Investigators say the victims were beaten, and two had stab wounds.
DETROIT, Mich. — A police search for a missing person led to the discovery of three men killed in a southwest Detroit house, where investigators said the victims were beaten and some were stabbed before their bodies were left covered in clothing and carpeting in a basement.
The victims were identified as Mark Barnett, 65; Norman Hamlin, 66; and William Barrett, 72, police said. Detroit police have not announced a motive, and they have not explained how the victims were connected to one another. Police said the killings appear to have happened sometime Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday, and the home remained a crime scene as detectives collected evidence and interviewed neighbors.
Police said the investigation unfolded quickly Wednesday after officers responded to a missing-person report in the area. While they were working that call, a man approached them and said he had been assaulted inside a nearby home. The man told officers there were bodies inside, police said. Fitzgerald said the man reported being attacked with a hammer and struck in the head the day before, giving officers a reason to move immediately to the address described in the account.
Inside the home, Fitzgerald said, officers encountered what he called a “horrific” scene, with blood visible as soon as the door was opened. In the basement, police found three men dead. Fitzgerald said investigators believe the men died from blunt-force injuries and that two of them also had stab wounds. He said the bodies had been left under old, dirty clothing, and one victim was covered by a carpet, details that investigators say suggest someone tried to hide what happened.
Police said the house is on Edison Street near Francis Avenue. In another briefing, police said officers were on nearby Edsel Street when the missing-person inquiry began and the assault report was made. Investigators said one of the men found dead was the subject of the missing-person report and had not been seen since Monday, a detail that widened the timeline detectives must now reconstruct. Police have not said when the other two men were last in contact with family or friends.
Family members told local media that Hamlin was a military veteran. Relatives also said Barnett and Hamlin served together in the U.S. Marine Corps, an early glimpse into the victims’ backgrounds as detectives work to map relationships, routines and recent contacts. Police have not released information about where the men lived day to day, whether all three were staying at the house, or whether any of them were targeted for a specific reason.
Neighbors described the property as a place with frequent visitors. Fitzgerald said the man who lived at the house allowed people to come and go. He acknowledged community talk that drugs may have been used there but said investigators had not confirmed that. Detectives also have not said whether the killings were tied to robbery, a dispute, or something else, and they have not released surveillance images or details about whether anyone else was in the home when the victims were attacked.
Police initially issued a public description of a person they wanted to find: a light-skinned Black man believed to be 31 or 32 years old, 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-7, with dreadlocks. By Thursday afternoon, police said a person of interest was in custody, though authorities did not release a name, explain where the person was found, or announce charges. Fitzgerald said investigators were still determining the relationship between that person and the three men who were killed.
The neighborhood reaction has been a mix of disbelief and worry, with residents watching patrol cars and investigators near the home. A neighbor told reporters the news was hard to process, calling the scene shocking. Another resident, Thomas Barnes, said one of the men was a veteran who dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder. Barnes, who leads a block club, said the area was recently renamed Harmony Village, a detail he said felt especially painful in the wake of the deaths.
Police said detectives will continue interviews and forensic work, including reviewing who entered and left the home in the days before the killings and collecting any evidence that could support charges. By Friday, officials had not announced a motive or a timeline for court action, and they said further updates would depend on interviews and forensic results still pending.
Author note: Last updated Feb. 20, 2026.