Man convicted of stomping 14 year old girl to death after trying to kidnap and rape her

On Monday, a Michigan jury found a 34-year-old
man guilty of the 2014 murder, kidnapping and
attempted sexual assault of 14-year-old April
Millsap, PEOPLE confirms.
James VanCallis will likely be punished to spend
the rest of his life behind bars when he is
sentenced on March 30, according to court
officials. April's body was found along a hiking trail
in Armada, Michigan, on July 24, 2014, and
medical examiners were able to determine she died
from blunt force trauma and neck compression.
Police claim April's bra had been ripped off and
that she was found in a wooded area with her pants
and underwear around her ankles.
Authorities claim VanCallis killed April by stomping
and beating her to death with his motorcycle helmet
and law enforcement officials tell PEOPLE they
believe the killer took several precautions to evade
capture.
Prosecutors allege that VanCallis wiped his helmet
clean of the girl's DNA and that they were never
able to locate the clothing that he was seen wearing
in surveillance video the night of the murder.

April was walking her dog at the time of the attack,
and detectives were able to pull data from a sports
application on her phone, showing that her walking
speed had increased moments before she was
attacked.

It took the jury six hours to return a verdict, officials
confirm.