Police in Michigan are probing whether a possible serial killer could be behind a number of deaths. In Lansing, the River Trail runs for about 20 miles. But a mile-long stretch between Old Town and Kalamazoo Street has seen the deaths of five men.
They are all active investigations, and we are looking at the idea or the possibility that these may be related cases.” All of the men were unhoused white males, ranging in age from 22 to 70. Backus said police believe that the incidents occurred overnight, in the early morning hours. "We don’t know that, but based on how we found our victims and their surroundings, it would lead us to believe that this could be a pattern.” One person has been charged in relation to one of the cases, which involved a stabbing.
Backus said that the other four cases involved “what appear to be blunt-force trauma, traumatic injuries to the facial area.” The unhoused community can be at a heightened risk of violence. A 2024 report from the National Coalition for the Homeless showed a rise in targeted violence against homeless people, reporting 97 attacks between 2019 and 2022, 48 percent of which were fatal. Newsweek has contacted the Lansing Police Department and the Lansing Mayor’s Office for comment.
Newsweek has compiled a timeline of the incidents in Lansing, based on the information shared at the press conference. Lansing police received a call and responded to the river trail in the 300 block of East Oakland. Major-crime detectives found Gino Chouinard, a 54-year-old male who had injuries to the face.
He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on October 27. The cause of death is undetermined, and there is no new suspect information. Lansing police were working on the river trail under the Kalamazoo Street Bridge and located 70-year-old Dennis Dunnebacke.
He was breathing but covered in vomit and had facial injuries. Major crimes responded and investigated. Dunnebacke was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead on July 15.
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