(NewsNation) — One suspect is in custody and another is at large after police say two men disguised as DTE utility workers entered a Michigan house, restrained the 72-year-old homeowner and killed her husband.
U.S. Marshals and Caddo Parish sheriff’s officers arrested 37-year-old Carlos Jose Hernandez on Sunday in Shreveport, Louisiana. He’s charged with murder and other crimes in connection with the incident, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators are seeking Hernandez’s extradition to Michigan. The sheriff’s office is searching for the second suspect, whose identity is unknown.
Police identified the male victim as 72-year-old Hussein Murray. His death may have been a targeted crime potentially tied to a jewelry and pawn shop business that he owned, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard told Click on Detroit.
The investigation began Friday when police responded to a 911 call in Rochester Hills — a suburb about 25 miles north of downtown Detroit.
Officers arrived and found Murray’s wife “tied up” and her hands bound by tape. She told police she believed the intruders may have kidnapped her husband, according to a news release.
Police were checking the house to make sure it was safe when they discovered Murray’s body in the basement. The sheriff’s office speculated he may have been beaten or shot, although an official cause of death is unclear.
Murray’s wife was briefly hospitalized after the incident and has since been released.
She told police that two men had come to the home the night before, claiming there was a gas leak. She didn’t let them in, but when they returned the next morning, Murray went with the men into the basement — presumably to look for the alleged leak, police said.
The woman assumed the men kidnapped her husband when he didn’t return from the basement. It was not immediately clear based on the sheriff’s office news release when the woman was tied up or how she was able to call 911.
NewsNation national security contributor Tracy Walder called the act “incredibly brazen.”
“I think the fact that this was their second time coming back to the home in two days to try to gain access does tell me that they had probably followed this individual to and from work, learned his habits and learned that he may have jewelry or other items from his pawn store on him and targeted this home,” Walder said on “Morning in America.”
Bouchard urged people to be wary of anyone who shows up at their home unexpectedly and requests to go inside. If someone purports to be from a business or utility company, residents should call to confirm the business has workers in the area before letting anyone into their home, the sheriff said.
