Wayne County morgue subcontractors break into home of a deceased man
HURON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Imagine losing a loved one only to get a call the next day that their home was burglarized by someone they should have been able to trust.
Huron Township Police are calling it a cruel crime of opportunity.
On Valentine's Day, Derek Davis received the heartbreaking news that his 67-year-old father, James Davis, had passed away at home.
The next day his grieving son got word from Huron Township Police that his dad's house was a crime scene.
"It is just flat-out sickening that people could do this to the dead," Derek Davis said.
A neighbor at the Huron Estates Mobile Home Park called 911 after seeing two men break into the home on the 22000 block of Castelle Drive.
"As we were responding, we got the updated information that it looked like they were carrying things out of the house and ultimately pulling away from the residence," Chief Everette Robbins with Huron Township Department of Public Safety said.
Officers caught up with Carnell Franklin-Smith, 34, and Benjamin Pearce, 29, who had been at the house the day before to transport James Davis' body to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.
Police saw several stolen items in the suspect's car.
"Although he initially tried to stay, those were his things, and they didn't take them from the house, our detective bureau, who was there the day prior doing the death investigation, did a terrific job photographing the scene. And we were able to actually match pictures from the scene the day prior with the evidence that was taken inside the car," Robbins said.
One of the suspects had already made up an alibi, telling officers they were just there to clean up the house.
"His actual story was that he would come and assess the scene, and then he'd go buy the cleaning supplies from the local dollar store," Robbins said. "So although he made up a story in advance, he didn't do a very good job of it."
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office charged Franklin-Smith and Pearce, both from Detroit, with one count of first-degree home invasion and one count of felony firearm.
They're back out on the streets after the judge gave them a personal bond.
"If your loved one passes, and they're living alone, to make sure you go in and check out in the house from time to time, and, you know, maybe the next day, the day after, and make sure you know when you get contents of what's in there because obviously, you've never know," Derek Davis said.
Huron Township Police believe there may be other victims out there and are asking the community to contact them at 734-753-4400 if that's the case.
Wayne State University, which oversees the morgue, sent CBS News Detroit this statement via a spokesperson: "We are aware of the report and arrest. We are in communication with Heritage Services and we are investigating the situation."