The Aporia · Lansing police investigating possible serial killer after 5 deaths

Lansing police investigating possible serial killer after 5 deaths

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Meyers, E. (2026, October 8). Lansing police investigating possible serial killer after 5 deaths. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lansing-police-investigate-five-deaths-serial-killer/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Lansing police are investigating five violent deaths of unhoused men along the River Trail between Old Town and Kalamazoo Street in Lansing, Michigan. The victims range from 22 to 70 years old and died between injuries to their heads and stabbing. Police Chief Robert Backus stated that these cases are all active investigations and there is a possibility they could be connected, suggesting a potential serial killer. Criminologists note the vulnerability of unhoused individuals as targets and highlight recent improvements in police techniques that may aid in solving such crimes quickly.

Written by AI on 2026-10-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 15, 2026, Lansing Police Chief Robert Backus is investigating whether recent attacks along the Lansing River Trail indicate a serial killer targeting unhoused individuals. Over the past year, five homeless men were found dead on a one-mile stretch of the trail between midnight and 6 AM; four suffered severe head injuries, while one was stabbed to death. The police have arrested Edward Joseph Smith for the stabbing but he is not charged in the other deaths. Chief Backus confirmed that authorities are examining patterns and trends among these incidents but no definitive conclusions have been drawn yet. This situation has heightened concerns about safety and public notification policies within the city, especially given Lansing's growing homeless population. The city responded by increasing patrols and deploying mobile cameras along the trail to enhance security. Local residents and community groups are also conducting nighttime patrols in response to these fears.

Written for “Possible Serial Killer In Michigan” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

25%

5 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

66/100

CBS News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-08 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

CBS News · 4259 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Elle Meyers

1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Lansing police are considering the possibility that the deaths could be the work of a serial killer.

2026-10-08 · mixed framing · Lansing police investigating possible serial killer after 5 deaths

The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

Ingham County Lansing Michigan Michigan State University

Subjects

Holt GPE · 3× Lansing GPE · 3× Daniel Lusk PERSON · 2× Hayes PERSON · 2× Dennis Dunnebacke PERSON · 1× Gino Chouinard PERSON · 1× Louis Woodruff PERSON · 1× Michigan GPE · 1× Robert Backus PERSON · 1× Robert Smith PERSON · 1×

Narrative

"The fact that these are happening in Ingham County in a very close proximity to one another, then it's a lot easier to see that pattern and to, hopefully, to start investigating and to catch that perpetrator quickly," Holt said.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-08

🔮 Lansing police are considering the possibility that the deaths could be the work of a serial killer.

2026-10-08 · CBS News

Lansing police investigating possible serial killer after 5 deaths · mixed framing

Claims (20 extracted, 5 hedged)

The River Trail in Lansing, Michigan, cuts right through downtown and runs for about 20 miles, but a mile-long stretch between Old Town and Kalamazoo Street has seen five violent deaths of unhoused men. asserted

stretch → cut → men

Lansing police are considering the possibility that the deaths could be the work of a serial killer. uncertain

deaths → consider → killer

"What we need the public to know is that we are investigating all of these cases. asserted

we → need → cases

They are all active investigations, and we are looking at the idea or the possibility that these may be related cases," said Lansing Police Chief Robert Backus. uncertain

Backus → look → idea

The five men who were found along the River Trail range in age from 22 to 70. asserted

who → find → 70

According to police, they were all unhoused. uncertain

they → accord → police

They've been identified as Gino Chouinard, Dennis Dunnebacke, Robert Smith, Daniel Lusk and Louis Woodruff. asserted

They → identify → Chouinard

"We have a definite victim type. asserted

We → have → type

If these are connected and we have a definite M.O., they were all around the bridge. asserted

they → connect → bridge

They were probably all sleeping rough," said David Hayes, a criminologist. asserted

Hayes → sleep → ?

Hayes said unhoused men are a particularly vulnerable population for violence. asserted

men → say → violence

"What it looks like is, if they are connected, then there could potentially be a single offender with this," Hayes said. uncertain

Hayes → look → this

Investigators said four of the men died from injuries on and around their heads, but one man, 22-year-old Daniel Lusk, was stabbed to death. asserted

man → say → death

Professor Karen Holt with Michigan State University said a change in the manner of death can be especially confusing. asserted

change → say → death

"In the media that we consume and the portrayals of serial killers, we typically think they're going to do the exact same thing. asserted

they → consume → thing

They're going to leave that signature at every scene. asserted

They → go → scene

But that's not necessarily the case," said Holt. asserted

Holt → say → ?

Holt said changes in the circumstances leading up to a crime can have a significant impact on how it is actually carried out. asserted

it → say → impact

She said major improvements in police work and surveillance in just the last 20 years could help catch a suspect. uncertain

improvements → say → suspect

Holt → happen → perpetrator