Bodies found in apartment building identified as 3 Michigan rappers missing for almost two weeks, police say
By Joe Sutton and Emma Tucker, CNN
Three bodies found in the Detroit area this week were identified by authorities Friday as those of three rappers who were missing for almost two weeks, according to Michigan State Police.
The missing men — Armani Kelly, 28, Dante Wicker, 31, and Montoya Givens, 31 — were associates whose January 21 performance at a Detroit club was canceled, police have said. Activity on their cell phones stopped early on January 22, according to authorities.
The bodies were found in a “rat infested,” abandoned apartment complex in Highland Park on Thursday, roughly 6 miles northwest of Detroit, according to Michigan State Police, which is leading the investigation.
The Wayne County Coroner told CNN Friday the bodies of the three men have been transported to the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of death, which will be confirmed by autopsy results, has yet to be released.
“These autopsy results may take up to 48 hours due to the fact that in extreme cold, they may not be able to perform autopsies right away,” the Wayne County Coroner told CNN.
Michigan State Police Second District tweeted earlier Friday afternoon that the homicide task force identified the three bodies but would not release names until the families were notified.
Police were first alerted to the men’s disappearance by Kelly’s mother, who reported him missing on Jan. 23, said Michael McGinnis, commander of major crimes at the Detroit Police Department.
“That mother became very proactive in the investigation and started searching for her vehicle through OnStar,” McGinnis said this week.
She found the car in Warren, Michigan, just a few miles from Highland Park, McGinnis said, and authorities recovered the car on January 23.
As the story of Kelly’s disappearance gained media attention, “other family members of the other missings come to realize that that’s a friend of their loved ones and they haven’t seen them either, so then they both get reported missing,” McGinnis said.
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CNN’s Shawn Nottingham, Amanda Watts, Michelle Watson and Amy Simonson contributed to this report.
