Dr. Devon Hoover (inset) and the Detroit-area mansion where he was murdered (WJBK/screengrab)
While speaking a Detroit Board of Police Commissioners meeting after four months of near radio silence, the Motor City’s top cop told concerned friends of murdered neurosurgeon Dr. Devon Hoover that his department is “prepared to make an announcement” about a suspect “before snow hits the ground.”
The details of Detroit Police Chief James White’s public remarks were first reported by local ABC affiliate WXYZ on Thursday.
The police chief carefully hedged his words, as he has done in the past, when discussing the Hoover investigation, but he nonetheless provided a glimpse into the status of the probe — at least as cops see it.
“We are very confident we are going to bring this family justice. We are confident that we are aware of circumstances. We are confident in our suspect,” White reportedly said in response to a question raised by Hoover’s friend Jeff Cowin. “We just need a little bit more time to work with the prosecutor’s office and we have a to-do list, and we’re prepared to make an announcement before snow hits the ground. We just have a lot of work to do.”
It’s unclear what “a lot of work” entails but it’s notable the police chief said publicly that there is a suspect and that a major development in the investigation could drop in the coming months.
In May, Chief White revealed that police had identified a person of interest. The chief said that although he was confident the person of interest “knows something about” the murder of Dr. Hoover, that person was released from custody “following prosecutorial review,” presumably because investigators still lacked smoking gun evidence.
“We can confirm that the person of interest taken into custody on April 28 has been discharged following prosecutorial review,” cops said at the time. “Homicide personnel will continue to investigate the information in its possession and follow up on any leads it receives.”
Chief White clarified that the then-person of interest was taken into custody on an unrelated warrant, but he did not reveal any details about what the warrant was for — only saying “[w]e are confident as a police agency that this person knows something about what occurred.”
Dr. Hoover was found dead on April 23 in his Boston-Edison, Michigan, mansion. The neurosurgeon, 53, had been shot multiple times in the head and was wrapped in a blanket in an attic crawl space.
The discovery of Hoover’s body was made after cops after received a call from a member of Hoover’s family, when the doctor did not show up at event he was supposed to attend.
Authorities have said they are also investigating a break-in through a rear window at the mansion that happened the night before Hoover’s funeral.
“This was not a random act,” White said previously of the slaying.
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Dr. Hoover was a “board certified neurosurgeon and has a special interest in the treatment of neck and back disorders,” Ascension Michigan’s website said.
One of his longtime patients and friends Janet Rohloff told WXYZ that Hoover was not only a brilliant man but also among the “kindest human beings I’ll probably ever know.”
“They don’t make them like that,” she reportedly said, adding later: “If God created more Dr. Hoovers, we’d all be better off.”
On the police chief’s remark about a possible development in the investigation before snowfall? Rohloff took the approach of believing it when she sees it.
“I hope for that,” she told WXYZ.
A couple of weeks after the person of interest announcement in May, local NBC affiliate WDIV reported that police had not yet found the gun used to commit the murder. Despite that, the unnamed sources cited in the article said, there is other key evidence in the possession of investigators, including: DNA found at the crime scene, texts, and video inside the mansion.
Reading between the lines, it seems police already have significant evidence in their possession, but there’s still a “to-do list” — evidentiary hurdles to clear — with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office before firmly establishing probable cause and filing charges.
Tragically, Hoover was killed in a home he “loved,” according to his obituary. The Indiana-born doctor bought the mansion in 2008 and “had been steadily transforming it room by room with period decor and carefully selected antiques.”
“He was essentially the curator of his own museum, which he loved sharing with friends, family, and visitors,” the obit said.
More than $20,000 in reward money was raised by Dr. Hoover’s friends and family in the hopes that the funds would “motivate the right person with the information the police need to come forward with the leads necessary to help arrest and prosecute the killer(s).”
“Dr. Hoover was a revered neurosurgeon with a successful practice in Detroit, Michigan. A well-loved and kind brother to six sisters, an uncle and great uncle, and the only and beloved son to his parents, Devon was a pillar in his neighborhood community and a dear friend to many,” the GoFundMe page said. “He was well-known as a generous, compassionate man. He hosted neighborhood Christmas parties, invested in the Detroit Opera by serving on the board, and touched the lives of his patients with both surgical skill and uncommon kindness.”
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