‘Heartless and Violent’ Homeless Man Arrested in Homicide

Ferndale police have arrested a homeless man authorities described as “heartless and violent” in a Tuesday murder in Devon Square Apartments.

Ferndale Police Lt. William Wilson said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon that an arrest was made a day and a half after the discovery of the body of an elderly man who was “physically and mentally infirm – and by that I mean he had some health issues and mentally he was slow – and described by others as being a friendly individual, maybe a gullible type, willing to take people in and be taken advantage of.”

The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of family, Oakland County One-Fifteen reports.

The suspect – a homeless 35-year-old white male who is known in Hazel Park, Ferndale and Royal Oak – was taken into custody Wednesday in the area of 8 Mile and I-75, where he was known to beg for money, Wilson said.

The identity of the suspect, who Wilson said answered to “Will,” “Bill” and “Wild Bill,” has not been released.

Wilson said in the news conference that the victim and suspect occasionally came and went together, and the suspect has been seen using the keys to the apartment. Police had called the news conference to ask the public's help in locating the suspect, but that proved unnecessary when he was arrested.

Authorities discovered the victim’s body Tuesday in his first floor apartment, then reviewed security video that showed him coming and going with the suspect. At some point before the discovery of the victim’s body, the suspect is seen on the video coming and going from the apartment alone, using the victim’s keys.

Wilson declined to reveal details of the crime.