Detroit police are investigating the deaths of three men found in the basement of a southwest Detroit house after officers in the area for a missing-person call were approached by a man who said he had been assaulted inside the home and that people were dead inside.
The men were identified as Norman Hamlin, 66, William Barrett, 72, and Mark Barnett, 65, authorities said. Police said all three suffered blunt force trauma and two also had stab wounds. Detectives are trying to determine who had access to the home, when the men were attacked, and whether the deaths connect to the missing-person report that brought officers into the neighborhood.
Officers were near Fort Street shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, canvassing in response to a missing-person report when a man ran up to them and said he had been assaulted inside a nearby house on Edsel Street, police said. Detroit Police Cmdr. Rebecca McKay, who oversees major crimes, said the man told officers there were dead people inside the home. Police went to the address in the 3100 block of Edsel Street, near Francis Avenue and close to Fort Street and Outer Drive, and entered the house, McKay said. In the basement, officers found three adult men who appeared to have been “brutally assaulted,” she said. Investigators said blood was visible throughout the home and the men were found wrapped in towels and carpeting. All three were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Detroit police officials said the way the men were found suggested someone tried to conceal the bodies. Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald said Thursday night that the victims were left under coverings in the basement. “They were left in a basement area covered in old, dirty clothing, and one person was covered in a carpet,” Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald said detectives believe the killings occurred sometime between Tuesday afternoon and early Wednesday morning, though police have not released a detailed timeline of when each man was last seen alive. Investigators said Hamlin, who police described as the homeowner, had not been seen since Monday and was reported missing Wednesday, the call that initially drew officers to the area.
The man who approached officers gave an account that detectives are still sorting out. Police said he claimed he had been attacked at the house the day before and struck twice in the back of the head with a hammer. Authorities have not publicly said whether he is being treated as a victim, a witness, or a suspect, and they have not said whether his account has been corroborated. Police also have not said whether the victims were killed in the basement or elsewhere in the house and later moved. Investigators have not publicly described any weapons recovered from the scene, and they have not said whether the hammer described by the man has been located.
As of Thursday night, authorities had not announced an arrest or publicly named a suspect. Fitzgerald said police had identified a person of interest, but he and other officials did not confirm whether anyone had been taken into custody. Police have also not said whether the attacks were targeted, whether the men knew their killer, or whether an argument or dispute inside the house preceded the violence. Fitzgerald said speculation about drugs being used at the home had circulated, but he said police could not confirm that as the investigation continued. Detectives have described the home as a place where people came and went, and Fitzgerald said the man who lived there opened it to many people, a detail he said complicates efforts to narrow who was present around the time investigators believe the killings happened.
Police have not said whether Barrett and Barnett lived at the house, were visiting, or were being held there, and investigators have not described the relationship among the three men. Autopsies were expected to determine exact causes of death and may help establish a clearer timeline, authorities said. Police said the injuries included blunt force trauma for all three men and stab wounds for two of them. Beyond that, officials have withheld many details about the nature of the injuries and the condition of the basement, saying the case remained in early stages and that detectives were still collecting evidence.
Residents in the area watched the investigation unfold behind yellow police tape, describing shock mixed with a sense that the house had drawn attention before. Thomas Barnes, who lives nearby and leads the local block club, said he did not hear anything unusual around the time investigators believe the killings happened. “It just leaves you kind of like, what do you do, what do you say?” Barnes said in an interview carried by local media. Barnes said the block club recently changed its name to Harmony Village, a detail he described as bitterly ironic after the discovery. Another neighbor, Joel Bond, described Hamlin as a Marine veteran and “a good man” who struggled with addiction. Bond said Hamlin appeared to have tried to create a place where others could come over, but he said the arrangement could become dangerous when unknown people are involved.
Police said investigators worked through the night after the bodies were found, searching for physical evidence, looking for video, and trying to identify who might have been near the house. Fitzgerald said detectives were seeking surveillance footage and other technology that could help establish who entered or left the area. “We were out there all night, looking for any kind of evidence we could find, video assets, any kind of technology we could discover to help move things along,” he said. Authorities have not released information about vehicles connected to the house or whether any were seized as part of the investigation, though local coverage described law enforcement activity continuing at the scene for hours.
A retired Detroit police official, speaking in a televised interview, said the intensity of the violence could suggest the attacker was known to the victims and that investigators would likely focus on associates and frequent visitors connected to the property. Police have not embraced that view publicly, and they have not said whether they believe one person acted alone or whether multiple people could be involved. They also have not said whether robbery, a personal dispute, or another motive is being considered. Detectives have emphasized that many key facts remain unknown, including how the killer entered the home, whether the victims were attacked at the same time, and what happened in the hours before the missing-person report was made.
Investigators have not said whether the triple homicide is connected to the missing-person inquiry beyond Hamlin being listed as the missing person, and they have not explained why officers were canvassing near Fort Street when the man approached them with the assault claim. Police also have not said whether there were prior calls for service at the address, whether any other people were inside the home when officers arrived, or whether residents had reported concerns about activity at the property before the killings were discovered. Officials have said they are balancing the need to protect the investigation with the public’s demand for information in a case that has drawn citywide attention.
The investigation is now moving into steps that can take days or weeks in a homicide case with limited public evidence: reviewing witness statements, checking nearby cameras, tracing phone and vehicle activity, and waiting for medical examiner findings that may narrow the window of time. Police urged anyone who saw unusual activity near Edsel Street, Francis Avenue, Fort Street, or Outer Drive from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning to share what they know. Investigators said tips can be directed to the Detroit Police Department’s homicide section and to Crime Stoppers. Police have not said when they expect to release additional details, and they have not announced a scheduled public briefing.
As of Thursday night, police said the case remained active and preliminary, with detectives still working to lock down the basic sequence of events that led to three men being found dead in a basement after a missing-person call. Authorities said they would provide more information as identifications, evidence, and next steps are confirmed.
Author note: Last updated February 19, 2026.