List of homicides in Michigan

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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:

Contents

  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

Listed in chronological order

IncidentLocationDateDeathsDescriptionSources
Morris murders Decatur 18792Unsolved murders of Charles Henry Morris and Esther Jones Morris
Seeberville Murders Seeberville 1913-08-142Shooting deaths of two striking miners during the Copper Country strike of 1913–1914
Bath school disaster Bath Township 1927-05-1844Violent attacks by Andrew Kehoe, including detonation of explosives at school building [1] [2] [3]
Milaflores Massacre Detroit19273Shooting of three gangsters, suspected of having been perpetrated to The Purple Gang
Collingwood Manor Massacre Detroit1931-09-163Gang hit on three Chicago gunmen by members of The Purple Gang [2]
Ford Hunger March Dearborn 19325Confrontation between unemployed auto workers and Dearborn police and Ford security, 5 workers shot to death, more than 60 injured [2]
1943 Detroit race riot Detroit1943-0634Riots among black and white residents, 34 killed, 433 wounded [2]
Troy axe murders Troy 1964-09-287Murder of 7 by father after release from mental hospital
1967 Detroit riot Detroit1967-07-23-2843Race riot in which 43 people were killed [2]
Algiers Motel incident Detroit1967-07-25/263Three 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 1968-06-256Mass murder of family from suburban Detroit while vacationing at cottage [3]
Hazelwood massacre Detroit 1971-06-148Execution-style hit killing at house in Detroit [3]
Donald Goines Highland Park 1974-10-212Author of urban fiction murdered with his common-law wife in their apartment
Ann Arbor Hospital murders Ann Arbor 197510Murders of 10 patients by intravenous administration of curare drug at VA hospital by nurses Filipina Narciso and Leonora Perez. [4] [2]
Livernois–Fenkell riot Detroit1975-08-012Bar owner shot black teenager. Mob beat to death dishwasher who was Nazi concentration camp survivor
Rock Road massacre Farwell 1982-02-167Murder of 7 members of the Post family by former Army sharpshooter [2] [3]
Jeffrey Gorton Romulus
Flint
1991-02-17
1986-11-09
2Convicted of rape and murder of a flight attendant and professor at UM-Flint
Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood Walker 19875Nurses aides who killed five elderly women at Alpine Manor nursing homes
Murder of the DeLisle children Wyandotte 1989-08-034Father 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 1991-11-145Former employee opened fire at the Royal Oak Post Office, killing four employees, then himself
1997 Detroit shootings Detroit 1997-03-114An armed gunman opened fire at a Comerica branch bank, killing two employees and one customer. He was then killed by police
Marvin Gabrion Cedar Springs 19971-5Convicted murderer, suspected serial killer
Jack Kevorkian Waterford Township 1998-09-171+Pathologist and euthanasia proponent convicted of second-degree murder for administering lethal injection of potassium chloride to Thomas Youk
Seth Privacky Muskegon 1998-11-295At age 18, killed his parents, brother, brother's girlfriend and grandfather
2011 Grand Rapids shootings Grand Rapids 2011-07-078Spree killing
Murders of Jourdan Bobbish and Jacob Kudla Detroit2012-072Two white teenagers tortured and murdered in Detroit by two black males
2016 Kalamazoo shootings Kalamazoo 2016-02-206Shootings at an apartment complex, car dealership and restaurant
St. Joseph courthouse shooting St. Joseph 2016-07-113Shooting by inmate at Berrien County Courthouse, killing two bailiffs and himself
Central Michigan University shooting Mount Pleasant 2018-03-02219-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 2021-11-304School shooting perpetrated by sophomore Ethan Crumbley
2022 Detroit shootings Detroit2022-08-22319-year-old man opened fire in Detroit randomly killing three people over span of two hours

Serial killers

Listed in chronological order by date of earliest homicide

IncidentLocationDateDeathsDescriptionSources
Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck Grand Rapids19493–17Serial killer couple targeting widows and "lonely hearts" [2]
John Rodney McRae St. Clair Shores1950-19872–5+Serial killer convicted of murdering two boys and prime suspect in three others
Roland E. Clark Multiple1954-19672Medical doctor convicted of two counts of manslaughter
Henry Lee Lucas Michigan and Texas1960–19833 confirmed, claimed over 250Serial killer who claimed to have killed over 250 persons
Rudy Bladel Multiple1963–19783–7Serial killer responsible for murders of seven railway employees, convicted of three of them
Larry and Danny Ranes Kalamazoo19641–5Serial killers [5]
Michigan Murders Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti 1967-19697 +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 Texas1974-198214-100+Serial killer known as "The Sunday Morning Slasher"
Bigfoot Killer Detroit19757Serial killer who raped and murdered seven girls and women between February and October 1975
Anthony Guy Walker Lenawee County 1975-19866+Serial killer responsible for at least six murders
Oakland County Child Killer Oakland County 1976-19774+Serial killings of children [2]
Donald Gene Miller East Lansing 1977-19784Serial killer known as "The East Lansing Serial Killer" [5] [6] [7]
Donald Murphy Detroit1979–19802–6+Serial killer convicted of murdering two women, confessed to killing at least six
Michael Darnell Harris Various1981-19824–10Serial killer and rapist
Richard Clarey New Buffalo 1984-04-153+German-American serial killer and Neo-Nazi sympathizer
Benjamin Atkins Detroit 1991-199211Serial killer and rapist known as "The Woodward Corridor Killer" who murdered 11 women
Leslie Allen Williams Oakland and Genesee Counties1991-19924Serial killer, rapist and necrophile convicted in the deaths of four teenage girls
John Eric Armstrong Detroit1992-19995-11+Serial killer convicted of killing five sex workers in Detroit
Shelly Brooks Detroit2001-20067–20+Serial killer murdered at least seven women
Elias Abuelazam Genesee County 20101-5Israeli suspected of 18 stabbings resulting five deaths, convicted of one death
Deangelo Martin Detroit2018-20194Serial killer convicted of murdering four women and raping two others
Kenyel Brown Wayne County 2019-20206Serial killer who committed suicide prior to trial

Single homicides

IncidentLocationDateDescriptionSources
James Strang St. James Township 1856-06-16Religious leader, successor to Joseph Smith, shot three times in the back [2]
Fabian Fournier Bay City c. 1875Lumberjack killed by a blow to the head with a mallet [2]
Gaspar Milazzo Detroit 1930-05-31Organized crime figure murdered at the Vernor Highway Fish Market
Jerry Buckley Detroit1930-07-23Radio commentator shot and killed after successful campaign to recall Detroit mayor [2]
Tony Chebatoris Midland 1937-09-29Bank robber who shot and killed a bystander while trying to escape; also the only man executed in Michigan [2]
Carson James Clawson 1950Former Marine sergeant killed his father and buried him beneath a cow shed in Troy Township [2]
Shooting of Maurice Chenoweth Big Bay 1952-07-31Shooting defended by John D. Voelker and later the basis of Anatomy of a Murder [2]
Murder of Aziz Hermiz Detroit1956-02-10Chaldean grocer murdered by the wife's paramour, wife found not guilty due to insanity
Reggie Harding Detroit1972-09-02Detroit Pistons player shot in the head
Murder of Dawn Magyar Chapin 1973-01-2720-year-old woman abducted from a shopping center and found dead in woods [5]
Jimmy Hoffa Bloomfield Township 1975-07-30Former president of the Teamsters union disappeared from meeting with organized crime figures, body never discovered
Richard Frederick Dixon Casco Township 1976-01-09Convicted of 1971 hijacking of passenger flight from Detroit to Cuba and of 1976 murder of a South Haven police officer [2]
Francine Hughes Dansville 1977-03-09Woman 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 Detroit1979-05-09Jazz vocalist shot by a disgruntled dancer outside Baker's Keyboard Lounge [9]
Killing of Vincent Chin Highland Park 1982-06-19Racially-motivated assault and murder of Chinese American draftsman by a Chrysler plant supervisor and a laid-off autoworker [10]
Murder of Aundria Bowman Hamilton 1989-03-11Teenager who disappeared after accusing adoptive father of molesting her [11]
Shaka Senghor Detroit1991MIT fellow convicted of shooting a man
Death of Malice Green Detroit1992-11-05Green died of blunt force trauma in assault by Detroit police officers Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers, both officers convicted and imprisoned [12]
Robert Hawkins Detroit1993-11-28Former Detroit Pistons player shot and killed in a crack house
Lowell Amos Detroit1994-12General Motors plant manager convicted of killing his third wife, later subject of TV movie called Black Widower
Murder of Scott Amedure Lake Orion 1995-03-09Murder following appearance on the 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 Morris1999-11Woman convicted of plotting the murder of her husband over the Internet with her online lover [14]
Kidnapping & Murder of Jessica Phelps Flint 1997-07-01Four-year-old girl kidnapped from her front yard in broad daylight. Her skeletal remains were found in a drainage ditch in Atlas Township, Michigan, 20 miles from where she was taken, on April 2, 1998. Unsolved.
Killing of Kayla Rolland Mount Morris 2000-02-29Six-year-old girl shot at school by six-year-old classmate
Duane Thomas Detroit2000-06Welterweight boxer murdered over a drug dispute [15]
George Trapp Detroit2002-01NBA player stabbed in stomach in fight with roommate [16]
Blade Icewood Detroit2005-04-19Rapper fatally shot due to gang-related violence [17]
Nancy Seaman Oakland County2005-05-10Former teacher killed her husband with a hatchet, convicted despite claim of history of marital abuse
Proof Detroit2006-04-11Rapper shot and killed while playing billiards at a club
Murder of Laura Dickinson Ypsilanti 2006-12-13Eastern Michigan University murdered in her dormitory room, scandal led to firing of university's president [18]
Murder of Tara Lynn Grant Macomb County 2007-02-09Murdered and dismembered by her husband [19]
Terri Lee Kuhn Wyandotte 2007-11-07Was murdered by James William Brahn during a home invasion after being released from the psych ward of Wyandotte Hospital, and while waiting a court hearing for aggravated assault on his father. [2]
Murder of Jodi Parrack Constantine 2007-11-0811-year-old girl kidnapped while riding her bicycle
Murder of Jim Pouillon Owosso 2009-09-11Activist shot while protesting against abortion in front of Owosso High School [20]
Murder of Jamar Pinkney Jr. Detroit2009-11-16Execution-style shooting of 15-year-old boy by his father [21]
Killing of Aiyana Jones Detroit2010-05-16Seven-year old girl shot and killed by police during raid, jury deadlock on involuntary manslaughter charge against officer [22]
Death of Jane Bashara Detroit2012-01-24Grosse Pointe marketing executive strangled by hitman hired by husband and left in back seat of her Mercedes-Benz SUV in an alley in Detroit [23]
Murder of Robert Cipriano Farmington Hills 2012-04-16Murder committed by 19-year-old adopted son [24]
Murder of Jessica Heeringa Norton Shores 2013-04-2625-year-old woman disappeared while working at an Exxon gas station [25]
Murder of Renisha McBride Dearborn Heights 2013-11-0219-year-old woman crashed her car while intoxicated and was shot when knocking at a nearby house seeking assistance [26]
Killing of Collin Rose Detroit2016-11-22Wayne State police officer shot after stopping a bicyclist [27]
Robert Eddins Detroit2016-12-20NFL linebacker murdered in Detroit [28]
2017 Interstate 75 rock-throwing deaths Vienna Township 2017-10-18Six-pound rock thrown by teenagers crashed through van windshield and killed passenger [29]
Killing of Patrick Lyoya Grand Rapids 2022-04-2226-year-old refugee from Congo shot and killed during scuffle following vehicle stop [30]
Killing of Jim Matthews Chesterfield Township 2022-09-23News-radio anchor beaten to death by friend of his live-in girlfriend

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References

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  9. "Jazzman slain at club; ex-partner is held". Detroit Free Press. May 10, 1979. pp. 3A, 19A via Newspapers.com.
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  29. "3 teens sentenced in Clio rock-throwing case that 'shattered' victim's family". Mlive.com. August 9, 2021.
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