Prosecutor charges suspect with murder after knife attack kills woman in Roseville

ROSEVILLE/ST. CLAIR SHORES/WARREN — A suspect is in custody and facing a first-degree murder charge, among other charges, in the death of a woman in Roseville and the stabbing of a man in St. Clair Shores May 17.

At approximately 6 a.m. May 17, Roseville officers were dispatched to a Belle Tire in the 32000 block of Gratiot Avenue. When they arrived, they located the woman, who had been stabbed and whose throat had been cut, according to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.

The victim has been identified as 60-year-old Cheryl Ryan-Parsley. A Gofundme page has been set up to help her family with funeral arrangements. At press time, it had reached $5,425.

“She was loved by so many and died in such a sad and senseless manner,” the fundraising page states.

The fundraiser also states that Ryan-Parsley had suffered from poor health earlier in the year.

“Cheryl was her husband’s whole world, and now he and her children are lost,” the fundraising page reads.

After the attack on Ryan-Parsley, the suspect, identified by the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office as 31-year-old Shane Burns, allegedly drove to St. Clair Shores and committed another attack roughly 15 minutes after the attack on Ryan-Parsley.

“There was a 43-year-old male St. Clair Shores resident who was at a bus stop on Harper south of 12 Mile who was approached by a stranger and stabbed several times,” St. Clair Shores Police Chief Jason Allen said.

The victim in the St. Clair Shores incident has been identified as Robert Baecke. A Gofundme page was created by his employers, The Pool Guys LLC, to assist with his medical bills. At press time, it had reached $12,475 of its $30,000 goal.

“Robert, the hardest working man in our company, has always gone above and beyond, even without a vehicle,” the fundraising page reads.

The page states that Baecke was stabbed eight times. Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said May 19 that Baecke was out of the hospital and recovering at home.

Lucido said he believed the incidents to be random.

“This is pretty devastating, but it’s also horrific to just go up to somebody filling their tire up and start stabbing them, killing them. And then it’s even more horrific to get in the car, go down the street and start doing it again,” Lucido said.

“Again, this was very brutal. I can’t make any sense of it and neither can anyone else at this time,” Lucido said.

After responding to the Belle Tire and investigating, Roseville police released a surveillance photo of the suspect and photos of his vehicle, a Chevrolet HHR. They said the suspect was believed to be armed with a hunting knife with a 4-inch fixed blade.

In response to Roseville’s be-on-the-lookout bulletin, Warren police officers conducting a directed patrol in the area of Nine Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue at about noon saw a suspect matching the description from Roseville police driving a Chevy HHR. The officers stopped the vehicle at Van Dyke and Cadillac Avenue, which is a few streets south of Nine Mile.

Warren police said that they arrested the suspect without incident. Roseville police detectives reportedly responded to the scene of the traffic stop, and Warren police turned over Burns and the Chevy HHR to Roseville’s custody.

The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office said that a search of the HHR turned up a shotgun, a 9 mm firearm and “a large amount of ammunition.”

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer praised the “outstanding awareness” of the department’s officers.

“Thanks to the quick actions of our officers, this suspect was located and taken into custody safely without incident,” Dwyer said in a prepared statement. “Our officers are always on the lookout for suspects wanted in connection to crimes in Warren and surrounding jurisdictions, particularly those involving violent crimes. The Warren Police Department is always proud to assist other agencies in locating and arresting violent crime suspects.”

According to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, while Burns was at the Roseville Police Department, he began biting his wrists.

“An officer ordered him to stop and a struggle ensued, where Burns was able to retrieve a knife and slit his wrist,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated in a press release.

Lucido said that there was treatment given to Burns after the struggle, but Lucido did not know Burns’ current condition. He said that Burns has not made any statements to police.

According to Lucido, Burns was arraigned in the 39th District Court during the afternoon May 19 by visiting Judge William Crouchman. Burns faces charges of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, carrying a concealed weapon, disarming a police officer, and two counts of felony firearm. A conviction for first-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The assault with intent to murder charge can be a life felony.

Crouchman set Burns’ bond at $10 million cash or surety. His probable cause hearing was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. May 31, and his preliminary examination was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 7. Burns did not immediately have an attorney.

Lucido said the suspect had a “lengthy” criminal record in California. Lucido said the HHR was registered to a home in Washington Township, but Lucido did not know where Burns is from or what brought him to Michigan.

Lucido thanked the Roseville, St. Clair Shores and Warren police departments; Warren’s special operations unit; the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office; and the Macomb Auto Theft Squad for their roles in taking Burns into custody.

Information about the St. Clair Shores incident as well as the Roseville incident was passed along to the three school district superintendents in St. Clair Shores May 17, Allen said, and they decided to not let students go outside for recess or lunch breaks. It was not a full lockdown.

​​At the request of the Roseville Police Department, Roseville Community Schools staff kept all students inside for the day May 17, including during lunch and recess, while the suspect was on the loose.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Roseville Police Department at (586) 777-6700.

To donate to Ryan-Parsley’s fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/f/vq66wg-funeral-arrangements.

To donate to Baecke’s fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-roberts-recovery-and-lost-wages.

Staff Writer Maria Allard contributed to this report.