After 35 years of waiting, Jackie Meggison could see someone face a jury for the death of her sister-in-law. 

“It’s a relief,” Meggison told MLive/The Ann Arbor News outside the courtroom of Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Jinan Hamood on Tuesday morning. 

Moments before, Hamood had ruled Buster Robbins should stand trial for felony murder in the death of Beverly Ann Wivell. The ruling overturned a lower court decision from District 14-A2 Judge Karl Barr.

Barr declined to send the case to trial after a March 18 preliminary examination, saying the evidence failed to show Robbins was responsible for her death. 

“I think (Barr) was conflicted with what he should do,” Hamood said from the bench. “…That in itself should have been an indicator that the standard of exam was met.” 

Officials allege Robbins abducted Wivell, 31, from a Canton park and sexually assaulted her before taking her to Superior Township and shooting her. She was found around 10 a.m. Sept. 18, 1989, near Gotfredson Road and Ford Road in Superior Township, testified Ronald Smith, a Superior Township firefighter at the time. A nearby resident also testified to hearing a gunshot and seeing someone matching Robbins description leave the scene. 

Although detectives originally suspected Wivell’s boyfriend, they found he was at work at the time, testified Paul Wade, then a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s detective.

Swabs taken from Wivell’s body revealed DNA from her boyfriend and an unidentified man, according to testimony.

“We had no suspect at that time,” Wade said.

Other leads were exhausted, and the case sat cold until January 2024.