John Jefferson
Left: A man posing as a worker for DTE Energy in Michigan (Oakland County Sheriff’s Office). Right: Hussein Murray (Instagram).
Two men showed up to an upscale Michigan home near Detroit on successive days claiming to be workers from the local energy company checking for gas leaks. On the first night the homeowners declined to let them inside, but the next day a 72-year-old homeowner took them down to the basement.
That’s when, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the two men murdered the man later identified as Hussein Murray. The victim’s wife called deputies shortly before noon Friday to tell them she had been tied up by two men who posed as workers from DTE Energy. She said she believed they had kidnapped her husband. When deputies checked the home, they found Murry dead in the basement.
“Because of the gruesome nature of his injuries, it was not immediately clear if he had been shot or bludgeoned to death,” the press release said.
The wife, also 72, was taken to the hospital where she was treated and released. The disturbing event set off a fervent search for the suspects with authorities pleading for the public that “anyone who may have seen something, anything” to come forward. Cops also released Ring video of the suspects.
“We’re DTE. We’re checking for gas leaks,” said a man wearing a face covering and a yellow reflective vest while showing a clipboard with the DTE insignia on it.
After entering the home and tying up the wife, the men searched around the home for about 20 minutes and then drove away in a white pickup truck with orange traffic cones in the bed. On Saturday evening, authorities announced they arrested one of the suspects in Shreveport, Louisiana. Detectives are working with prosecutors to file formal charges. They did not release his name. The second suspect is remains at large.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said he doesn’t believe the incident was random.
“Based on what I’ve seen over my career, they may have thought there was valuables in the home due to the business, and were trying to get whatever those valuables were,” Bouchard told reporters on Friday, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 248-858-5000.
DTE Energy in a press release reminded customers that they should request ID from workers before allowing them into your home.
“Before DTE makes a routine visit to your home, we will make every effort to contact you in advance, either through a phone call from our call center or via email or text message,” the company wrote. “It is very rare that a DTE employee would need to enter your home, but it does happen. DTE will use every opportunity to make you aware of any work needing to be done at your home and if possible will contact you in advance to schedule time for the work to be completed.”
Murry owned Gold & Glitter Jewelry in Metro Detroit, an Instagram post said. His grandson, whom was named after Murray, posted a tribute to Instagram.
“It is hard to put into words the level of generosity and kindness that my grandfather possessed,” the younger Murray wrote. “A man who spread so much warmth and joy to everyone in his family, and someone whose smile could make you feel like the world was yours. The car rides he took me on, the days he let me pretend I was a worker in his store as a child, and the memories of his upbringing in Lebanon he’d share with me when we’d have breakfast together are things I’ve held onto and things I will continue to hold onto for the rest of my life.”
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