Suspected serial killer charged in deaths of four women in Detroit, prosecutor says

A man has been charged in the killings of four women in Detroit, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a press conference Wednesday.

Deangelo Martin, 34, was charged with four counts of first-degree premeditated murder and four counts of first-degree felony murder with criminal sexual conduct in the third degree.

The murders took place between February 2018 and March 2019. The victims were in their 50s and found in vacant Detroit homes face down with a used condom nearby, Worthy said.

Martin pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday. CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment.

“We are confident that this defendant’s alleged criminal and predatory actions link him to all four of these homicides, as well as the two sexual assault cases that we charged him with previously,” Worthy added.

Worthy spoke to the families and friends of the victims in the press conference.

“We truly care about the person that you loved and the person that you lost,” Worthy said.

The victims

The killings occurred on the east side of Detroit.

The first victim, 57-year-old Annetta Nelson, was found when a man walked into a vacant house, according to a press release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office. Her death was determined to be caused by blunt force trauma.

Nancy Harrison, 52, was found in a vacant house March 19.

On March 24, officers found Trevesene Ellis, 55.

Officers were flagged down by a Detroit man on June 59 after he found the body of Tamara Jones, 55, in a vacant house.

Boarding up houses

The deaths sparked the city to board up vacant homes.

Volunteers went door to door after Jones’ body was found, canvassing the area. At the same time, 40 police officers went out in two teams to search empty, open homes, Mayor Mike Duggan said.

Once police cleared the houses and ensured no one was inside, officials boarded them up, Duggan said.