Lansing police examine possible links among five riverfront deaths

Lansing Police Chief Robert Backus said Friday investigators are examining whether five violent deaths within a mile of the Lansing River Trail over the past year are related. Police believe the victims were unhoused men attacked while lying down, possibly asleep, in the early morning hours.

Police are tentatively separating one case, the Aug. 20 stabbing death of 22-year-old Daniel Lusk, for which a man has been charged with open murder. The other four deaths involved severe facial injuries, and no arrests have been made in those cases. Police have not identified an apparent weapon.

Backus said a lack of surveillance cameras along the river has hindered the investigation. Police and homeless advocates have warned people living there; advocates reported that about half had moved elsewhere. Backus said he had no safety concerns on the trail outside the early morning hours of about 3 or 4 a.m.

Read the full story at lansingcitypulse.com.