DETROIT (WWJ) -- The man charged with murdering prominent Detroit neurosurgeon Dr. Devon Hoover has been bound over for trial.
A Wayne County judge ruled that there is sufficient evidence to order 35-year-old Desmond Burks to face a jury trial for the 2023 murder of Hoover, who was found shot to death in his home.
"Well, it's not really a big surprised that the judge bound Burks over for trial," said WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton, who was at the courthouse Thursday. "Prosecutors showed that there was a sufficient connection between the two. Even though it's circumstantial evidence, there was that connection."
Langton said a large number of text messages between Hoover and Burks will be a major piece of this case.
"That's one," Langton said. "But then after the murder...Burks had, he was in possession of the doctor's watch, he was in possession of the doctor's glasses. And probably the biggest one: He was in possession of the murder weapon. So, there's plenty, plenty of evidence to link the two of them together."
Witnesses have alleged that the suspect and the victim were lovers, and that Hoover paid Burks for sex.
According to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, the investigation was a "massive undertaking," complicated by the fact that many witnesses were reluctant to come forward to share sensitive and personal information.
Langton said he thinks there will be motions during the trial to unveil the identities of the currently protected witnesses, to allow for greater transparency.
"I would think that when this goes to trial, the public has a right to know who are the witnesses and what are they testifying to?" Langton said. "...This kind of sounds like the affairs these people had were not very well-known. They kept it very secretive, and yes, it was very difficult to get witnesses to testify — especially about the sexual relations between the two, and people watching. I mean, that's salacious stuff. However, there still has to be some transparency."
Hoover, who worked at Ascension Healthcare at St. John Hospital, was discovered dead in the attic of his home — a historic mansion in the city's Boston-Edison District — on April 23, 2023. Officials said the deceased 53-year-old was "facedown, wearing only socks, wrapped in a blood-soaked carpet."
An autopsy concluded that Hoover had been shot twice in the back of the head.
Further investigation found that Hoover's cell phone, wallet, money, credit cards and designer watches were missing.