Mayor Mike Duggan predicted it would take two weeks to check 1,000 properties on Detroit's east side. Other crews then will board up the houses, a job that could last through July, before they're eventually demolished.
The bodies of three women have been found in separate vacant houses since March, the latest one Wednesday. Only one so far has been ruled a homicide. But Duggan said there's a "strong possibility" that one person is responsible for the deaths. Police Chief James Craig believes the women could have been lured into blighted houses, raped and killed. He suspects two worked in the sex trade.He asked for the public's help to identify the third victim: a black woman, 5 feet tall and 100 pounds with short hair. The other women have been identified as Nancy Harrison, 52, and Trevesene Ellis, 53.
"We have been getting regular leads, tips" about the deaths this week, Craig said. "We're following up on each and every one. ... We're going to find this violent predatory criminal." Abandoned houses have marred Detroit for years. The city has demolished about 18,000 properties since 2014 and has another 18,000 houses to go, Duggan said.Detroit police seek 'serial murderer' in deaths of 3 womenDetroit Police Chief James Craig answers questions during a press conference, Friday, June 7, 2019, at the Detroit Police Headquarters in Detroit, addressing the police response to a possible serial killer.