I read several media reports of this horrific crime and none has mentioned race of the murderers and the victims. It is probably a right thing but it is not practiced when the roles are reversed.
Feb. 17, 2014
4 are charged in Detroit triple slaying
Police say victims were stabbed, tortured, house torched
By Ann Zaniewski Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
Four people have been charged with murder in the deaths of three people who were found stabbed last week in a burning house on Detroit’s west side.
A vehicle and other items that belonged to the victims helped link the suspects to the crime, Detroit police said.
Tenisha Jackson, 19; Larry Johnson, 20; Rashawn Johnson, 19, and Keeshon Lake, 19, have each been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of felony murder, two counts of armed robbery and one court of arson, according to police. Larry Johnson has also been charged with possessing heroin and a felony firearms offense.
Firefighters were called the afternoon of Feb. 10 to a house fire on the 13000 block of Bentler, just south of I-96 near West Outer Drive. Inside, they found a dying man on the first floor and two dead men in the basement.
Lawrence Bowman, 51, was stabbed multiple times and died from a gunshot to the head, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office.
His son Nicholas Bowman, 26, and Michael Hoots, 24, of Livonia were stabbed to death. Nicholas Bowman, who lived at the house with his father, died at a hospital, authorities said.
Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody said the men were tortured.
“The nature of the wounds were horrific, all three victims were stabbed multiple times ... In addition, the fire had been obviously set to cover up what turned out to be a brutal murder in an attempt to destroy potential evidence,” Woody said in a news release.
Hoots’ 2013 Chrysler 200 was missing. Authorities tracked it to the area of Virgil and Plymouth in Redford Township, Woody said. They zeroed in on an address on the 11000 block of Virgil, and arrested Tenisha Jackson and Larry Johnson on Feb. 11.
In the house, police found identification belonging to two of the victims, as well as one victim’s personal belongings. There also was bloody clothing in the house, Woody said.
Just after midnight Feb. 12, authorities arrested Rashawn Johnson at a home on the 9500 block of Memorial in Detroit. Lake was arrested at 4 a.m. at an address on the 9600 block of Piedmont in Detroit.
Woody credited the tireless work of Detroit and Michigan State Police investigators for the arrests. The investigation involved the Homicide Task Force, which is comprised of Detroit police, MSP and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as members of the multi-jurisdictional Cooperative Violence Reduction Program.
Woody said the suspects were arraigned over the weekend. Their next court date was not immediately clear late Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Tenisha Jackson, 19; Larry Johnson, 20; Rashawn Johnson, 19; Keeshon Lake, 19
Only picture of one of the victims is currently available on the net.
Victim Michael Hoots, 24
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