据警察局长罗伯特·巴克斯称，警方正在调查一名连环杀手可能对密歇根州兰辛市兰辛河小径上最近发生的一系列死亡事件负责的可能性。
在最近的一次新闻发布会上，巴克斯提供了密歇根州首府最近五起死亡事件的细节。
“我们被问到的一个问题是‘兰辛有连环杀手吗？’＂巴克斯在10月2日的新闻发布会上说． ＂我们需要公众知道的是，我们正在调查所有这些案件。它们都是积极的调查，我们正在考虑这些可能是相关案件的想法或可能性。＂
巴克斯继续说，“我们寻找信息。我们寻找趋势。我们寻找模式。我们已经开发了一些。”
巴克斯说，一些已确认的模式包括相信每个受害者都是无住所的并且怀疑在这些事件中受到的每一处伤害都发生在夜间，特别是在清晨。
“我们认为本案中的受害者当时是躺着的，甚至可能在睡觉。我们不知道这一点，但根据我们发现受害者及其周围环境的方式，这将使我们相信这可能是一种模式，”他说。
巴克斯分享说，所有受害者都是22岁至70岁的白人男性。
在一个案件中，一个人被指控，一个受害者被刺伤。据警方称，其他四起案件“涉及似乎是钝器所致的面部外伤”，但没有已知的武器。
第一起事件发生在2025年10月14日，当时警方接到一个关于受伤对象的电话，并发现了一名54岁的男性。Gino Chouinard脸上有伤。警方称，Chouinard死于10月27日。
巴克斯说：“法医办公室已经公布了一项死因不明的调查结果。”
2026年7月9日，在小路上工作的警察发现70岁的丹尼斯·邓恩贝克没有反应。巴克斯说，他被送往医院，情况危急，于7月16日死亡，并补充说，法医尚未发布死亡调查结果。
据警方称，第三起案件发生在7月13日，涉及57岁的罗伯特·史密斯，他被发现时没有反应，头部出血。他被送往医院，并于7月17日死亡。巴克斯说，法医办公室发现死因是9月17日的他杀。
2026年8月20日，22岁的丹尼尔·卢斯克被发现刺死。警方已经逮捕了该案件的嫌疑人爱德华·约瑟夫·史密斯，他被指控公开谋杀。
根据法庭记录，史密斯于9月3日因一项公开的谋杀指控被传讯。ABC新闻已经联系了名单上史密斯的律师。
最后，在8月30日的第五起事件中，警方在桥下发现了57岁的路易斯·伍德拉夫，面部明显受伤。他被送进医院，后来于9月1日去世。巴克斯说，这起事件已被列为凶杀案。
“我已经提到，我们已经拘留了其中一起事件的嫌疑人。所以，向我们提出的问题是，这是所有事件的嫌疑人吗？”巴克斯说。
“我想非常清楚地表明，这是一个很难回答的问题，但我必须非常谨慎，”他说。
巴克斯继续说，“使用一个嫌疑人，然后用这个名字来发展或找到符合你的理论的证据，这将你引向一条不适当的指控，错误识别，一些非常大的问题的道路。因此，在执法部门，我们的责任和道德要求我们以正确的方式处理此事。”
巴克斯说，除了其他警方对犯罪模式的回应，还设立了一条举报热线，专门处理河边袭击事件。
巴克斯还谈到了他所认为的监控录像的重要性，他说：“我们没有很多监控录像，这是现在的热门话题。我相信更多的监控会帮助我们。在这种情况下，更多的摄像头将有助于我们。”
Michigan police suggest possible serial killer responsible for string of deaths
Police are investigating the possibility that a serial killer could be responsible for a string of recent deaths along the Lansing River Trail in Lansing， Michigan， according to Police Chief Robert Backus．
Backus provided details on five recent deaths in Michigan＇s capital city at a recent press conference．
＂One question that we are being asked is ＇Do we have a serial killer in Lansing？＇＂ Backus said at the press conference on Oct． 2． ＂What we need the public to know is that we are investigating all of these cases． They are all active investigations， and we are looking at the idea or the possibility that these may be related cases．＂
Backus continued， ＂We look for information． We look for trends． We look for patterns． And we have developed some．＂
Backus said some of those identified patterns include the belief that each victim isunhoused， and a suspicion that each of the injuries sustained during these events occurred overnight， specifically in early morning hours．
＂We believe that our victims in this case were lying down， potentially even sleeping． We don＇t know that， but based on how we found our victims and their surroundings， it would lead us to believe that this could be a pattern，＂ he said．
Backus shared that all victims were white males ranging from 22 to 70 years old．
In one case， where a person has been charged， a victim was stabbed． The four other cases， ＂involve what appear to be blunt force trauma， traumatic injuries to the facial area＂ but no known weapon， according to police．
The first incident occurred Oct． 14， 2025， when police received a call about an injured subject and found a 54-year-old male． Gino Chouinard， with injuries to his face． Chouinard died on Oct． 27， police said．
＂The medical examiner＇s office has issued a finding of an undetermined cause of death，＂ Backus said．
On July 9， 2026， police working on the trail found 70-year-old Denis Dunnebacke unresponsive． He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and died July 16， Backus said， adding that the medical examiner has not issued a finding in the death．
A third case， on July 13， involved 57-year-old Robert Smith， who was found unresponsive and bleeding from his head， according to police． He was hospitalized and died July 17． The medical examiner＇s office found the cause of death was homicide on Sept． 17， Backus said．
On Aug． 20， 2026， 22-year-old Daniel Lusk was found stabbed to death． Police have arrested a suspect in that case， Edward Joseph Smith， who has been charged with open murder．
Smith was arraigned on Sept． 3 on an open murder charge， according to a court docket． ABC News has reached out to an attorney for Smith listed on the docket．
Finally， in a fifth incident on Aug． 30， police found 57-year-old Louis Woodruff with apparent facial injuries under the bridge． He was hospitalized and later died Sept． 1． The incident has been classified as a homicide， Backus said．
＂I＇ve mentioned that we have a suspect in custody for one of these incidents． And so， the question that＇s been posed to us is， is this a suspect for all the incidents？＂ said Backus．
＂I want to be very clear that that is a challenging question to answer， but one I have to be very cautious on，＂ he said．
Backus continued， ＂Using a suspect， and then with that name using that to develop or find evidence that meets your theory， that leads you down a road of inappropriate charges， misidentification， some very big problems． So in law enforcement， our responsibility and our ethics demand that we approach this in the right manner．＂
Backus said that， along with other police responses to the crime pattern， a tip line had been set up to handle River Trail assaults specifically．
Backus also touched on what he sees as the importance of surveillance footage， saying ＂We don＇t have a lot of surveillance footage， and that＇s a hot topic right now． And I do believe more surveillance would help us． More cameras would help us in this scenario．＂
