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Mon, 23 Jun 2025 18:25:05 -0700
marlon from private IP, post #10663819
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murder of doctor
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2025/06/23/mom-of-suspect-in-murder-of-detroit-neurosurgeon-testifies-against-him/84316534007/
Mother of suspect in murder of Detroit neurosurgeon testifies against him
Portrait of Kara BergKara Berg
The Detroit News
Detroit — When the mother of a Detroit man accused of killing Dr. Devon Hoover was shown a video of a man walking outside the doctor’s white Range Rover the
day before his body was found, she testified Monday that she knew it was her son because of the way the man walked.
Testifying on the first day of Desmond Burks' preliminary exam in Detroit's 36th District Court, Burks' mother said her son has a distinct walk and walks with
limp because he'd previously gotten shot. As she told the court the person was her son, her voice broke slightly.
Burks' mom was one of two people who took the stand Monday at the start of what's expected to be a four-day exam to determine if there is enough evidence for
Burks to stand trial for Hoover's murder. District Court Judge Shawn Jacque ordered that no witness names can be published in the press to protect the
witnesses' safety and because of the continuing investigation.
Desmond Burks, who is accused of murdering Dr. Devon Hoover, sits for his preliminary examination in the courtroom of Judge Shawn Jacque at 36th District Court
in Detroit, Monday, June 23, 2025. (Jose Juarez/Special to Detroit News)
Hoover, 53, was found dead in an attic crawlspace in his Boston-Edison home April 23, 2023 — the day after the video was taken — wrapped in a comforter,
sheet and carpet during a wellness check on him, Detroit police said. Police discovered he was dead while performing two wellness checks on him after his white
Range Rover was found parked in front of someone's driveway down the road from Hoover's house.
Though prosecutors on Monday did not say where this video was from, a woman called 911 April 22, 2023, to report that the SUV was parked in front of her
driveway, about eight miles away from Hoover's Boston-Edison home.
A Detroit police officer who spoke to the 911 caller said he saw blood in the driver's seat, back seat and on the steering wheel of the Range Rover.
He had two other officers perform a wellness check on Hoover. The first check, around 6:30 p.m., was unsuccessful as officers knocked and peered in some windows
but did not hear from anyone, according to video played in court Monday.
Desmond Burks, left, who is accused of murdering Dr. Devon Hoover, talks with his defense attorney, Gabi Silver, during his preliminary examination in the
courtroom of Judge Shawn Jacque at 36th District Court in Detroit, Monday, June 23, 2025. (Jose Juarez/Special to Detroit News)
Officers returned the next day to do a welfare check on Hoover at the request of his family, according to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Police officers
found what appeared to be blood on the back door of Hoover’s home, forced entry into the home and found Hoover’s body wrapped in a blood-soaked carpet.
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According to the autopsy report, Hoover had been shot twice in the head, first behind the ear from a distance away, then in the back of the head at close
range.
Hoover’s cellphone, wallet, credit cards, money and two watches worth more than $6,000 were missing from his home, Worthy said. There were also multiple
fraudulent financial transactions made from his bank account, she said.
After Burks' mom's testimony on Monday, the 34-year-old told her, “I love you,” as she left the courtroom and Jacque scolded him.
Dr. Devon Hoover, as show in his Facebook profile picture, was a local neurosurgeon in Detroit.
Burks — who is charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, larceny, using a computer to commit a crime, felon in possession of a firearm and three counts
of felony firearm — was originally arrested five days after Hoover was found dead, but was released three days later without being charged.
He has been the main suspect in the case since police found Hoover’s body, Detroit Police Chief James White said in August last year. He has been surveilled
since then, White said, and has been in the Wayne County Jail since May 2024, when he was charged with committing another homicide.
In that case, Burks faces charged related to a road-rage homicide in May 2024, stemming from an April 2024 incident when Reda Saleh, 67, bumped into Burks’
vehicle. Both men got out of their vehicles and got into an argument, Worthy said, and Burks allegedly punched Saleh and left him lying unconscious in the
street. Salah later died of his injuries.
Hoover was a neurosurgeon with Ascension Healthcare, which operates St. John Hospital in Detroit. Prior to that, he was a resident in Henry Ford's neurosurgery
program from 1997-2002.
Testimony will continue Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Burks' preliminary examination.
kberg@detroitnews.com
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