Preliminary Hearing Adjourned In Family Dollar Murders
DEARBORN (WWJ) - A man charged in a double murder at a Dearborn dollar store made a brief court appearance Wednesday.
Lavere Bryant arrived late to the courthouse after a jail transport bus accidentally took him to the wrong location, leaving the victims' family members waiting an hour-and-a-half for the 5 minute session to begin.
A new hearing date was set after Bryant's court appointed attorney told the judge he needed time to review 1,200 pages of documents associated with the case.
Bryant is accused of killing 22-year-old Joseph Orlando and Brenna Machus who both worked at a Family Dollar in Dearborn.
Orlando was found shot to death at the Michigan Ave. business earlier this month — the same day Machus went missing
Machus's body was later found in a wooded area near the Southfield Freeway and Michigan Avenue about a mile from the store.
At the courthouse Wednesday, Orlando's mother, Cynthia Conkel, talked about how her son will be remembered.
"He was my baby; he was my only son," Conkell said. "He loved his job, he was an outstanding kid. In my opinion he was helping Brenna and it ended his life. I miss him every single minute."
Authorities aren't commenting on a possible motive for the killings.
Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad has said those details will come out at Bryan's preliminary hearing, which was rescheduled for August 21.
