Arrest In Case Of Dismembered Bodies Found In Detroit River
ALLEN PARK (WWJ/AP) - An arrest has been made in the shooting deaths of an Allen Park couple whose decapitated, dismembered bodies were found in the Detroit River.
Allen Park police said Friday that the 39-year-old man now in custody is the one and only suspect in the murders of 42-year-old Chris Hall and 32-year-old Danielle Greenway, who were last seen alive one week ago.
Interim Police Chief James Wilkewitz said that, after receiving the missing person reports and hearing of the bodies found, officers went to the couple's home.
"And evidence collected from the scene would indicate that they were murdered in their home and their bodies transported to the location in Detroit where they were recovered," Wilkewitz said.
Authorities would not say what the relationship is between the victims and the suspect, but neighbors said the man had been staying with the couple.
Police released few details at a news conference Friday but asked for the public's help in locating Greenway's van, a tan 2005 GMC Safari with Michigan license plate 7JCM9.
"We still have a lot of work left to do," Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee said.
Wayne County spokeswoman Brooke Blackwell said Thursday that Hall died of multiple gunshot wounds, while Greenway died of single gunshot.
The autopsies on their torsos, two heads and a set of arms and legs were performed Wednesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard recovered the torsos Tuesday morning, east of Belle Isle where Lake St. Clair empties into the river. A fisherman later spotted some body parts underwater and along a seawall, not far from where the torsos were found.
Also found with the body parts were an open suitcase, a sheet and a circular saw.
Wilkewitz, who called the deaths "heinous" said charges are expected soon.
At that time, the suspect's name will be released.
"It makes my heart drop," neighbor Samantha Dolliver said. "They were the sweetest people. It hasn't hit me yet. But when it does, I'm going to barricade myself in a room with a pillow and cry. ... They were human beings, not a piece of scrap metal."
Dolliver said a man described to her as Greenway's friend moved into the home about three weeks ago in a working-class neighborhood of Allen Park, a small suburb south of Detroit. She knew him only as "Roger."
Dolliver said Hall's sister was searching for the couple Wednesday and pounded on the couple's door. She had no luck.
"She said she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong," Dolliver said.
(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
