Detroit man charged in murder of prominent neurosurgeon Devon Hoover
(CBS DETROIT) - Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Wednesday that a suspect has been charged in the homicide of Dr. Devon Hoover, who was found shot to death inside his Detroit home last year.
Desmond Burks, 34, of Detroit, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, larceny of over $20,000, using a computer to commit a crime, possession of a firearm by a felon and three counts of felony firearm second offense.
He will be arraigned at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
Burks is currently being held in the Wayne County Jail on separate charges stemming from a road rage incident where he allegedly fatally punched a Dearborn man. Burks is being held on a $1 million bond. Worthy says the two cases are unrelated. His next court appearance in the road rage incident is Sept. 3 for a competency review hearing.
Hoover was found dead in the attic of his home in the 100 block of W. Boston Blvd. in Detroit's Boston-Edison neighborhood after police were called for a wellness check on April 23, 2023.
An autopsy revealed the neurosurgeon was shot twice in the back of the head.
During a press conference Wednesday, Worthy said the investigation spanned five states (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Texas and California) and three countries (England, France and the U.S.).
Worthy said that over the course of the investigation, officials found approximately 4,000 communications with a phone number attributed to Burks. The text messages establish that the two were in an intimate relationship and that Burks would occasionally charge Hoover for sexual services. Worthy said the investigation was complicated because many witnesses were reluctant to come forward with sensitive and personal information.
"Whenever we have reluctant witnesses in any investigation, it impedes things sometimes greatly, sometimes even longer than that, sometimes years before we can try a case," Worthy said when she was questioned about how witnesses not wanting to come forward may have affected the timing of the investigation. "But I think based on what you heard me say about the nature of the relationship that Dr. Hoover had with this defendant, I think you can kind of extrapolate from there why people would not want to come forward."
The investigation revealed that Hoover's cellphone traveled from his home to the area of Burks' residence before it traveled back to the area of Hoover's home. After that, the cellphone traveled back to Burks' residence before moving to Fairlane Mall in Dearborn. The cellphone did not return to Hoover's home anytime after that.
Officials say that immediately following Hoover's murder, fraudulent transactions were made using his various bank accounts. Worthy said more than $30,000 was stolen from Hoover's accounts, as well as a Range Rover and two watches that total in value of $13,500.
Worthy said that during the lengthy investigation, 300 pieces of evidence were collected, 134 search warrants were served and 40 cellphones were examined.
