Oakland County Sheriff's teams respond to the scene Oct. 11.
By: Mary Beth Almond | Rochester Post | Published October 11, 2024
Two men claiming to be DTE workers killed an elderly man and restrained his wife with duct tape inside a home in Rochester Hills Oct. 11.
The incident happened around 11:20 a.m. in the 3700 block of Newcastle Drive, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
“We responded to a call that they had intruders come into the house posing as DTE workers and said there was a gas leak they needed to check, and they let them in,” Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. “The husband went to the basement with the two individuals, and a period of time later, the two individuals came back up without the husband, restrained the wife with duct tape and searched the house for a period of time and then left.”
The woman, who was upstairs, was able to free herself enough to call 911.
“When we responded, we found a very tragic situation. The husband was deceased in the basement,” Bouchard said, adding that the man was 72-years-old.
Authorities later learned the two suspects, who had a white pickup truck with a DTE placard on the side, had tried to gain entry to the same house the night prior. Bouchard said a description of the men was unavailable at press time.
“They had apparently come last night at around 10 p.m. saying they wanted to investigate a gas leak then and were denied entry to the home, so they came back this morning with the same story and, unfortunately, were let in,” Bouchard said.
The woman was transported to a hospital, Bouchard said, adding that it is not yet known if she is injured.
“I know she was rushed to the hospital. I don’t know if it was because she was in shock, or because she was hurt, or just because of the scenario itself that they wanted to check on her,” he said.
It was unclear what was taken, and authorities are currently investigating a possible motive.
“We know that they are small business owners. They have a jewelry and pawn shop small business in Wayne County. We do see, time-to-time, business owners that are targeted at their residences, especially when it involves jewelry and cash. That is a possible scenario here, but it’s kind of a work in progress.”
Authorities believe the incident to be a targeted and isolated attack.
“If I’m using my intuition and years of experience, this wasn’t a random thing. It was targeted, so if you happen to be in this neighborhood — which is a very safe, nice neighborhood — I wouldn’t be concerned that your house might be next. We don’t think it’s one of those scenarios based on what we see and know so far. If that changes we’ll, obviously, let the community know.”
Although the two suspects have not yet been apprehended by police, Bouchard believes they have left the area.
“I wouldn’t say we’re concerned about random violence in the neighborhood. We think they left, but, obviously, there are no guarantees,” Bouchard said at 3 p.m. Oct. 11. “We have our helicopters up, we have drones up and we have a lot of cars in the area, but my guess is they got out of the area as quickly as they could.”
RCS Superintendent Nicholas Russo said school officials were notified by police of their response to a “community situation that was not school-related.”
Exercising “extreme caution,” he said, Adams High School, Van Hoosen MIddle School and Musson Elementary were placed into “secure status for a short time, where all individuals remained inside the building with outside doors locked.” After receiving an all-clear from police, all schools proceeded with classes and activities as scheduled.
“Safety remains our top priority,” Russo said in a statement.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Bouchard said, plans to be onsite at the scene for “a long time.”
“Our DNA team will be in the house, our latent prints and forensic team will be in the house, then our detectives will be in the house. It’s gonna be awhile,” he said.
Residents in the area are asked to check their Ring cameras for a white, single-cab truck, most likely with markings that say DTE, between 9 and 10 p.m. Oct. 10 and 10 a.m. and noon Oct. 11, and to contact the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s Rochester Hills substation with any findings.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s Rochester Hills substation can be reached at (248) 537-3530.