Uncle of slain Westland teen ordered to jail for probation violation

Richard Baxter's drug charges unrelated to Jacob Kudla, Jourdan Bobbish's deaths

DETROIT – The uncle of a Westland teen who was found dead last week in Detroit has been thrown in jail for a probation violation.

Richard Baxter was the last family member to see 17-year-old Jacob Kudla and his 18-year-old friend, Journdan Bobbish, alive on July 22. The teens left his home but were never heard from or seen again. Their bodies were found in a Detroit field on July 27. They had been shot.

In an interview with Local 4, Baxter said he gave the teens marijuana and pills, including Xanax, while they were at his house. He said he has no idea what happened to them after they left but that he was very upset to hear about their deaths.

Special coverage: Westland teens found dead in Detroit

"I've been crying ever since," he said.

Baxter was due in court Wednesday for a hearing on a probation violation for drug charges unrelated to the incident with the teens. But because of his tie to the case and the seriousness of it, Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James Biernat ordered him to jail.