List of homicides in Michigan

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2022)

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This is a list of homicides in Michigan. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of Michigan that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into three subject areas as follows:

1. Multiple homicides - homicides having multiple victims, including incidents involving race riots, mass killings involving organized crime, familicides, a school bombing, a school shooting, a post office shooting, and spree killers.
2. Serial killers \- persons who murder three or more persons with the incidents taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them
3. Single homicides - notable homicides involving a single fatality

## Multiple homicides

[edit]

Listed in chronological order

Incident  | Location  | Date  | Deaths  | Description  | Sources

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Morris murders | Decatur | 1879 | 2 | Unsolved murders of Charles Henry Morris and Esther Jones Morris |
Seeberville Murders | Seeberville | 1913-08-14 | 2 | Shooting deaths of two striking miners during the Copper Country strike of 1913–1914 |
Bath school disaster | Bath Township | 1927-05-18 | 44 | Violent attacks by Andrew Kehoe, including detonation of explosives at school building | [1][2][3]
Milaflores Massacre | Detroit | 1927 | 3 | Shooting of three gangsters, suspected of having been perpetrated to The Purple Gang |
Collingwood Manor Massacre | Detroit | 1931-09-16 | 3 | Gang hit on three Chicago gunmen by members of The Purple Gang | [2]
Ford Hunger March | Dearborn | 1932 | 5 | Confrontation between unemployed auto workers and Dearborn police and Ford security, five workers shot to death, more than 60 injured | [2]
1943 Detroit race riot | Detroit | 1943-06 | 34 | Riots among black and white residents, 34 killed, 433 wounded | [2]
Troy axe murders | Troy | 1964-09-28 | 7 | Murder of seven by father after release from mental hospital |
1967 Detroit riot | Detroit | 1967-07-23-28 | 43 | Race riot in which 43 people were killed | [2]
Algiers Motel incident | Detroit | 1967-07-25/26 | 3 | Three civilians shot and killed by police at the Algiers Hotel during the 1967 Detroit riot, dramatized in the 2017 film Detroit |
Robison family murders | Good Hart | 1968-06-25 | 6 | Mass murder of family from suburban Detroit while vacationing at cottage | [3]
Hazelwood massacre | Detroit | 1971-06-14 | 8 | Execution-style hit killing at house in Detroit | [3]
Donald Goines | Highland Park | 1974-10-21 | 2 | Author of urban fiction murdered with his common-law wife in their apartment |
Ann Arbor Hospital murders | Ann Arbor | 1975 | 10 | Murders of 10 patients by intravenous administration of curare drug at VA hospital by nurses Filipina Narciso and Leonora Perez. | [4][2]
Livernois–Fenkell riot | Detroit | 1975-08-01 | 2 | Bar owner shot black teenager. Mob beat to death dishwasher who was Nazi concentration camp survivor |
Rock Road massacre | Farwell | 1982-02-16 | 7 | Murder of seven members of the Post family by former Army sharpshooter | [2][3]
Jeffrey Gorton | Romulus
Flint | 1991-02-17
1986-11-09 | 2 | Convicted of rape and murder of a flight attendant and professor at UM-Flint |
Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood | Walker | 1987 | 5 | Nurses aides who killed five elderly women at Alpine Manor nursing homes |
Murder of the DeLisle children | Wyandotte | 1989-08-03 | 4 | Father killed his four children (ages 10 months to 8 years) by driving station wagon into the Detroit River |
Royal Oak post office shootings | Royal Oak | 1991-11-14 | 5 | Former employee opened fire at the Royal Oak Post Office, killing four employees, then himself |
1997 Detroit shootings | Detroit | 1997-03-11 | 4 | A gunman opened fire at a Comerica branch bank, killing two employees and one customer. He was then killed by police |
Marvin Gabrion | Cedar Springs | 1997 | 1–5 | Convicted murderer, suspected serial killer |
Jack Kevorkian | Waterford Township | 1998-09-17 | 1+ | Pathologist and euthanasia proponent convicted of second-degree murder for administering lethal injection of potassium chloride to Thomas Youk |
Seth Privacky | Muskegon | 1998-11-29 | 5 | At age 18, killed his parents, brother, brother's girlfriend and grandfather |
2011 Grand Rapids shootings | Grand Rapids | 2011-07-07 | 8 | Spree killing |
Murders of Jourdan Bobbish and Jacob Kudla | Detroit | 2012-07 | 2 | Two white teenagers tortured and murdered in Detroit by two black males |
2016 Kalamazoo shootings | Kalamazoo | 2016-02-20 | 6 | Shootings at an apartment complex, car dealership and restaurant |
St. Joseph courthouse shooting | St. Joseph | 2016-07-11 | 3 | Shooting by inmate at Berrien County Courthouse, killing two bailiffs and himself |
Central Michigan University shooting | Mount Pleasant | 2018-03-02 | 2 | 19-year-old student James Eric Davis Jr. shot and killed parents when they arrived to take him home for spring break |
2021 Oxford High School shooting | Oxford | 2021-11-30 | 4 | School shooting perpetrated by sophomore Ethan Crumbley |

## Serial killers

[edit]

Listed in chronological order by date of earliest homicide

Incident  | Location  | Date  | Deaths  | Description  | Sources

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Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck | Grand Rapids | 1949 | 3–17 | Serial killer couple targeting widows and "lonely hearts" | [2]
John Rodney McRae | St. Clair Shores | 1950–1987 | 2–5+ | Serial killer convicted of murdering two boys and prime suspect in three others |
Roland E. Clark | Multiple | 1954–1967 | 2 | Medical doctor convicted of two counts of manslaughter |
Henry Lee Lucas | Michigan and Texas | 1960–1983 | 3 confirmed, claimed over 250 | Serial killer who claimed to have killed over 250 persons |
Rudy Bladel | Multiple | 1963–1978 | 3–7 | Serial killer responsible for murders of seven railway employees, convicted of three of them |
Larry and Danny Ranes | Kalamazoo | 1964 | 1–5 | Serial killers | [5]
Michigan Murders | Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti | 1967–1969 | 7 + | Murders of female college students by serial killer John Norman Collins, aka the Co-Ed Killer and the Ypsilanti Ripper, in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area | [6][2][7]
Carl Eugene Watts | Michigan and Texas | 1974–1982 | 14–100+ | Serial killer known as "The Sunday Morning Slasher" |
Bigfoot Killer | Detroit | 1975 | 7 | Serial killer who raped and murdered seven girls and women between February and October 1975 |
Anthony Guy Walker | Lenawee County | 1975–1986 | 6+ | Serial killer responsible for at least six murders |
Oakland County Child Killer | Oakland County | 1976–1977 | 4+ | Serial killings of children | [2]
Donald Gene Miller | East Lansing | 1977–1978 | 4 | Serial killer known as "The East Lansing Serial Killer" | [5][6][7]
Donald Murphy | Detroit | 1979–1980 | 2–6+ | Serial killer convicted of murdering two women, confessed to killing at least six |
Michael Darnell Harris | Various | 1981–1982 | 4–10 | Serial killer and rapist |
Richard Clarey | New Buffalo | 1984-04-15 | 3+ | German-American serial killer and Neo-Nazi sympathizer |
Benjamin Atkins | Detroit | 1991–1992 | 11 | Serial killer and rapist known as "The Woodward Corridor Killer" who murdered 11 women |
Leslie Allen Williams | Oakland and Genesee Counties | 1991–1992 | 4 | Serial killer, rapist and necrophile convicted in the deaths of four teenage girls |
John Eric Armstrong | Detroit | 1992–1999 | 5–11+ | Serial killer convicted of killing five sex workers in Detroit |
Shelly Brooks | Detroit | 2001–2006 | 7–20+ | Serial killer murdered at least seven women |
Elias Abuelazam | Genesee County | 2010 | 1–5 | Israeli suspected of 18 stabbings resulting in five deaths, convicted of one death |
Deangelo Martin | Detroit | 2018–2019 | 4 | Serial killer convicted of murdering four women and raping two others |
Kenyel Brown | Wayne County | 2019–2020 | 6 | Serial killer who committed suicide prior to trial |

## Single homicides

[edit]

Incident  | Location  | Date  | Description  | Sources

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James Strang | St. James Township | 1856-06-16 | Religious leader, successor to Joseph Smith, shot three times in the back | [2]
Fabian Fournier | Bay City | c. 1875 | Lumberjack killed by a blow to the head with a mallet | [2]
Gaspar Milazzo | Detroit | 1930-05-31 | Organized crime figure murdered at the Vernor Highway Fish Market
Jerry Buckley | Detroit | 1930-07-23 | Radio commentator shot and killed after successful campaign to recall Detroit mayor | [2]
Tony Chebatoris | Midland | 1937-09-29 | Bank robber who shot and killed a bystander while trying to escape; also the only man executed in Michigan | [2]
Carson James | Clawson | 1950 | Former Marine sergeant killed his father and buried him beneath a cow shed in Troy Township | [2]
Shooting of Maurice Chenoweth | Big Bay | 1952-07-31 | Shooting defended by John D. Voelker and later the basis of Anatomy of a Murder | [2]
Murder of Aziz Hermiz | Detroit | 1956-02-10 | Chaldean-Assyrian grocer murdered by the wife's paramour, wife found not guilty due to insanity |
Reggie Harding | Detroit | 1972-09-02 | Detroit Pistons player shot in the head |
Murder of Dawn Magyar | Chapin | 1973-01-27 | 20-year-old woman abducted from a shopping center and found dead in woods | [5]
Jimmy Hoffa | Bloomfield Township | 1975-07-30 | Former president of the Teamsters union disappeared from meeting with organized crime figures, body never discovered |
Richard Frederick Dixon | Casco Township | 1976-01-09 | Convicted of 1971 hijacking of passenger flight from Detroit to Cuba and of 1976 murder of a South Haven police officer | [2]
Francine Hughes | Dansville | 1977-03-09 | Woman set fire to bed, killing abusive ex-husband, found not guilty by reason of insanity, later made into book and TV movie The Burning Bed | [2][8]
Eddie Jefferson | Detroit | 1979-05-09 | Jazz vocalist shot by a disgruntled dancer outside Baker's Keyboard Lounge | [9]
Killing of Vincent Chin | Highland Park | 1982-06-19 | Racially motivated assault and murder of Chinese American draftsman by a Chrysler plant supervisor and a laid-off autoworker | [10]
Murder of Aundria Bowman | Hamilton | 1989-03-11 | Teenager who disappeared after accusing adoptive father of molesting her | [11]
Shaka Senghor | Detroit | 1991 | MIT fellow convicted of shooting a man |
Death of Malice Green | Detroit | 1992-11-05 | Green died of blunt force trauma in assault by Detroit police officers Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers, both officers convicted and imprisoned | [12]
Robert Hawkins | Detroit | 1993-11-28 | Former Detroit Pistons player shot and killed in a crack house |
Lowell Amos | Detroit | 1994-12 | General Motors plant manager convicted of killing his third wife, later subject of TV movie called Black Widower |
Murder of Scott Amedure | Lake Orion | 1995-03-09 | Murder following appearance on The Jenny Jones Show episode "Revealing Same Sex Secret Crush", in which the victim revealed his same-sex attraction to the perpetrator | [13]
Sharee Miller | Mount Morris | 1999-11 | Woman convicted of plotting the murder of her husband over the Internet with her online lover | [14]
Killing of Kayla Rolland | Mount Morris | 2000-02-29 | Six-year-old girl shot at school by six-year-old classmate |
Duane Thomas | Detroit | 2000-06 | Welterweight boxer murdered over a drug dispute | [15]
George Trapp | Detroit | 2002-01 | NBA player stabbed in stomach in fight with roommate | [16]
Nancy Seaman | Oakland County | 2005-05-10 | Former teacher killed her husband with a hatchet, convicted despite claim of history of marital abuse |
Proof | Detroit | 2006-04-11 | Rapper shot and killed while playing billiards at a club |
Murder of Laura Dickinson | Ypsilanti | 2006-12-13 | Eastern Michigan University student murdered in her dormitory room, scandal led to firing of university's president | [17]
Murder of Tara Lynn Grant | Macomb County | 2007-02-09 | Murdered and dismembered by her husband | [18]
Murder of Jodi Parrack | Constantine | 2007-11-08 | 11-year-old girl kidnapped while riding her bicycle |
Murder of Jim Pouillon | Owosso | 2009-09-11 | Activist shot while protesting against abortion in front of Owosso High School | [19]
Murder of Jamar Pinkney Jr. | Detroit | 2009-11-16 | Execution-style shooting of 15-year-old boy by his father | [20]
Killing of Aiyana Jones | Detroit | 2010-05-16 | Seven-year old girl shot and killed by police during raid, jury deadlock on involuntary manslaughter charge against officer | [21]
Death of Jane Bashara | Detroit | 2012-01-24 | Grosse Pointe marketing executive strangled by hitman hired by husband and left in back seat of her Mercedes-Benz SUV in an alley in Detroit | [22]
Murder of Robert Cipriano | Farmington Hills | 2012-04-16 | Murder committed by 19-year-old adopted son | [23]
Murder of Jessica Heeringa | Norton Shores | 2013-04-26 | 25-year-old woman disappeared while working at an Exxon gas station | [24]
Murder of Renisha McBride | Dearborn Heights | 2013-11-02 | 19-year-old woman crashed her car while intoxicated and was shot when knocking at a nearby house seeking assistance | [25]
Killing of Collin Rose | Detroit | 2016-11-22 | Wayne State police officer shot after stopping a bicyclist | [26]
Robert Eddins | Detroit | 2016-12-20 | NFL linebacker murdered in Detroit | [27]
2017 Interstate 75 rock-throwing deaths | Vienna Township | 2017-10-18 | Six-pound rock thrown by teenagers crashed through van windshield and killed passenger | [28]
Killing of Patrick Lyoya | Grand Rapids | 2022-04-22 | 26-year-old refugee from Congo shot and killed during scuffle following vehicle stop | [29]
Murder of Jim Matthews | Chesterfield Township | 2022-09-23 | News-radio anchor beaten to death by friend of his live-in girlfriend |

## References

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1. ^ Bernstein, Arnie (2009). Bath massacre : America's first school bombing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-02470-4. OCLC 587638431.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Gary W. Barfknecht (1983). Murder, Michigan: Seventy Fascinating and Dramatic Murders That Have Violently Shaped the Dark Side of Michigan History. Friede Publications. ISBN 0960858814.
3. ^ a b c d "Mass Slayings in Michigan". Detroit Free Press. April 6, 1990. p. 12 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ Greg Stejskal (February 3, 2011), The Murders at Ann Arbor's Veterans Hospital; What Went Right and What Ultimately Went Wrong in the Case, Tickle the Wire
5. ^ a b c "Michigan's most infamous & chilling murders". WLNS. July 12, 2022.
6. ^ a b Rachel Greco (October 17, 2021). "'The worst of the worst.' A look at five Michigan serial killers and their crimes". Lansing State Journal.
7. ^ a b Rachel Greco (November 10, 2021). "In the Details: Podcast host examines crimes of Michigan serial killers". Livingston Daily Press & Argus. pp. A1, A4 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ Anna Boots (July 9, 2020). ""The Burning Bed" Recalls the Case That Changed How Law Enforcement Treats Domestic Violence". The New Yorker.
9. ^ "Jazzman slain at club; ex-partner is held". Detroit Free Press. May 10, 1979. pp. 3A, 19A - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Vincent Chin was killed 40 years ago. Here's why his case continues to resonate". NPR. June 19, 2022.
11. ^ Carolyn Muyskens (December 22, 2021). "Bowman pleads to 1989 murder of adopted daughter". The Holland Sentinel.
12. ^ Elisha Anderson (November 3, 2017). "25 years ago, Malice Green became the face of police brutality in Detroit". Detroit Free Press.
13. ^ Lauren Kranc (May 11, 2020). "Trial by Media Re-Examines the Murder of Scott Amedure After a Talk Show Appearance". Esquire.
14. ^ "Convicted killer Sharee Miller admits to planning husband's murder with an online lover". ABC news. February 11, 2022.
15. ^ "Gunfire slays Thomas 'Kronk's toughest kid'". Detroit Free Press. June 15, 2000. pp. 1D, 9D - via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ Suzette Hackney (January 31, 2002). "Trapp family worries that killer will go free". Detroit Free Press. p. 3B - via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ "University Officials Accused of Hiding Campus Homicide". The New York Times. June 24, 2007.
18. ^ Charlie Langton (February 9, 2017). "A look back at the Steven Grant murder case of wife Tara after 10 years". FOX 2 Detroit.
19. ^ "The Killing of Jim Pouillon". Catholic World Report. May 11, 2011.
20. ^ "Father Sentenced In Son's Killing: Father Convicted Of Shooting Son In Vacant Lot". Click On Detroit. April 15, 2010.
21. ^ Charlie LeDuff (November–December 2010). "What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones?". Mother Jones.
22. ^ George Hunter (August 18, 2020). "Bob Bashara, convicted of having wife killed, dies at 62". The Detroit News.
23. ^ "Farmington Hills Man Pleads In Father's Beating Death". CBS News. June 17, 2013.
24. ^ "Court affirms conviction in gas station clerk Jessica Heeringa's murder". Detroit Free Press. Associated Press. December 27, 2019.
25. ^ "Michigan man resentenced to 15-30 years in fatal porch shooting of 19-year-old woman". Mlive.com. June 22, 2022.
26. ^ David Jesse (November 23, 2016). "Wayne State campus police officer dies after being shot". Detroit Free Press.
27. ^ Robert Snell (February 22, 2018). "Feds: Ex-NFL player executed by drug dealers". The Detroit News.
28. ^ "3 teens sentenced in Clio rock-throwing case that 'shattered' victim's family". Mlive.com. August 9, 2021.
29. ^ "Key hearing date set for former Grand Rapids officer accused in Lyoya's shooting death". Mlive.com. September 23, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.