. Mark's wife, who sought a protection order against Sheila in 2015
Donetta Gould. 81-year-old neighbour whom Sheila told she hoped she would fall and break her hip
Jeff. Sheila's brother, who found her body while searching with her son
Charlie. Sheila's son, who was standing on his mother's body in the snow when she was found
Jane. Sheila's daughter, who said the police could have paid attention that there was something more to this
Andy Groanink. Neighbour who said it was sad she was killed but he felt for the man who killed her
Detective Sergeant Sparks. Detective who interviewed about the body behind his house

The timeline

  1. October 29, 1958 Sheila K. Luke is born to Charles and Lilaabout 0:11:53
  2. 2005 Sheila moves onto a one-acre parcel three miles south of Nunica; her fiancé Wayne Holman buys the property (Bong home)about 0:13:04
  3. 2009 moves onto the adjacent property with his girlfriend Rhonda Clark ( home)about 0:15:16
  4. May 2014 The Meurers seek an order of protection against Sheila; the judge refuses, calling it a property disputeabout 0:22:24
  5. 2014 After an incident, writes to the judge calling Sheila mean, nasty and socially unacceptable and asking for her to be punishedabout 0:23:09
  6. May 29, 2015 Another judge rejects Beth Meurer's protection order despite her claim that Sheila said she was out for blood and had a gunabout 0:22:41
  7. November 3, 2015 A deputy writes that he is not sure Sheila remembers why she called 911, and that she said she was very mad and hated these peopleabout 0:26:09
  8. March 22, 2016 A deputy reports Sheila telling him to fuck off and get off her propertyabout 0:26:26
  9. 2016 At least 13 police interactions at the properties, more than one a monthabout 0:18:08
  10. September 2017 Mark Meurer files for a personal protection order against Sheila, listing obscene language and gestures; it is denied for insufficient evidenceabout 0:30:00
  11. November 2017 Sheila drives past 81-year-old Donetta Gould and says she hopes she falls out and breaks her hip; Gould gives her the finger and Sheila gives her two backabout 0:31:05
  12. December 24, 2017 The s are served with a subpoena to testify in the property dispute on Christmas Eve ( home)about 0:36:35
  13. December 25, 2017 Family members speak to Sheila by telephone at about 2 p.m.; it is the last contactabout 0:37:09
  14. December 26, 2017 At about 10 a.m., while Sheila is blowing snow on the easement, shoots her once in the back of the head (Easement driveway)about 0:38:04
  15. December 26, 2017 He puts her snow blower away, drags her body on a camouflage sled into the wood lot behind his house, strips her, burns her clothes in a burn barrel and leaves her in the snow (Wood lot behind house)about 0:39:46

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode