Nephew Charged In 'Tragic, Brutal' Murder Of Warren Couple At Home
WARREN (WWJ) - A 37-year-old man has been charged with first degree murder in the deaths of a 67-year-old man and his 66-year-old wife in their Warren home.
The bodies of Steven Collins, 67, and Cynthia Collins, 66, were discovered Friday by police after a neighbor tried to bring their dog, which was running loose, back to the Panama Avenue home to find the door ajar.
The man and wife had each been shot multiple times.
Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said Joseph Lawrence Borowiak, the couple's nephew, was identified as a suspect and arrested a short time later.
A motive for the crime is unclear.
"They quite frankly had raised him as they own and given him an education and a home," Dwyer told WWJ's Zahra Huber. "And what happened ... we're not sure what happened but it was just a very tragic, brutal murder."
Borowiak was arraigned in the 37th District Court Tuesday and ordered held at the Macomb County Jail without bond. A convicted felon, he has spent time behind bars for assaulting and resisting a police officer and assault with intent to rob. His criminal record also includes drug conviction.
Borowiak will be back in court for a probable cause conference on Sept. 14.