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Five unhoused men have been found dead along roughly one mile of the Lansing River Trail since October 2025, and investigators have not determined whether a single attacker is responsible. One person has been charged in a single stabbing; four other deaths remain under investigation as the city has stepped up lighting, patrols and surveillance along the greenway.
A concentrated year of violence
The sequence began on October 14, 2025, when 54-year-old Gino Chouinard was found unconscious along the trail with severe head and rib injuries and later died in hospital; the Ingham County Medical Examiner subsequently listed his cause of death as indeterminate. After nearly nine months with no public developments, four more men were discovered between July and August 2026 in the same cluster of bridges and underpasses.
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On July 9, 2026, officers found 70-year-old Denis Dunnebacke beneath the Kalamazoo Street Bridge with facial injuries; he died on July 16 and his cause of death was also ruled indeterminate. Four days later, on July 13, 57-year-old Robert William Smith was found bleeding from the head at a nearby stretch of the trail and later died; that death was ruled a homicide. On August 20, 22-year-old Daniel Lusk was found fatally stabbed beneath the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Ten days later, on August 30, 57‑year‑old Louis Woodruff was located under the Robert Busby Memorial Bridge at about 3:24 a.m.; he was hospitalized and died on September 1, and the medical examiner ruled that death a homicide.
Arrest in one case, questions about links
Police say surveillance footage and physical evidence tied Edward Joseph Smith, 23, to the stabbing death of Daniel Lusk. Court records describe video showing a man leaving the scene, walking across downtown Lansing and pausing at a public fountain to rinse his arm; investigators say blood was recovered from that fountain and a sweatshirt found in the suspect’s tent matched what was seen on camera. Smith was arraigned on September 3 on a charge of open murder as a habitual second offender and is being held without bond pending a court-ordered mental health evaluation. Authorities have not named him as a suspect in the other deaths.
Investigators note differences among the cases: four victims were older than 50 and most fatalities involved apparent blunt-force trauma to the face, while the Lusk case involved a stabbing and both victim and charged suspect were in their 20s. Police have not publicly concluded whether the same person committed all five attacks.
Public alarm and official response
At an October 2 news conference, Lansing Police Chief Robert Backus summarized common features of the incidents — the victims were White men experiencing homelessness, the attacks appeared to occur between roughly 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., and evidence suggests some victims were lying down, possibly asleep, when struck — and asked publicly, “Do we have a serial killer in Lansing?” He also described the question as “a challenging question to answer.”
Criminologists interviewed by local media emphasized investigative obstacles when victims are unhoused. Dr. David Hayes told FOX 2 Detroit that people living outside often leave little digital or routine footprint for detectives to follow, and Michigan State University criminology professor Karen Holt told Fox News, “Don’t walk the trail would be my advice. Maybe walk a different trail.”
Security measures and ongoing investigations
Michigan State University police said they have increased lighting on their portion of the River Trail, installed Green Light emergency phones with cameras and begun round‑the‑clock bicycle patrols, according to MSU Police Chief Chris Rozman. The Lansing Police Department has deployed mobile camera trailers, increased overnight patrols and added social workers to engage with people sleeping on the trail. The department has also established a dedicated tip line for River Trail incidents at (517) 483-6023.
As of October 23, 2026, four of the five homicide investigations remain open and no additional arrests have been announced. Key findings, victim details and investigative steps described here were reported by Latin Times and attributed statements come from the agencies and media outlets cited above.
