E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSDETROIT -- The deaths of two women found inside a burning vehicle on Christmas morning are connected to the deaths a week earlier of two other women, Detroit's police chief said Monday.
All four deaths were ruled homicides and three of the four women were involved in an escort website, Police Chief Ralph Godbee told reporters.
The latest victims were found after firefighters responded to a car fire inside a home's garage at 1 a.m. on Christmas, clickondetroit.com reported. Their bodies were found inside the trunk.
The women's names were not released but police said they were 28 and 29 years old and had worked for an escort service listed on backpage.com.
On Dec. 19, the bodies of Renesha Landers, 23, and her 24-year-old cousin, Denesha Hunt, were found dead in the truck of Landers' car.
"Three of the four females have a connection" to backpage.com, Godbee said.
Leave a Comment:
Somebody was obviously very displeased with the quality of their escorting or servicing.
As those that spend any time on the computer know "the thinker" is a right wing republican.
Quick question don't think,
How many have died escorting..............................................................................................................__________________________________________________________.................................................?
not enough
The customer was mad because he ordered Latesha and Katesha, but Renesha and Denesha showed up and they cost $5 more that he didn't have.
Wow....we are talking about murdered women here....and you want to make a freakin joke? Betcha it wouldn't be so funny if one of these victims were a relative of yours. What the hell is wrong with you?
You and the so called Thinker think that the deaths of these 2 young women are funny? How funny would it be if this happened to 2 of your young relatives?
Reported for your disgusting and racist comments.
Yeah it's so funny when women get murdered....arsehole...you are probably uneducated and find everything funny!
Thinker (not), and social disorder (definitely) - you are what is wrong with the world. Hope you pleased with yourselves, you moronic slime balls.
Please do not feed the pathetic troll.
Those names were actually real...........
nothing racist, but in bad taste....
my guess they were skimming in some way or form.... that or there are some real nuts out there [sarcasm]
I think they were well aware what they were getting into so report away. It's funny how even THIS article still spawns the whole left/right/repub/dem/lib/con BS. Next you'll all start complaining about Obama. Get a life.
It's too bad that these women placed THEMSELVES in harms way.
There are 4 women dead here and all you can come up with is wise cracks. Pathetic, may I offer my condolences to the families affected.
Do you really think these women made the choice to offer their bodies up for money? That such a lifestyle is what they dreamed of as children? From mothers to college students, to earn money for the sake of just paying the bills that do this, yes they could have taken other jobs, but as we all well know, they are very limited these days. I pray for their families and hope what ever scum did this is brought to justice.
Three out of four hookers knew each other, and decided to play hide and seek in the trunks of cars. Sounds like one pimp took out the competitions ho's, and then the pimp that lost his girls retaliated............
Or maybe the first set of Ho's were cutting into territory of the second set.......who know's. ( the ho's know........)
When you hang out with wild dogs, you will eventually have a good chance of getting bit by fleas. These were not sweet innocent girls that led fine lives and ACTUALLY tried to stay out of trouble. What goes around comes around. You chose to run close to the fire pit, you burn pretty badly when you trip and fall.
RwEvans: Do you really think these women made the choice to offer their bodies up for money?
Until I'm handed proof someone held a gun to their head, yes. Don't say they had no options. Hell, drug dealing would have been smarter and more profitable.
the escourt service is going to get some bad press...what's your crack-a-lacking...
They were probably a bunch of drug dealers who got caught selling bad crack.
Of course they CHOSE to do this work! What kind of namby pamby bull@!$%# is that? Society doesn't force grown women to be whores, they choose to, usually for drug money! Evolution at its best, weed out the idiot genes!
Everyone has choices in this free nation. The little choices and sometimes life's challenges take us on a path that either leads somewhere or nowhere at all. Once you're in the wrong circle, it's difficult to turn around, and the easy pay that comes for god-given beauty is like a drug to many of them...once they're used to buying stuff they want that they could never imagine before, they're unwilling to go back to 'poverty'. Yes, there's still a choice to be made, and it's never too late. Speaking of drugs, many of them are involved with drugs I'm sure. This in no way warrants deaths however, no one has right to take someone else's life. My condolences to their families, and sympathy for their souls. Wish they made smarter choices and the right forks in life.
sound like there might be a few suspects or at least potential suspects on this thread. sick heartless f*#ks. someone needs to investigate them, they sound like they might like this kind of s*#t.
LOL you guys
What is funny?
When can you get a writer to quit making mistakes? Please proofread before posting an article. "...found in the truck of ... car." This should have read "..in the trunk..." and there is a big difference in a trunk and a truck. If you all want a good enjoyable story, learn to spell and know the difference between the words you choose to put in the article. My condolences to these girls families.
It does said thunk you are a fast reader, slow down.
Eye no, rite?
It does say "in the truck of Lander's car" in the next to last paragraph. Maybe you should read the complete article.
And Mary Moon, it does not say "thunk". Maybe you should proofread, and learn proper grammar and punctuation, before you criticize someone else's comment.
Y'know, you're right. Using "trunk" makes the story much more enjoyable.
Benjoh:
4 people dead, and that's all you have to say? Your existence is sadder than the author's grammar.
you know the escort business...is going to get some bad press...what's your...crack-a-lack'n...
Your last sentence should read "these girls' families". Proofreading before you post replies *may* increase my enjoyment of reading your comments, but I'm doubtful.
Benjoh - Before you go on a rant, why not reread the article? There is no "truck" for "trunk" and Mary Moon, you're no help.
Isn't this sounding a lot like the long island (new york) corpses found in the last few months. with the economy so bad i am wondering if this could be the pimps thinning out the harem.
After the killings in Texas and all the well wishers on that thread...well it does happen in other states....hmmmmmm
Detroit, the shining bastion of liberal principals and governance by the progressive liberal "masters".
Tarzan, if that's the case, why do we have so many murders right here in the Conservative state of Texas? Quit with the bull and stick to the story. Liberals had nothing to do with this.
Texas has a death penalty (and they use it) so convicted murderers only get one chance to kill. Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1846.
Again Liberals and Progressives in control and look at the results.
Oh lord...Joyce...really? Only one chance to kill...hmmm. Let see, I live in Texas and trust me, they have a whole lot of folks reponsible for a lot of deaths. Murders only get executed if they are caught...Brilliant.
I think the police in Texas do a better job of capturing murders than the police in state of Michigan. And when they do get caught that is the end of it.
Something else Texas does extremely well: they rush to judgement, landing on the first person who LOOKS remotely guilty, and execute people who may very well be innocent. And, I know this because of a good friend who was executed years ago and anyone with half a brain reading his trial transcript could see he was innocent. They won't even listen to the possibility that a new trial should be sought in many cases. Just listen to Rick Perry and the people that cheered him on when he was gloating over the number of executions and the idiot in the audience that made the half-brained statement about "it takes real balls to execute an innocent man."
Yea it is the "liberals" and unions in Detroit that caused these murders. Everyone knows that righties and the GOP never pay for pussy. I guess they all just meet in men's rooms like Senator Larry Craig. Or like Newt they just marry one ho after another.
Joyce, you are wrong, on so many levels. I wish that your right wing extremism and hatred didn't blind you to reality. This is a story about the tragic murder of four women. It has absolutely nothing to do with politics. Serial murderers exist all over the country. Yet you are such an angry and miserable person that you have to view every news article as a platform for your right wing propaganda and mean spirited sarcasm. Shame on you.
Tarzan, stick to swinging in the trees. Your monkey brain is failing you again.
pretty @!$%#ty, nobody deserves to be treated like trash, times are tough even for the smashed in the media. its not ok..
It's sad how the author makes it sound like backpage is the problem. No, they are nothing more than the current avenue by which they work. Prostitution has been going on for centuries, and will continue. There are women and children forced into it by abuse, drug addiction, and even threat of death to them and their own families. Many are tricked into it by ads promoting the idea of making hundreds more for an agency, only to be tricked into a 'debtor's prison' scam that they don't realize they can get out of. However, do not let mainstream media lie to you. This is only a portion of the women who sell their bodies for money. Anyone remember Ashley Dupre? Do you think she was forced into it? No. Xaviera Hollander? No. Doctor Brooke Magnanti? Yes, a Doctor..working as a call girl... (and she is the inspiration behind the series "Diary of a Call Girl"). And they are not just street walkers and women who advertise online. There are 'massage parlors' and strip clubs that offer extra services, invisible lllegal brothels in most every city, the women who 'work' the hotel and casino bars, sites like SeekingArrangement (and tons more like it), and more.
Do I feel sad for these women and their families? Yes. Will it stop though? No. Most people refuse to admit just how widespread the problem is, and with the current mentality on it, it will continue to be a high-risk environment. I am sure there are other girls who are victims of violent crime who were working as escorts (and not always by choice - what if the guy here was the pimp for these 4 girls, and the 4th was a 'new' one?).
You can't help fix the problem until you admit it and take steps to resolve it. Sadly, most people I see on other stories are too ignorant of how widespread the problem is for both the women and law enforcement to protect them. These women need protections, programs to help them escape, laws that punish the pimps and those who force women and children into the business. Until there are some protections in place, this will be only another story in the history of abuse and death of a sex worker.
Amen times one thousand...thank you
So sad but true....these young girls look at it as easy quick money but so often with a price....like serial rapists,killers
I have always thought the pimps and the customers should be punished.
You cant fix it by hiding it or out lawing it, making laws wont work, I'm not in favor of prostitution but if it was legal it could be supervised, and kept clean.take it away from the criminal element. get it off the streets. piss on being politically correct, people are dying.
They CHOSE the lifestyle, they were not forced into it. One of them worked at Chrysler. Do you think she wasn't making enough money???
jerrold, not to make light on the subject but you sure seem to know a lot about it. RIP young ladies.
Yes it is a tragedy that has gone on since the dawn of man, men of God in the old testament procured the services of harlots, yet it has become so stigmatized in our modern society that if a prostitute dies people think she deserved and even asked for it. It should be legalized. A woman can sell her eggs for a lot more money and no one polices who is buying those eggs or for what purpose they will be used. If it were legalized, it would remove much of the criminal element and provide safeguards for those who are involved in one of the oldest professions.
stc1993, I don't live anywhere near Detroit, but my knowledge of prostitution has something to do with my involvement in my community and helping some of these women get out of the business and in some cases finding their way to help and getting back home to family. I listen to their stories and some are painful to listen to, and some are just humorous and you realize sometimes, women are like men - they just want to get some, but see an opportunity to get paid for it, too.
I think if more people volounteered to be a victim counselor in their communities (where you can, here you have to get a license, but that's only $50 and two weeks of classroom training), they'd realize a lot of what they see on TV is really a small part of reality, and could hear some of the stories, see the scars, and sometimes see the sadness some of these women go through, and sometimes hear stuff that will make you laugh so hard you will have tears running down your leg. :)
Nita - Most of these "women" in De-town are not just involved in prostitution. There will be alot more to this story when it all comes out. This is typical Detroit behavior - They even have a name for it here. They call it TNB.....
nita, very good point.
I won't argue that it should be legalized, but I do see how it could be used as a way to remove the criminal element, offer these women protections, be safer all around with drug and STD testing, and even going so far as to limit profitability, reducing the number of women in the business. It;s not something I put a lot of thought into though, so it's not something I would argue for at this time.
On a side note - the article only says ties to escort ads on backpage, but not actual sex. Without seeing the ads, these women could be nothing more than 'private dancers' giving in-hotel strip shows, or massages, however sex is more likely given the history and current economy.
Most of the harm of prostutition is due to it being illegal, similiar to the war on drugs. If a woman is in dire financial straits adding a prostutition conviction on her criminal record is not helping her. Pushing disputes between the two parties (customer and prostitute) out of the realm of civil courts and into the underworld invites in the pimps. At any rate keep your laws of her body! Feminists would agree with me, if not they are not feminists but hypocrites.
True enough rob. Although it is a terrible shame when humans are reduced to the sum of their parts, not recognized as thinking, feeling human beings. Prostitution has a tendency to allow women to be viewed as nothing more than pieces of meat to be purchased to have sex with, then discarded afterwards. It is very similar to pre-Civil War slavery, when you really think about it- viewing the girls prior to purchasing their services is exactly like viewing men/women/children on the auction block, choosing which one to buy. It is a sick industry, anything that reduces the dignity of a human being.
Not a city I would want to live anywhere near. The Liberals and Progressives have flushed Detroit down the toilet. No one deserves to have this happen to them.
Just what does ones political affiliation have to do with this at all?? Lets keep this on the real issue here...
SweetAZ you are joking when you asked your question - right? Political affiliation is at the core of the problem. Conservatives want the police to enforce the laws and get tough with criminals be they majority or minority. Liberals always feel that we should give killers a second chance since they might have had a troubled childhood. Same thing for child sex offenders.
If we arrest criminals and get drugs off our streets this kind of thing would not have happened. We need to get tough on crime and stop codling criminals.
Escort services are illigal and if these girls had been jailed for this kind of activity they might be alive today.
Now do you understand?
Wow.....institutionalize? You must be kidding me. And just who is going to pay for placing them in said institutions? A conservative?? Secondly...what troubled people are we speaking of here...except maybe the person (s) responsible for killing these ladies?
Like I said - lock up the criminals and make our streets save.
And while I agree with not coddling criminals (and I am far from being conservative)...and trust me, I have ZERO compassion for those sick individuals that molest children...rob...cheat ...steal...rape...et al, our system is not capable of housing them...it simply isn't. We ar eletting them go in favor of housing the more violent...it is what it is. SO...instead of saying throw them in jail and toss out the key...maybe we should be looking at this a bit more simplistic fashion...
SweetAZ I will bet you a steak dinner at the restaurant of your choosing anywhere in Texas that the individuals that committed this crime had a prior police record and were released on numerous occasions.
Well Joyce...maybe they have, maybe they haven't BUT statistically, these sort of crimes are conducted by middle age white males with families (as someone above aptly mentioned). Most have some sort of mundane job and have no more than a speeding ticket in their past. Look through history...even recent history...BTK, Green River...etc...
Joyce,
You are very naive, Detroit has over 600 murders a year, killers are not deterred by the death penalty or increased law enforcement--why???because they don't give a $hit, they truly do not believe they will ever be caught. They all believe they will get away with it and many times they do. However, if a killer is caught and convicted he doesn't get a "second chance" he goes to prison for life.
"get drugs off the street" your joking right? The war on drugs has been going on for about eight decades now and the problem has only expanded and gotten much worse and the drugs far more potent. The 'war" on drugs is a complete failure because it fails to get to the root causes of drug use, which is a socialogical and medical problem. Drug users are for the most part non-violent when drug uses is decriminalized.
As far as 'escort services" go , this is the oldest profession world wide and so far no one, even those with death by stoning as the penalty, have been able to stop it. If you have any real ideas here I am sure the whole world will be listening.
"Getting tough on criminals" is very successful at creating better and more violent criminals. Increase the penalties for minor offenses and murder is an immediate choice since its better to dismiss witnesses than face them in court.
These girls are dead because they violated some code of behavior in their world, maybe they decided to freelance on their own, or they screwed up a drug deal, or they borrowed money from the wrong people, in any case in the underworld they live in they have no where to go and no one to go to.
And people like you want to make sure they will never have anyone to go to. In your black and white world those who go astray deserve to die in a trunk.
That is why it should be in state run houses. Go after the Johns on the street, lock them up! if given the choice of a legal run house versus jail time for picking up a street walker, run their picture in the paper, if you can't stop it fix it.
Joyce - You obviously have not kept with the news - Michigan is run by a Republican governor - who is now taking over cities - putting aside elected officials and placing his own people in to run those cities
It's been all over the news, except Faux News - that is
I'm waiting for the Judicial System to look into this - clear violation of civil rights
Now as to these deaths - it happens all across the country - Liberal and Conservative States - and I doubt politics had anything to do with this - so why are you so fixated
Joyce what is your LABLE? You lable most everyone liberal as if it is a 4 letter word. What is wrong with being
a liberal we have our way of thinking just like you. I glad I live where I'm free to think like I choose.
Barbara....my my my how one side can present the truth! How many of you commenting live in Detroit? Tap Tap Tap... hello is this mike on? Barbara in specific, can you tell me the name of the former mayor and maybe the mayors for the past 12 years? And while your at it where has the mayor lived for the past few years.....and were is he and ALL of his administration (besides the old Police chief) about to live for about 20 years? The City of Pontiac was assigned a Financial Manager because it was broke and slipping into lawlessness. I.E. No Police! The City of Detroit will be broke by April to the tune of 73 Million dollars. One of my best freinds was clubbed over the head and set on fire. The police didnt even show up, the fire dept found him 2 days later in his car.
Sweet AZ - This is DETROIT - and as the commercial for Chrysler says - " This is Detroit, this is what we do..." . And this is so true. I live about 25 miles north of De-town. This wasn't any white middle aged guy. This was done by De-troit Scum. Detroit is over 85 percent black in the city. What do you think the odds are a white guy did this??????
These were not 'innocent' little girls trying to earn money to get thru school.......
This is typical Detroit 'hoody' justice for whatever B.S. reason. Somebody did somebody wrong, and somebody pays...........
You live like a jungle animal, you die like an animal.
J Burk...how would you know unless you were there? You have ZERO knowledge of these women...and for that matter, lets just say you are right (snort but for arguments sake)...it matters not how they got to that point, they still died and for that we should be compassionate. Where is your heart?
If he isnt careful like any of us who live either in or new Detroit his heart will end up in a body bag.
Sweet Az — have lived here for over 16 years. This kind of crime is typical. It happens all the time in these areas. I know the area where this happened. Most good folks black or white, stay out these areas for good reason. The stupid people on the other hand are drawn to them like moths to a fire.........
LOL Joyce. How much money did the leaders of the RNC spend at that strip club again?
Is Obama cleaning out the skeletons in his closet?
Unecessary and tasteless
Dan 2035414 at first I was going to make a mean response to your comment but, I am better than than that. I feel sorry for you and people like you.
Ironic thing is it usually is a middle to upper class dude who is married with a family that are serial killers/rapists....
Dan, we know where the president is anyone seen Bush or Cheney lately? You know Dick has those heart problem maybe he got mad when he could get a stiff and offed the ladies.
Four young women have been killed by some one that could afford to pay for their services, regardless of what the services were, they should never have been killed and left in the trunks of their cars like that. OR it was some smart ass guy that killed them because he didn't want to pay for their services.
What should be investigated, if they worked for an Escort Service , there should be ample information about who made the initial contact and made arrangements to meet " Girls ".. THE contract should be signed using legal ID for reference and a large percentage or full charge be paid up front.
So sorry about the girls losing their lives... My sincerest sympathy is extended to the loved ones and families of the girls.
F.A. Taylor - More like one pimp daddy took out his enemies girls, so the other pimp daddy played "do unto others, as they do to you".........
Ever heard of handlers? An ardent supporter? There are more unusual conspiracy theories.
sounds like a drug related or gang related pimp attack! no mercy shown these victim's, no one deserves this. I hope they catch the bastards nail their toy to a wooden floor and set the building ablaze, just for the hell of it give them a dull knife. they can choose to burn to death or bleed to death.
So if a Republican contests a conspiracy we are crazy but if a Democrat does it then they must be on to something. Hardheadedness knows no parties. I admit I can be that way sometimes and always try to listen to the opinions of others . Do you?
Is this what people mean when they say junk in the trunk?
Whoa....how incredibly rude and heartless. You are one sorry excuse for a human being...
A small group of congressmen (Democrats ) think a state run house would help solve the issue of sex crimes. and sexually transmitted disease's but they cant get funding to pay the girls, so in a drastic attempt to get it going they have decided to run it by hand till they have the capital to hire the girls. at least they are trying.
I wonder if there are any connections between these killings and the killing of those escorts on Long Island? Did our Long Island perpetrator move to Detroit?
The worlds oldest profession is not necessarily the safest.
Sure Tarzan...but I'll bet you its a Conservative they are looking for....
I love how people that comment on articles on MSN will always, inevitably, somehow find a way to inject politics into everything.
This could have been an article about a kitten attacking a sock, and some moron somewhere would have posted "Oh look, the kitten must be <insert political affiliation here> because it's attacking a sock that only <insert opposing political affiliation here> would wear!"
Seriously, people. Not everything around you is politically motivated. Not everything around you has some sort of political connection. Not everything around you is affected by politics in some way. Get your heads out of your a$$es and just see this incident for what it is: A terrible case of murder being committed by what could very well be a serial murderer, who may or may not be one ethnicity or another; who could be dirt poor or wealthy; who may or may not have been a pimp or a drug dealer.
While we're on that subject, who's to say anything with these deaths had anything to do with drugs? Maybe it was just the work of some sick nutjob who hired these women from the site, lured them in and killed them? Who's to say drugs were involved at all?
I want to end this article by quoting my favorite line: "Assumption is the mother of all ---kups."
Now that is what I am talking about! Nice job.
The article was not very informative! and how do you know it was a man? some of those women can be pretty ruthless when it comes to their territory, crimes by women are on the rise.
Sebastion23, you are so right! It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who will blame someone on 'The Hill' for every single thing that is wrong with the world.. It doesn't matter if it's a serial killer or a gang of street thugs, according to these numb-nuts in here who make it a habit of commenting, it just HAS to be either President Obama, the Conservatives or Liberals or the Democrats or the Tea Party or the Republicans or a combination of all of them who are actually at the bottom of these crimes..
I suppose they just cannot accept that fact that this is probably the work of a lone serial killer or, perhaps, a couple of demented creeps, who knows? The point is you will NEVER convince these idiots, who are positive all bad things in life are the result of our government, that someone OTHER then it's members had a hand in these murders..
It would be funny if it weren't so horribly sad..
This is all too common. Thats why it's illegal! If these escorts were smarter, they wouldnt be in this line of work, they'd be strippers! either way noone deserves to be killed Drugs and desperation are a deadly mix!
bax:
Hookers can make more money, and strippers generally have to be semi-attractive. Anybody can hook.
You can see that prostitution is not tolerable by the communities anymore. They shut down the most popular site dealing with this (craigslist) and are in the process of shutting down the next (backpage). It is sad to say that when you shut down one that advertises prostitution like classivox another takes its place like however.
Obviously the girls had to be together or knew where the other was and if one don't return , maybe the other checked on her.. she could have discovered serious trouble and because she saw something, she had to get killed to silence her.
Maybe we have a new Jack the Ripper on our hands here.
The clue that it is "Jack" the ripper is that "jacks" are found in the truck...ehhh, trunk of cars!
Kenesha...Ranesha...Yanesha...Banesha...Nesha...Yolanda (oops)....Sounds very Detroit. The Chrysler commerical is my favorite Lamont land (Damont, Jamont, Ramont...dang this is easy) when the video of Eight Mile Road pops up. I was at Lasher and Eight Mile (Southfield area) Road last January when a gun fight broke out near the McDonalds...Luckily I was headed back to the Lodge Highway but I heard the shots...Maybe Kenesha was pissed cause the crack dried up....just sayin you knows....
Pretty sad. I hope that someone...one day, if needed....shows your more compassion than what you have just given. I cant take this anymore...its painful to see fellow human beings be so callous and cruel. God bless you...even if you do not afford that to others.
Okay, I am going to finally stop reading these posts on any topic. The schoolyard mentality of the attempt at humor is beyond heartless. Good riddance, trolls.
makes me think ...we need a song for this occasion...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K13hH0pJx5s bye bye...