NORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – It was a night that changed a family’s life forever.
On January 1st, 2025, three people burst into the home of foster parents Jeffrey and Jennifer Bernhard in Northfield Township, killing Jennifer and her father, Steve Smith. According to police, the trio then kidnapped their two daughters. Police said their foster child’s biological mother, 42-year-old Shuvonne Vinson, is accused of orchestrating the attack to regain custody of her child.
Eight months later, life is much different for Jeffrey Bernhard. He lost his wife of 15 years and his father-in-law. Bernhard, who was shot twice during the attack, spoke with Local 4 Investigator Erika Erickson about the horrifying events that unfolded and how he is coping with life after the traumatic night.
Bernhard’s face bears permanent scars from the gunshots. Despite this, Bernhard said he only feels gratitude -- for his life and the community supporting him.
“I’ve got a plate… right in my forehead, and [the bullet] came down through my eye, through the top palette of my mouth,” Bernhard said. In a surgery just a month ago, he said doctors had to remove bullet fragments from beneath his tongue.
“I’m not angry,” Bernhard said. “I’m grateful for everything, for my life, for my daughter, for the community that we have.”
The tragic attack began on New Year’s Day when a car pulled into the Bernhards’ long, private driveway on Nollar Bend Road. Initially, Jeff and Jennifer thought nothing of the visitor’s arrival. But, according to police and later, court testimony, the peace was shattered when Vinson, armed and accompanied by two men Jeff did not recognize -- 37-year-old Gregory Callhan and 60-year-old Keith Finley -- burst into their home.
“I immediately knew who it was because of threats that were made previously,” Bernhard said.
Bernhard said during virtual visits with their foster child, Vinson had made threats to Bernhard and his wife.
Police said Vinson forced Jeff and Jennifer to sit on their kitchen floor, threatening them with statements, according to Bernhard, like, “She didn’t care if she went to jail, that she was a gangster, that she could hurt us -- even if she was in jail for the rest of her life.”
Jeffrey and Jennifer Bernhard’s 10-year-old biological daughter was ordered to sit just five feet away, while the intruders searched the home. Bernhard said Vinson held them at gunpoint “for what felt like forever,” berating his wife about what he described as a misunderstanding involving religious teachings.
“She was very adamant and very angry, specifically with my wife, thinking that my wife was teaching her not to believe in God,” Bernhard said.
Bernhard said another misunderstanding was that the Bernhards kept large sums of cash in their home. Police reported Vinson took their phones and forced access to the couple’s bank accounts, making two transactions totaling $6,000.
During one confrontation, Bernhard said Vinson struck him with the butt of the gun.
“I remember just seeing stars and leaning over and groaning in pain,” Bernhard recalled. Despite the pain, he tried to defuse the situation.
Then, Bernhard said, Vinson shot him in the chest. He recalled Jennifer’s last words to Vinson, as he later testified in court: “Please, Shuvon, don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
Vinson then shot Bernhard in the eye. He fell headfirst to the floor, thinking he would not survive.
“I remember thinking that nobody shot in the head survives,” Bernhard said. “I laid down there. The other thing I remember is just feeling like this river of hot blood flowing out of my head.”
Losing consciousness for 15 minutes, Bernhard said when he later opened his eyes, it was a heartbreaking scene.
“I turned and looked at my wife, and she was still sitting, and she was shot in the head, and just blood flowing down her face and off of her chin, and I instantly knew that she was dead,” he said.
Bernhard then saw his father-in-law dead on the kitchen floor. Summoning what strength he had left, he managed to stumble to a neighbor’s house to call 911.
Eight months later, Bernhard, making a slide show of photos of his late wife, said it reminds him and his daughter of the happier moments they shared.
“She was an amazing woman. She was beautiful inside and out, and she was a godly woman,” he said.
Bernhard, trying to balance his own grief while caring for his daughter, said he has sought therapy through the VA system. He said he is leaning into his faith more than ever as he learns to be a single father.
“I’m figuring that out. It’s been seven months, but it feels like life, you know, life doesn’t stop,” Bernhard said. “There’s been so much going on that it’s been hard to really even take a moment to process.”
He said his daily goal is to be the best man and father he can be.
“Even though I deeply miss my wife and the life that we had together, and I’ll never stop missing her, I’m going to look back and I’m going to see that God took the ashes of this whole experience, and he’s going to make something beautiful out of it,” Bernhard said.
Shuvonne Vinson’s pre-trial date is set for October 29, 2025. She has had explosive outbursts and recently acquired a new attorney. Her new attorney, Kareem Johnson, told Local 4, “We are still researching and investigating a variety of things, including why Ms. Vinson’s child was not placed with her mother. We’ll litigate all other issues in court.”
Bernhard said he does not feel anger toward any of the defendants in court; instead, he said, “I feel broken for them.”