New homeowner's renovations uncover bodies of couple hidden in shed by former housemate: Police

A 44-year-old antheral successful Michigan is accused of killing a antheral and pistillate whose bodies were discovered hidden wrong a shed aft a caller homeowner moved into the residence.

Rajai Keyontae Brown was taken into custody this week and charged with 2 counts of unfastened execution successful the 2023 slayings of Tarra Mayes and Alfred Simpson, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, the bodies of Mayes and Simpson were discovered connected Aug. 22, 2023, wrong "an exterior shed" astatine a residence successful the 900 artifact of North Rose Street, which is astir 140 miles westbound of Detroit. An idiosyncratic who had precocious purchased the location and was successful the process of renovating it archetypal came crossed the bodies, which were some successful precocious stages of decomposition.

Evidence collected from the spot indicated that some victims had been dormant "for a important play of time" anterior to being found, constabulary said.

Shortly aft the bodies were uncovered, investigators determined that the victims were successful a romanticist narration and had antecedently lived successful the location on with Brown, according to Grand Rapids Fox affiliate WXMI.

Witnesses reportedly told investigators they had not heard from either Mayes oregon Simpson since March 13, 2022. This matched cellphone information showing that the past clip the victims' devices shared determination information was the aforesaid date.

A forensic hunt of Brown's cellphone showed that helium was successful the aforesaid determination arsenic the victims connected March 13, 2022, and did not permission the country until March 14, 2022, Grand Rapids CBS affiliate WWMT reported.

Additionally, investigators spoke to an idiosyncratic who claimed that Brown confessed to sidesplitting the victims sometime during the outpouring oregon summertime of 2022, WXMI reported. Brown reportedly told the witnesser that Mayes had attacked him with a knife, starring him to stab her during the ensuing struggle. Brown further claimed that helium stabbed Simpson with the weapon erstwhile helium attempted to intervene connected behalf of Mayes.

"This apprehension is the effect of tireless dedication and unwavering absorption by our detectives, who ne'er mislaid show of our work to the victims' families to clasp the offender accountable for his actions," Capt. Danielle Guilds of the KPD Criminal Investigations Division said successful a connection pursuing the arrest.

Brown connected Wednesday appeared earlier Kalamazoo County District Judge Tiffany A. Ankley, who ordered him to stay successful detention without bond. He is presently scheduled to marque his adjacent quality successful tribunal for a preliminary exam connected March 4.