Serial Killer Terrorizes Detroit Due to Police Missteps Over 15 Years

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In a chilling saga that unfolded over 15 years, Detroit was haunted by a serial killer who lured women, one by one, into vacant homes to meet their tragic end. The scenes of these gruesome crimes portrayed a grim tableau – the victims’ nude or partially clothed bodies surrounded by the detritus of abandoned buildings: cheap liquor bottles, crumbling sheetrock, and hypodermic needles.

These slayings cast a long shadow over the city, triggering a massive police effort to scour Detroit’s decrepit stock of abandoned properties for more potential victims. When, in 2019, DeAngelo Martin was finally charged with four murders and two rapes, the then-police chief asserted that the department had been diligent and relentless in solving the crimes. However, a year after Martin’s imprisonment, it’s evident that diligence and relentlessness were notably absent.

Investigations by Big Big News have uncovered a litany of police missteps and missed opportunities spanning over a decade. Despite repeated warnings that DeAngelo Martin was a violent predator, Detroit police failed to follow up on leads or take crucial investigative steps that might have halted his murderous spree.

This shocking revelation has prompted Jim Trainum, a retired Washington, D.C., homicide detective specializing in reviewing police investigations for possible wrongful convictions, to remark, “It’s astonishing.” He emphasized that the police needed to do just one small thing, and it could have prevented this tragedy.

The investigation by the Associated Press relied on numerous interviews, extensive court documents, and records from prosecutors and police, including a revealing internal affairs report obtained through public information requests.

The failures in this case date back to 2004 when evidence from the rape of a 41-year-old woman was mishandled and forgotten in a warehouse for years. The lapses persisted through 2018 when police arrested the wrong man in a strangulation case. Even after DNA evidence linked Martin to the crimes, the police did not apprehend him promptly.

Detroit’s internal affairs branch concluded that while the mistakes didn’t rise to the level of criminality, several officers had “neglected their duties,” and there was a “total systemic breakdown.” The victims’ relatives were left furious and wondering if more aggressive action would have been taken if the victims weren’t among the city’s most vulnerable residents.

DeAngelo Martin’s background and troubled upbringing paint a grim portrait. Raised by his mother until her arrest for kidnapping and murder when he was just 13, Martin’s life spiraled into addiction and homelessness. Over the years, he had multiple run-ins with the law, leading to his DNA being in a national database.

Despite this, it wasn’t until 2012 that Martin’s DNA was linked to a potential sexual assault. Police, however, failed to take decisive action. Even when the DNA evidence linked him to multiple crimes, including homicides, the police’s response was inadequate.

The first known homicide attributed to Martin occurred in 2018, and police initially arrested the wrong suspect. It wasn’t until March 2019 that Martin’s reign of terror was finally stopped.

The tragedy shook Detroit to its core, and the victims’ families grapple with complex emotions. Their anger now extends beyond the perpetrator to the police, as they question how law enforcement missed multiple chances to apprehend a killer.

In hindsight, Detroit police acknowledge the need for a more aggressive approach and have made changes to how they handle crime victims and DNA leads. They vow to learn from their mistakes and strive to do better in the future.

This harrowing tale serves as a stark reminder of the profound consequences of law enforcement missteps and the critical importance of thorough and diligent police work in ensuring public safety.

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More about Serial Killer Investigation

• Detroit Free Press
• Big Big News
• Associated Press
• Washington Post
• University of Maryland Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
• I Am Evidence Documentary