Tavaris Jackson

ESCANABA — A man accused of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend in 2023 and leaving her body in a Delta County’s O.B. Fuller Park appeared virtually in court Thursday for a pretrial conference.

Tavaris Jackson, age 35, faces one count of open murder, a felony punishable by up to life in prison, for the murder of 22-year old Harley Corwin. He also faces one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, a two-year felony, and assault resulting in the death of a fetus, a felony punishable by up to life imprisonment.

Thursday’s hearing followed a delay in the case caused by Jackson’s attorney, Diane Kay-Hougaboom, appealing a decision by 47th Circuit Court Judge John Economopoulos to block testimony related to misconduct by former Delta County Sergeant Tom Lewis while interacting with a female witness in the case. The misconduct included interviewing the witness at his home while he was intoxicated, threatening the witness with drug trafficking charges, encouraging her to send him sexually explicit photographs, and requesting that she spend the night with him.

“It would take us down a rabbit hole that would confuse the jury, perhaps irreparably, and it could mislead the jury as well. The court believes that although the evidence would be relevant, I don’t believe it would pass the standard,” Econompoulous said last year, referencing court rules, which prohibit evidence — even if relevant — from being presented in certain cases.

Economopoulos’ decision hinged on the court’s evidentiary rules including “extrinsic evidence is not admissible to prove specific instances of a witness’s conduct in order to attack or support the witness’s character for truthfulness.

The higher court reversed that decision.

“The trial court erred when it excluded all allegations of misconduct because the complete exclusion is disproportionate to the purpose of preventing jury confusion,” the Michigan Court of Appeals wrote in their July 22 decision. “Moreover, the trial court’s complete limitation on cross-examination

prevents defendant from placing before the jury facts from which bias, prejudice, or lack of credibility of a prosecution witness might be inferred, and, so, it constitutes denial of the constitutional right of confrontation. … Defendant should be able to inquire about matters that bear on Sergeant Lewis’s credibility and that are relevant to his investigation.”

The decision ends a months-long pause in the case at the circuit court level, which had hindered a decision on a motion put forward by the Attorney General’s Office. The AG’s office has been handling the case since Delta County Prosecutor Lauren Wickman was removed from it for being a potential witness in 2023.

To address the prosecution’s motion, a motions hearing has been set for Oct. 14 at 1:30 p.m. However, that prosecution’s motion may not be the only thing heard that day, as Kay-Hougaboom indicated that she may be filing an additional motion related to new case law about search warrants and evidence.

To ensure that all motions are handled in a timely manner, Economopoulos set deadlines on new motions, responses and replies. The dates will ensure that all motions can be addressed at the Oct. 14 hearing.

The jury trial for Jackson was also scheduled during the hearing. It is currently set to take place during a three week period beginning March 2, 2026.