Noxious gas, Crumbley verdicts and fine dining: These were Detroit's top stories from each month in 2024
(CBS DETROIT) — With New Year's upon us, it's time to take a look at 2024's biggest stories. They run the gamut, from late-breaking developments in the Crumbley trials to national honors for local restaurants.
Each of the following stories represents the most-read story on CBS Detroit from each month of the year, in chronological order.
January: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel urges federal officials to address sale of military-grade ammunition
In January, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined 19 other attorneys general in urging the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to address the sale of military-grade ammunition to civilians.
Citing several mass shootings related to ammunition, the attorneys general asked for an investigation into the commercial sale of products manufactured by the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, which is based in Missouri and overseen by the U.S. Army.
According to a letter penned by Nessel and others, the federal government has invested more than $860 million to improve production at the plant.
Nessel joined attorneys general in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
February: Jury finds Jennifer Crumbley guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter
In February, an Oakland County jury convicted Jennifer Crumbley of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the Nov. 30, 2021, mass shooting at Oxford High School carried out by her son, Ethan Crumbley.
The shooting claimed the lives of Justin Shilling, 17, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, and injured seven others.
Jennifer Crumbley was the first parent in the U.S. to go on trial for a mass school shooting carried out by their child.
A jury deliberated for 11 hours following the historic week-long trial to determine if Jennifer Crumbley bore any responsibility for the actions committed by her son.
Jennifer Crumbley's husband, James Crumbley, was convicted on the same four counts in March. The two were sentenced in April to 10-15 years in prison.
March: Police find woman who had been missing since 2017 at Inkster motel
In late February, a Michigan woman who had been reported missing by her family in 2017 was found in an Inkster motel.
Acting on a tip, police found the woman, who was in her 30s. It was the first time her family had spoken to her since she was reported missing.
"We were given a tip by her stepmother that she contacted her and said she was being held against her will in a hotel room," said Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw.
The woman was alone in the room when police found her.
A suspect was identified, but investigators were working to determine how the woman disappeared.
At the time, police said cases like this can be difficult when a victim is over the legal adult age.
"You can walk away from home at 18. You don't have to tell people where you are going, but still, we want people to make that missing report," Shaw said.
April: Jennifer Crumbley wants to live in attorney's guest house during her sentence
In early April, Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, requested that a judge sentence her to house arrest and that she serve out her sentence at the home of her attorney.
Crumbley was the first person in the country to go to trial for a mass shooting carried out by their child and was convicted by an Oakland County jury in February on all four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the Nov. 30, 2021, school shooting that claimed the lives of four students and injured seven others.
In an effort to avoid serving prison time, Crumbley requested that she be allowed to live in the guest house of her attorney, Shannon Smith, which is located less than 10 miles from Oxford High School.
"I have been in jail for over 26 months and have been locked down 23 hours per day," Crumbley said in a pre-sentencing memo. "I am hopeful the Court will sentence me in a way that allows me to be released from jail for the balance of my sentence. I do have an Oakland County address where I could live and be placed on a tether with house arrest."
Crumbley's request was denied, and she was sentenced, alongside her husband, James Crumbley, to 10-15 years in prison.
May: Detroit restaurant named the most beautiful in Michigan
PAO Detroit was named by People Magazine as the most beautiful restaurant in Michigan.
In celebration of the publication's 50th anniversary, the restaurant nabbed a spot on People's "The 50 Most Beautiful Restaurants in America" list, which included a restaurant from every state.
Housed in the former Michigan Oriental Theater on W. Adams Avenue, the restaurant has maintained several original details of the 1920s building in downtown Detroit.
"In honor of PEOPLE's 50th anniversary, OpenTable and PEOPLE Magazine collaborated to spotlight stunning and notable restaurants around the country...and PAO Detroit has been named one of 'The 50 Most Beautiful Restaurants In America" for 2024," said Joe Barbat, chairman and CEO of Barbat Holdings, in a statement.
June: Michigan woman says MGM Grand refused to pay out her $127K jackpot
In June, a Michigan woman filed a lawsuit against Detroit's MGM Grand, alleging that the casino where she had been gambling for more than 20 years refused to pay out a $127,000 jackpot she won in 2023.
Denise Ezell was playing at a progressive blackjack table on Oct. 23, 2023, when a dealer announced that she had won a jackpot. In the lawsuit, Ezell claimed a pit boss told her she wasn't entitled to the money because she was trespassing.
Ezell was accused of panhandling in 2015 after an argument with another person, who she said was her cousin, at the Detroit casino. Ezell was asked to leave by a security guard, and when asked for how long, she was told "24 to 48 hours," according to the lawsuit.
Ezell claims she was never notified of the casino ban and continued gambling there for nine years.
July: Michigan teen missing for nearly 2 months found living with 44-year-old man and engaged to him
In July, a 17-year-old Michigan girl who went missing in May was found living with a 44-year-old Rockford man and engaged to him.
Police said the teen met the man, who they described as a "stranger," in the early morning hours of June 1 and have been living with him since.
Investigators believe the girl voluntarily left her family home in Cedar Springs on May 31, and she was captured on surveillance footage walking near the Corner Bar in Rockford around midnight on June 1. There had been no other reported sightings of her until she was spotted by an observant community member in July.
August: F-16 fighter jet drops fuel tanks during emergency over Michigan
In late July, an F-16 fighter jet out of the Ohio Air National Guard suffered an emergency while flying over Michigan and dropped two external fuel tanks, one of which exploded in Lake Huron.
Two jets from the 180th Fighter Squadron in Toledo were flying in the Iosco County area when one declared an emergency and was forced to drop two tanks.
An explosion was reported on Baldwin Resort Road near Lake Huron.
The U.S. Coast Guard recovered part of a fuel tank in the lake, while a second fuel tank landed in the parking lot of the Baldwin Plaza shopping center, causing minor damage to a few vehicles.
September: 4 go to hospital after noxious gas released in Michigan Meijer store
Four people were hospitalized in September after someone released noxious gas at a Meijer store in Muskegon in late September.
Fruitport Township police and fire responded to the store at 5300 Harvey Street for a report of an "unknown noxious gas" in the building.
When first responders arrived, they found a plastic bottle in the home goods section of the store containing a substance that smelled like chlorine. A small, gaseous cloud was observed in the center of the store, which police and members of the Muskegon County Hazardous Materials Response Team say was most likely caused by swimming pool-type chemicals.
The four people were treated and released from the hospital.
October: Suspects posing as DTE workers allegedly kill Michigan man, duct tape his wife
Two men posing as DTE workers are accused of killing an Oakland County businessman during an October home invasion.
Joshua Zuazo, 39, and Carlos Hernandez, 37, are charged with felony murder and two counts of false imprisonment in connection to the murder of 72-year-old Hussein Murray of Rochester Hills.
Prosecutors allege that Hernandez and Zuazo claimed to be DTE workers and attempted to gain access to Murray's home on the evening of Oct. 10 for a gas leak. After being denied entry, the two returned the next day and were ultimately allowed inside the home.
Police found Murray's body in his basement with his wrists and ankles.
Hernandez was arrested on Oct. 12 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Zuazo was arrested two days later in Wayne County.
Investigators believe Murray was targeted because he owned a jewelry business in Hamtramck.
November: 4 dead, 17 injured after man driving semi-truck crashes into vehicles in traffic near Lansing
Four people were killed and 17 others were injured when a semi-truck driver crashed into more than a dozen vehicles in early November.
Traffic on I-96, about 30 minutes east of Lansing, had been stopped late on a Saturday night as DTE Energy crews were completing line work when a semi-truck traveling westbound crashed into several stalled vehicles.
"It appears the driver of the semi-truck did not see the backup and could not stop his vehicle in time," police said in a statement.
Police said at least 15 vehicles, including the semi-truck, were involved in the crash.
A 20-year-old woman, a 43-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man, all from Lansing, died in the crash, as did a 29-year-old Carson City man.
December: Employee arrested for stabbing company president in West Michigan
In mid-December, a 32-year-old Michigan man was arrested after he allegedly stabbed the president of a company he worked for.
Police say the incident happened at Anderson Express Inc. in Muskegon when the employee, a Walker man, stabbed the company's president in his side during a morning staff meeting. The employee then ran from the building and fled in a car.
The man was arrested shortly after the incident, and the company's president was taken to an area hospital where he underwent surgery.
Fruitport police said the employee's motive for stabbing his boss is unknown. Coworkers described the man as "having a quiet demeanor."
