9 Famous Homicides In Michigan That Will Never Be Forgotten
By Serena Maria Daniels|Updated on July 02, 2023(Originally published June 30, 2023)
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Serena Maria Daniels
Author
Serena Maria Daniels is an award-winning freelance journalist in Detroit, by way of Chicago, by way of the West Coast. She writes about Michigan for OIYS. Serena enjoys learning about language and culture and taking road trips with her beagle Ralph.
Serial killers in Michigan are considered among the lowest members of society. They’re seen as having no regard for human life. Yet, we seem to have a relentless fascination with them. True crime stories have exploded in popularity over the last few years. The images of famous murderers flood our news reports; they are the subjects of movies, and we can’t seem to take our eyes off the developments of their murder trials. Just like any other state, there have been plenty of famous murders in Michigan. The most notorious of these famous Michigan murders have cemented their place in history. Here are some of the most well-known Michigan murders from throughout history:
Paul Jaworski was born in Poland in 1900 and came to the United States as a child. He was the leader of the Flathead gang, a notorious gang around Detroit that operated during Prohibition. He and his gang robbed The Detroit News offices (pictured) in 1928 and also committed the first robbery of an armed car. Jaworski was found guilty of 20 murders and was executed via the electric chair in 1929.
John Eric Armstrong was a former Navy sailor who was honorably discharged. He was stationed all over the world during his service and claimed to have murdered nearly a dozen women in multiple states and countries. In 2000, he reported finding a body in the river in Dearborn Heights, which put him on the police radar. It was eventually discovered that he killed that victim, as well as several other prostitutes between 1992 and 1999. The exact number of victims from the serial killer in Michigan is unknown. In 2001, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Abuelazam is better known as the "Flint Serial Killer" or the "Serial Slasher." Between March 2009 and August 201, he went on a stabbing spree in Michigan, Virginia, and Ohio. In all, he injured 18 and killed another five victims. His crimes were believed to be racially-motivated, as most of his victims were African Americans. In 2012, he was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.
You may have also heard Collins referred to as the "Ypsilanti Ripper," "Co-Ed Killer," or "Michigan Murder." This serial killer in Michigan was at the center of a series of high profile homicide that rocked the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti areas from 1967-1969. In all, he's suspecting of having killed 6-7 young women, though he was only convicted for one. He is currently serving a life sentence in prison.
Rudy Bladel is also known as the "Railway Killer." He was found guilty of killing between three and seven railroad workers in a series of famous murders in Michigan and Indiana between 1963 and 1978. It is thought that his crimes were motivated by his distress at having been fired from his job as a railroad fireman. He received three consecutive life sentences and died in prison in 2006.
This famous murder in Michigan made the news largely thanks to the young age of the defendant. Dankovich was just 15 years old in 2005 when he stabbed his mother 111 times at their home in Rochester Hills. He was a model student at the illustrious Rochester Adams High School (pictured). As heinous as the crime was, he convinced a court that he had been abused as a child. He was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison, where he remains today.
In 2007, Grant was convicted for killing his wife, Tara Grant, and dismembering her. Police found her torso and other body parts in Mount Clemens (pictured), the Detroit suburb where the couple's home was located. Grant's lawyers got his charge reduced to second-degree murder, and in 2008, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
One of the deadliest Michigan murders ever was a horrific massacre committed by Kehoe in 1927. He was angered at having lost a race for the school superintendent position, so he killed his wife and then placed bombs at the local Bath Township school. In all, 44 people were killed, then Kehoe killed himself. This horrific act remains the deadliest incident to ever occur on a U.S. school campus.
This Michigan murder captivated a national audience thanks to the salacious details and the fact that it took place in the wealthy city of Grosse Point Park. Bashara was sentenced to life in prison for hiring a mentally disabled handyman as a hit man to kill his wife, Jane, in 2012. His hope was to live as a sadomasochistic master and rule over his girlfriend and a harem of other women in his sex dungeon. Bashara was also found guilty for trying to put a hit on the hit man himself. He passed away in prison in 2020.
Check out this documentary from Youtube user Well, I Never about the forgotten Bath School massacre:
Having committed some of the most famous murders in Michigan, these men were truly disturbed, but perhaps even more troubling were the so-called reasons for some of these crimes. Which famous murders in Michigan have kept you up at night? Did you know about these serial killers in Michigan? What other infractions are among the worst crimes in Michigan history? We want to hear from you, so tell us!
Famous murders in Michigan aren’t the only crimes that have been committed in the state. In fact, you might have committed a crime and not even known it, and that’s because there are some crazy laws in Michigan.
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