ROYAL OAK (WWJ) -- Criminal proceedings were put on pause Tuesday morning in the murder of an elderly Bloomfield Hills man, as officers said the defendant refused to appear for her arraignment.
Samantha Rae Booth, 35, was scheduled to face a judge on Oct. 28 on charges of first-degree murder, child abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, and resisting and obstructing police.
Booth was arrested last Friday night as she ran from a home on Sheridan Drive, near Woodward Ave. and 14 Mile Rd. in Royal Oak.
In the basement of the home, investigators found 83-year-old David Ong, who'd been stabbed several times. It's alleged that Booth attacked Ong with a sharp object as family members say he was protecting his 3-year-old granddaughter.
According to Royal Oak Police, Ong got a call from his daughter, who owns the Royal Oak home, shortly before 8 p.m. She asked him to check on the welfare of his granddaughter, who was under the care of Booth — who worked as a nanny for the family — while the mother was out of town.
Ong arrived at the home a short time later, but when he didn't update his daughter, and she didn't hear back from him, she became concerned.
The homeowner then called her brother-in-law and asked him to check on both her father and the child.
Just before 9:30 p.m., the brother-in-law arrived, walking in through an open front door.
Police said he heard noises coming from the basement and called out to the nanny, but she didn't respond. He then found Booth "in a
manic state, covered in blood," police said, and his father-in-law lying on the floor with severe injuries.
The brother-in-law picked up the child and fled the home, "repeatedly fending off continued attacks" from the nanny until he was able to escape.
Police said Booth chased the man and his niece outside, while armed with a screwdriver.
The brother-and-law and child eventually found some neighbors who were able to shelter them inside their home and called 911.
When police arrived, Ong was pronounced dead at the scene. The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday and ruled the death was a homicide.
Ahead of Tuesday morning's scheduled court appearance, Booth was uncooperative, refusing to stand up and get dressed for court.
In a exchange via Zoom, 44th District Court Magistrate Donald Chisholm got an update from a Royal Oak Police officer who was trying to coax Booth into appearing on camera for her arraignment.
"We were informed that's going to cooperate and she's gonna sit in the chair," Chisholm said, to which the officer replied: "I don't know where you got that information, but that hasn't happened yet."
"Is she still hiding there in the corner?" Chisholm asked.
"She's laying on the floor at the moment, in the middle of the cell, with no clothes on," the officer said.
The officer then addressed Booth directly, saying, "Your attorney's trying to help you here, but you're not cooperating with him. He's trying to do what he can to help you out."
After about an hour-long pause, proceedings did continue without Booth appearing on camera.
Bond was denied, and Booth was remanded to jail where she awaits her next court appearance, scheduled for Nov. 7.
She faces life in prison without parole if she's convicted on the first degree murder charge.