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William and Denita Buchanan hold the urn that contains the ashes of their son, William “Billy” Craig Buchanan II.
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
LUDINGTON — It has been over six years since William and Denita Buchanan’s 32-year-old son, Billy, was murdered, and the man who was accused of killing him remains free.
The murder, assault and weapon charges against Corey Ryan Beekman, now aged 39, were dismissed in Mason County’s 51st Circuit Court, Sept. 22, 2020.
Beekman was accused of murdering William “Billy” Craig Buchanan II, April 16, 2019 and wounding then 33-year-old Katlin Buck with a gunshot to the arm in Beekman’s home at 10550 N. US 31 in Mason County’s Free Soil Township. A former Army National Guard staff sergeant, Beekman was in an hour-and-a-half standoff with police following the shooting.
Buck, a key witness in the case, has evaded authorities trying to serve subpoenas on her and her two children — who were in the home at the time of shooting.
In 2020, Mason County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Spaniola (now retired) announced that charges against Beekman were being dismissed “without prejudice.” Spaniola explained in a press release that the dismissal was due to the unavailability of witnesses.
Beekman, who had been lodged in the Mason County Jail on a $750,000 bond since the time of the shooting, was released.
Pictures of Billy Buchanan hang in his bedroom in the Buchanan home.
“Without this important testimony, justice would not be able to be served. Mr. Beekman is considered innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A dismissal without prejudice means that charges may be refiled at a later date. The statute of limitations on a homicide never expires, and the case may be brought forward at a future date.
“I am optimistic that one day this case may be able to be heard so that Billy Buchanan and his family can receive the justice they deserve,” said Spaniola.
Spaniola said multiple attempts were made by Mason County sheriff’s officers to serve subpoenas issued by both the prosecution and the defense on key witness Buck and her two children. However, Buck evaded authorities.
They initially went to a local address, which they discovered was outdated. A second address also came up dry. Officers traveled to a “downstate” residence where it appeared that Buck was living, Spaniola said.
At the third address, no one would answer the door, although the home appeared to be occupied. Officers could hear the sounds of someone inside the residence but no one approached. They also heard a dog barking inside the house.
Buck’s mother, Nancy Parker, arrived at the residence and ordered the officers off the premises, Spaniola said.
Photos of Billy hang in the living room of the Buchanan home.
Further efforts continued to be made by the officers to serve the subpoenas.
A vehicle parked in the driveway of the downstate residence was registered in Buck’s name, Mason County Sheriff’s Office Det. Michael Kenney testified during a court hearing.
The subpoenas were in the possession of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office with instructions to “further make efforts” to serve them, Spaniola said previously. Now the subpoenas would need to be re-issued, said Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole in a recent interview with MCP. It is illegal to evade the service of a subpoena, he said.
Lauren Kreinbrink, who was the assistant prosecutor at the time, stated that she spoke with Katlin’s mother on the phone Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. “She made it very clear that Katlin was not going to be found and that she would not be providing testimony in court.”
“We had an uncooperative witness in the other victim,” said Sheriff Cole in reference to Kaitlin Buck. “That was
Billy Buchanan’s high school graduation photo at left and his son’s at right.
an obstacle the prosecutor had to deal with. She was not coming to the door when we wanted to serve the subpoenas.
“The case was dismissed with the opportunity to re-charge at a later date, and now that we have a new prosecutor, that may happen. I have had brief conversations with Prosecutor (Beth) Hand about the case.”
Judge Susan K. Sniegowski said she did not receive any requests from the prior prosecution to place Buck in custody, which would have ensured that she testified. Nor did she receive any requests to place the children in some form of protective custody to secure their testimony.
Judge Sniegowski received a request from the previous prosecution to use the testimony that Buck provided during the preliminary exam in 79th District Court in June of 2019 in place of the testimony she would have provided at trial. She denied the motion.
Billy Buchanan’s mother, Denita, believes that Kaitlin is now living in California. She said she was made aware of a medical bill for one of Kaitlin’s daughters that was mailed a few months ago to the child’s father from an
address in California.
“Where Corey is at, we don’t know. There is no record of him making money or owning a home — we think he has everything in his dad’s name, because he owes us so much money.”
The Buchanans were awarded a default judgement of $8.26 million including interest against Beekman in a civil case in 2021 in Mason County’s Circuit Court. The family has never received any payments from Beekman, Denita Buchanan said. “It’s a huge amount that’s owed to us, but we’ll never get it.”
At the time the criminal case was pending, Beekman’s alleged innocence was being proclaimed via a billboard on US 31 by his house. The sign displayed a picture of him sitting next to a dog. He was wearing a military Stetson hat displaying sergeant stripes. The sign stated: “I was defending myself in my own home!” For the Buchanans, seeing the billboard was like throwing salt in their emotional wounds. Denita said there were similar billboards on display in other locations in the area.
“There was speculation in the community more than anything else that it could have been self defense,” said Sheriff Cole. “I personally don’t believe that. I believe the evidence that was presented at a preliminary examination showed that there was intent. The judge agreed with that — he was bound over (to 51st Circuit
Billy Buchanan
Court) on the homicide charge, and then once Kaitlin started dodging the subpoenas, that became a big problem for the prosecution moving forward. There are ways around that, and I trust Prosecutor Hand to do the right thing. She seems very in tune with seeking justice for victims of crime, and that’s what you want in a prosecutor. I do believe that it’s being actively pursued, and we’ll let the prosecutor decide what the best course of action is.
“After the shooting went down, Beekman stayed in the house,” said Sheriff Cole. “He could have easily come out and allowed law enforcement to render aid to the victim. That wasn’t done — he stayed in the house. There was an opportunity for him to come forward and make efforts to save the victim’s life. And that didn’t happen.
“It’s a terrible deal. I understand the victim’s mom and family being upset. I have a son myself. It seems like justice hasn’t been done for the young man that perished that day. I hope that the prosecutor gives it a good look, and knowing Prosecutor Hand, I know she will do that.”
While Beekman was in jail, he made plans to harm Sheriff Cole. “There were correspondences from our jail to people on the outside where he was trying to get someone to harm me. He had made a plan to harm me in the jail.”
Cole said he has no history with Beekman.“I don’t know Beekman — I’ve never had any interaction with him
Corey Beekman
before.”
After his release from jail following the dismissal of the case, it is believed Beekman continued to harass the sheriff by leaving voicemails at his office. The voicemails were left on Saturdays when the caller likely knew he would not be at his desk to answer the phone. “I will get a Saturday morning phone call when it’s highly unlikely I’m going to be at my desk, but someone will call in and make rude comments and disparaging remarks about our agency and about me, and the guys that listen to the recordings say it’s Beekman.”
Cole said he has not received a voicemail message from him for about the last year. “We’ve recorded it all. Anything that happens around here is all recorded and documented.”
About three years after the dismissal of the criminal case, the Buchanans’ emotional nightmare intensified when Beekman — who was living in Florida — was honored by then US Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida). The former Army National Guard staff sergeant — dressed in uniform — led the House Judiciary Committee in the Pledge of Allegiance. Videos of the ceremony were shared by Gaetz’s office on social media, but were later removed.
The Buchanans were outraged after the man who was charged with murdering their son was publicly honored. However, a flag honoring their slain son and a written apology from Gaetz were sent to the family. Gaetz was nominated last fall by President Donald Trump to serve as US attorney general, but he withdrew himself from consideration.
Kaitlin Buck takes the witness stand in 79th District Court.
“There are certainly people much more deserving to represent our military veterans at the U.S. Capitol than Corey Beekman, a murderer,” Sheriff Cole said after that happened.
Billys’ heroic efforts the day of the shooting may have saved the lives of Kaitlin Buck’s two young girls, Denita said. “The police told us he was a hero, because he saved those little girls by telling them to say put. Our son was a hero.” Denita believes her son went to Beekman’s house with Buck to help her move out of Beekman’s house, and she thinks Beekman shot her son in a jealous rage. “I think he assumed Billy was there to be boyfriend/girlfriend.”
Billy was cooking breakfast for Kaitlin’s children when the shots were fired, said Denita. “He told the kids, ‘Get under the table and don’t come out until policemen come and get you.’ I guess Corey was accusing Billy of kicking in the door of the bedroom, which police said was already broken and that Corey may have done it to blame it on Billy. There was no sign at all that Billy had done anything wrong.”
Investigators told Billy’s parents that Billy and Kaitlin had been friends for a long time, but they were unaware of the friendship. Denita said she doesn’t think the two were romantically involved.
“I’m so tired of hearing that Kaitlin is a victim,” she said. “I don’t see Kaitlin as a victim because if he wanted to shoot her and kill her, he would have done it. He just wanted to graze her to say, ‘I mean what I’m saying, and you’re not going with anybody else.’”
It is unclear when Beekman entered the home prior to the shootings, she said, but she knew that Billy had spent the night in the house. He lived with Denita and Bill, Sr. in their mobile home, and he had called them to let them know he would not be back until the morning because he and Kaitlin had stayed up late packing for her move. She did not know where Kaitlin was planning to move. She said Kaitlin picked up Billy at the Buchanans’ Mears home to take him to Beekman’s Free Soil home the night before the slaying. It was the first time Billy’s parents had ever met her, and Denita said she had an uneasy feeling about her. Her motherly instincts turned out to be right, unfortunately, because that was the last time she ever saw her son.
The Buchanans do not have the financial resources to hire a private investigator, she said.
“I don’t think this is ever going to get solved because Kaitlin wants to play games,” said Denita. She also worries that because so much time has passed, witnesses’ memories will fade. “Now it’s six years later, are these people going to remember?
“It scares me that everything is not going to come together in order for us to get justice. It’s eating away at us that six years have gone by, and we’re no further than we were the day we heard it. We live with this every day.
“This is where we get to see our son,” she said as she pointed to the many pictures of Billy on the walls of their home and her voice began trembling. “All the pictures on the wall and all the memories that he left us. Is this the way we have to live the rest of our lives because nobody wants to do anything?”
She is hopeful, however, that a new prosecutor will reignite the cold case. Beth Hand was elected Mason County prosecuting attorney last summer. The grieving mother is also appreciative of receiving updates on the case from Det. Sgt. Mike Kenney and the support from Sheriff Cole.
“I talked to the family before I was elected, and I told them I will re-look at the case, and I will keep my word on that,” said Prosecutor Hand. With a heavy caseload and staff shortages, that has proven to be a difficult task right out of the gate. Her assistant prosecutor David Marvin recently resigned for personal reasons, and she has been busy preparing for another homicide trial that recently resulted in the defendant taking a plea.
“She’s funded for three prosecutors, and she’s going it alone,” said Sheriff Cole of the staff shortage. “That’s a tough order for a prosecutor in a county this size.”
Beekman was charged with second-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and felony firearm for the shooting death of Buchanan and wounding Buck. A nine-day jury trial was scheduled to commence in Mason County Circuit Court on Sept. 22, 2020, but it never occurred because the charges were dismissed.
Billy leaves behind a son, Billy III, who is now 21 years old. “He doesn’t have his dad in his life to say, ‘I’m so proud of you,’” said Denita.
“I hope in the end justice is served for young Mr. Buchanan and his family,” said Sheriff Cole. “I just hope the family gets the resolution that they deserve.”
“We are tired of our son just being swept under the rug and nobody wants to do anything. It changes you as a person, because you have so much hate and anger for the two responsible, and then you have anger because the system isn’t working for you. Then, you have the pain of seeing that,” she said as she pointed to Billy’s urn and photos, “and that’s all we get to see of our son. It’s always in the back of your mind. When he died, a part of me died.”
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