(WWJ) As metro Detroit waits to hear if he will be charged today in the killings of numerous prostitutes, the brother of one of the victims of the suspected serial killer in Detroit is speaking out.
Gary Harrison's sister, Nancy, was found dead--in an abandoned home on Detroit's east side in March. Harrison says it's important how the world remembers her:
"She wasn't like someone who supported her habit by going down there, walking the streets, no, that's not my sister. My sister was a homeowner. She did odd and ends jobs. She did hair. She cleaned houses," Harrison said.
After Nancy Harrison, two more women's bodies were discovered in different vacant houses on the east side, one just last week.
The suspect Deangelo Martin was taken into custody on Friday. We're expected to learn today if he'll be charged.
How was he linked to the killings?
"He is a person of interest," Chief James Craig said. "Our investigators have been working on this around the clock, so we've developed a person of interest. So that's all I'll say about what we've done as part of our investigation."
The first victim, identified as 52-year old Harrison, was found March 19 in an abandoned house on Coventry near I-75. A second woman, identified as 53-year old Travesene Ellis, was found in a home on Linnhurst near Schoenherr Rd.
A 55-year old was found June 5 on Mack near Mt. Elliot. She remains unidentified and police were asking for help to ID her. She is described as African American, small in stature, around 5 feet tall and 100 lbs, with a short cropped, three-inch afro style haircut. Her age is unknown.
Craig said it seemed a single suspect was targeting prostitutes, luring them into abandoned dwellings and killing them. "Of course there's a reason why we're linking the three," Craig said, although he would not elaborate.
As the investigation continues, 40 Detroit police officers are going door-to-door, searching every open vacant house on the east side, looking for additional victims.
Anyone with information should call Detroit Police Homicide at 313-596-2260 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 1-800-SPEAK-UP (1-800-773-2587).
