Wife Restrained and Husband Killed by Men Posing As Utility Workers in Rochester Hills
(OCSO, Oct. 11, 2024)
Rochester Hills, MI -A 72-year-old Rochester Hills man was found dead in the basement of his home today in what Oakland County Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating as an apparent homicide.
Detectives are looking for two male suspects who were posing as DTE employees as being responsible for the death.
“We are looking for the public’s help – anyone who may have seen something, anything,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “We could really use any information you have. If you have security camera or video from 8 p.m. Thursday until noon today and share that with us, that would be a great help. We’re looking for two men who were driving a white pickup truck with orange cones in the truck bed.”
The death happened shortly before noon today in a home in the 3700 block of Newcastle in an area of upscale homes. Deputies were dispatched to the scene after the victim’s wife called 911. Upon their arrival, deputies found she had been tied up and her hands were duct taped. The wife told deputies she believed that her husband may have been kidnapped. While checking the house to make sure it was safe, deputies found the husband’s body in the basement.
Because of the gruesome nature of the injuries, it was not immediately clear if he had been shot or bludgeoned to death.
The woman, also 72, told deputies the two male suspects had come to the home the night before, claiming there was a gas leak, but they were not admitted to the home. When they arrived today, they were allowed in the home and her husband accompanied the two men into the basement, ostensibly to look for the leak.
The woman did not see her husband come up from the basement with the men and assumed he had been kidnapped.
The husband, whose name is not released until other family member are notified, owned a business in Wayne County. Detectives are investigating to determine if anything was taken from the home.
Bouchard said residents should be weary of anyone showing up at their home unexpectedly, claiming to be from a utility or some other business and wanting access. He encouraged residents to check with the business or utility and ask if they have workers in the area before allowing them in your home.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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