Accused Killer Strangled Troy Woman, Severed Fingertips: Police

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HAZEL PARK, MI – A 24-year-old Hazel Park man used a belt to strangle 21-year-old Jessica Leigh White, missing from her Troy home for more than a week, and cut off her fingertips with a bolt cutter before stuffing his longtime friend’s body in the attic of his residence, a police officer testified Thursday.

The grisly details of White’s last moments came during Jordan McClanahan’s arraignment on charges of first-degree felony murder and mutilation of a body in Hazel Park 43rd District Court.

Judge Charles Goedert ordered McClanahan held without bond, according to media reports.

Before Geodert cut him off, McClanahan admitted that he when he picked White up at her Troy home on the night of April 22, he "had been taking medication, OxyContin and Xanax and mixed it up with some Wellbutrin and ibuprofen."

"I went to a party store and we were drinking and my dad ... ” he said before the judge silenced him.

McClanahan was arrested Tuesday after White’s body was discovered wrapped and hidden in an attic space next to McLanahan’s bedroom of the residence at East Woodward Heights Boulevard and Hazelwood Avenue. The house is owned by McClanahan’s father, Michael McClanahan.

Friends and family hadn’t seen or heard from White since April 23, and McClanahan assisted the family with the search for White, who he had known since grade school.

"It's disturbing to know that this gentleman was assisting the family in attempting to locate a person that he knew (was dead)," Hazel Park Police Chief Martin Barner told The Detroit News. "We know they have been friends since grade school."

Barner said Hazel Park and Troy police officers have been at the home “several times” and searched it while investigating White’s disappearance. She had been dead for more than a week when her body was discovered, and identification was difficult, he said.

McClanahan gave conflicting stories about White’s whereabouts to both police and her family. He claimed to have dropped her off at Seven Mile and John R roads in Detroit.

McClanahan’s family members turned him in to Troy police Tuesday night after he admitted he had killed White, Barner told The Detroit News. McClanahan and White didn’t appear to have a relationship beyond friendship, the police chief said.

Michael McClanahan, 65, told the Detroit Free Press that and he had argued with his son in front of White after the younger man dropped his father’s cell phone and broke it. The last text messages White sent to her mother a cousin around 2:30 a.m. on April 23 referenced an “awkward” situation.

"It’s as new to us as it is to everybody else," he said when asked about investigation. “I'm just so sorry for the family. ... It’s just a shock.”

A vigil for White was planned for 7 p.m. Thursday at Robinwood Park in Troy, “one of Jessica’s favorite places to visit,” according to the Justice for Jessica Leigh White Facebook page.

Also, money for White’s funeral expenses and to help her parents recover some of the wages they lost while searching for her is being raised on GoFundMe page. Click on the box below to contribute.