Lansing police investigate fifth homeless death on River Trail

Lansing Police are investigating the fifth violent death of a homeless man on the River Trail in the last 11 months, the LPD’s spokesperson confirmed today. LPD is looking into whether there may be any connection between the incidents.

Denis Dunnebacke, 70, was found badly beaten near the Kalamazoo Street Bridge on July 9 and died July 16 after life support was removed in the University of Michigan Health‑Sparrow Lansing hospital, his cousin, Teresa Sumpter, told WKAR News today. Sumpter, who had Dunnebacke’s power of attorney, was called to the hospital on July 10. She said his injuries included four or five spinal fractures and brain trauma, and he also suffered a heart attack during the assault.

Gulkis said that the medical examiner has not yet issued a ruling. Sumpter said Dunnebacke had been homeless for about seven years and “pretty mentally ill.” He was a happy, hopeful person, so it’s hard to imagine those were the last minutes of his life. The police did not contact her after his death, which the Lansing State Journal was the first to report in an online story. It is one of three deaths of homeless men since October 2025 that was “not announced by police in the usual way,” the LSJ’s story said. Sumpter said her family contacted the Journal after a friend sent them a story on the other deaths.

Read the full story at WKAR.