Two men have been arrested after impersonating utility workers to gain entry to a home in Michigan where they allegedly killed an elderly man and tied up his wife, authorities said.
Carlos Jose Hernandez, 37, was arrested in Louisiana and charged with felony murder and two counts of unlawful imprisonment, the Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said Sunday. On Monday, police said they had arrested a man suspected to be his accomplice.
That suspect, whose identity has not yet been released, was traveling Monday afternoon in Plymouth Township, Michigan, when he was pulled over by authorities and then arrested.
On Friday, Hussein Murray, 72, was found dead at his home in Rochester Hills, Michigan, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
Investigators say Murray and his wife owned a Detroit jewelry and pawn shop and believe the two suspects may have been targeting the house due to prior knowledge of valuables or money they may have kept at the home.
“This was a gruesome attack on an elderly couple in their home,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. “I have authorized the highest charge which carries a mandatory life without parole sentence for this brutal crime.”
Chilling doorbell camera footage released by the authorities show the men at the victim’s door two different times, first around 10 p.m. on Thursday.
Wearing yellow fluorescent vests and masks, Hernandez and another man rang the doorbell and claimed they were from DTE, a Detroit-based energy provider.
“We’re DTE, we’re checking for gas leaks,” Hernandez is heard saying on the video.
But Murray and his wife refused to let them in.
When they returned on Friday around 10 a.m., Murray “signed a piece of paper purportedly from DTE and escorted the defendant to the basement,” according to prosecutors.
While Murray was in the basement, the men allegedly asked his wife where the “where the money and jewelry were,” before they duct-taped her wrist and ankles, hit her across the face, and took her phone and watch, according to the news release.
The men then fled the scene in a truck with a DTE sign.
Murray’s wife was able to call 911 and said she thought her husband may have been kidnapped, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities arrived at the house where they found Murray’s body in the basement. His wrists and ankles were also duct-taped.
“Because of the gruesome nature of the injuries, it was not immediately clear if he had been shot or bludgeoned to death,” the sheriff’s office said.
Hernandez was arrested on Saturday in Shreveport, Louisiana, according to Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, which took him into custody. He also had a warrant for his arrest in Ohio in connection with an alleged armed robbery there.
DTE Energy released a statement warning people against allowing imposters into their homes.
"If anyone arrives at your home or business saying they are from DTE, please ask to see a badge with photo ID. If the person refuses to show their badge, do not allow them inside," the company said.
Murray’s family expressed their heartbreak in a statement, according to NBC News.
“We are heartbroken by the news of his death but our family will bond through this with the resolve he has instilled in us by being the man he was.”
