Three men were later identified as victims in a first-degree murder case.
DETROIT, Mich. — A River Rouge woman’s missing person report led Detroit police to a southwest side home where three men were found dead, and prosecutors later charged a 27-year-old Detroit man with murder.
The missing man was William Barrett, 72. His wife reported him missing Feb. 18, prosecutors said. Detroit police searched and found Barrett, Mark Barnett, 65, and Norman Hamlin, 66, dead later that day at Hamlin’s home in the 3100 block of Edsel Street. Lance Alan Clowney now faces three counts of premeditated first-degree murder.
Prosecutors say the killings happened one day before the bodies were found. On Feb. 17, at Hamlin’s home, Clowney is accused of using a hammer and a knife to strike all three men multiple times. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said the wounds were fatal and alleged Clowney fled afterward. The office did not release a motive. It said more facts and evidence would be placed on the record at court hearings, where the case will be tested under Michigan criminal procedure.
The discovery came as police were already working around Edsel Street and Francis Avenue. A fourth man, 69, approached officers and reported that he had been assaulted inside a nearby home. That information sent police to Hamlin’s house. Inside, officers found the three men in the basement. Detroit Police Cmdr. Rebecca McKay said the early evidence pointed to violence inside the house. “It does not appear that the bodies were brought there,” McKay said. She added that the assault appeared to have happened inside the home.
The basement scene later became central to public descriptions of the case. Police said the bodies were covered with dirty clothes and carpeting. Fitzgerald, Detroit’s first assistant police chief, said all three men had signs of blunt force trauma. Local outlets reported that some of the victims also had cuts. Authorities have not released all autopsy details. They have also not publicly described whether the same weapon or weapons were recovered and tied by testing to the deaths.
Clowney’s first charges in the Edsel Street investigation were not the murder counts. On Feb. 22, prosecutors charged him in the attack on the surviving 69-year-old man. Those charges included assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and felonious assault. Prosecutors said the surviving man was attacked with a hammer at the same home on Feb. 17. During proceedings in that case, prosecutors said they believed Clowney was connected to the three people found dead in the basement.
The murder charges followed on March 27, when Clowney was arraigned in 36th District Court before Magistrate William Burton. Prosecutors announced the charges publicly March 30. He was remanded to jail. The Wayne County Sheriff’s inmate record lists Clowney at the Adult Detention Facility with no bond amount and lists six felony charges, including the three first-degree murder counts and the assault-related counts.
The victims were all older men with ties to the Detroit area. Hamlin’s home became the center of the investigation. Barnett and Hamlin were Detroit residents, while Barrett lived in River Rouge. Their deaths drew attention across metro Detroit because the case began not with a homicide call but with a family member looking for a missing husband. Police have not publicly said when each victim arrived at the house or how long each had been there before the alleged attack.
Clowney has prior felony convictions, according to court records cited in reports on the case. Those records include armed robbery, carjacking, felony firearm possession and fleeing police. Prosecutors referenced community safety concerns while arguing for detention in the assault case. The earlier record is separate from the pending murder case, where Clowney is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The next listed court step is in the related assault case on May 8, according to Wayne County records. The homicide case has a listed court date of June 15. As of April 27, Clowney remains in custody while prosecutors prepare to present more evidence.
Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.