LANSING, MI — Lansing police are examining whether five deaths involving unhoused men along the River Trail and nearby bridge areas over the past year could be connected. Chief Rob Backus said investigators are not confirming a serial killer, but they are looking at common details across the cases.
Backus outlined the timeline at a Friday news conference and said the department is treating all five investigations as active. Police say the victims were all white men who were living unhoused, and several of the incidents appear to have happened overnight. In some cases, investigators believe the men may have been sleeping when they were attacked.
Police outline a timeline stretching from October 2025 to August
The first death in the timeline came in October 2025, when 54-year-old Gino Chouinard was found injured near the 300 block of East Oakland Avenue. He later died. Police then pointed to a long gap before the next incident, which occurred 268 days later in July.
In that case, 70-year-old Denis Dunnebacke was found unresponsive beneath the Kalamazoo Street Bridge. Four days later, 57-year-old Robert Smith was found bleeding from the head near East Oakland Avenue and later died. Police said Smith’s death was ultimately ruled a homicide.
The pattern continued in August, when 22-year-old Daniel Lusk was found stabbed to death beneath the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Ten days later, 57-year-old Louis Woodruff was found critically injured beneath a bridge near East Cesar Chavez Avenue and later died.
Investigators cite similarities, but one case stands apart
Backus said the department has identified similarities among the cases, including where the men were found and the condition of the victims. He said those similarities are leading investigators to consider whether the deaths fit a broader pattern.
At the same time, police stressed that one case differs from the others. Lusk’s death is the only one that involved a stabbing, while the other four incidents appear to have involved blunt force trauma or traumatic injuries to the facial area. That distinction is one of the reasons detectives have not drawn a final conclusion about whether a single offender is responsible.
Limited witnesses and missing cameras have slowed the case
Backus said the investigation has been complicated by a lack of witnesses and limited surveillance footage. He said the strongest break in the case so far has come in the solved homicide, where camera surveillance helped investigators piece together what happened.
In the other cases, that same kind of footage has been scarce. Backus said the absence of cameras has made it harder to determine what happened in the moments before each death and whether the incidents are directly connected.
Because of that, police are considering ways to add more cameras along the trail. Backus said the department hopes additional coverage could help identify suspects and make the area easier to monitor.
Trail designer says safety and privacy concerns have to be balanced
Bob Ford, one of the people who helped design the River Trail, said he has seen unhoused people during his regular visits to the area but has not witnessed violence there. He said he is familiar with the trail and spends time on it often.
Ford also said he has mixed feelings about adding more cameras. He raised concerns about privacy and personal rights, but said those concerns need to be weighed against public safety when serious incidents occur. His comments reflected the tension between greater monitoring and preserving the trail’s open character.
Police increase patrols and ask for information from the public
In response to the deaths, Lansing police say they have increased patrols and deployed camera trailers in the area. The department is also working with outreach groups to move unhoused people to safer locations while the investigations continue.
All five cases remain open, and police have urged anyone with information about any of the incidents to contact the Lansing Police Department. Investigators have not said whether they have identified a suspect in the four unresolved deaths.
For now, the department is pressing ahead on multiple tracks: reviewing each death individually, looking for overlapping evidence and trying to improve safety along the trail corridor.
What police have said so far about the deaths
Backus said investigators are asking whether the city may be dealing with a serial offender, but he stopped short of making that claim. He said the department is focused on evidence and the conditions in which the victims were found, not speculation.
Police have described the five victims as white unhoused men and said some may have been sleeping when attacked. They have not publicly identified a motive, and they have not said whether the same person is believed to be responsible for all five deaths.
The department’s next steps will depend on evidence from the open cases, additional witness accounts and whether more surveillance can be added along the River Trail and nearby bridges.