Lover charged with murder of doctor found wrapped in carpet

DETROIT (Scripps News Detroit) — A Detroit man who police say had an intimate relationship with Dr. Devon Hoover has been charged with killing Hoover, with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announcing the charges on Wednesday morning.

Analysis of Hoover’s phone records shows that Desmond Burks would charge Hoover for sexual services.

(L) Devon Hoover Ascension Michigan via Scripps News Detroit), (R) Desmond Burkes (Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, MI)

This concludes an investigation that lasted over a year , spanning five states (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Texas and California) and three countries (United States, England, and France). Worthy laid out the vast amount of information used and evidence gathered to investigate this case, which included over 100 hours of video interviews, video surveillance from 24 different locations, over 300 pieces of evidence, more than 134 search warrants requested, a Range Rover, two luxury watches and 181 pages of investigators reports. In total, police retrieved several terabytes of data.

Hoover, 53, was found dead on April 23, 2023, inside his Detroit home on W. Boston Boulevard near Woodward Avenue while police were conducting a wellness check. Police were initially called after Hoover didn’t show up in Indiana to visit his mother. During that check, police noticed the driveway gate near the back of the home was wide open, with what appeared to be blood on the back door of the home.

Inside the home, police found Hoover’s body in a third-floor attic crawl space, wrapped in a blood-soaked carpet.

MORE | Investigation into Detroit surgeon’s murder continues months later

The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that Hoover was shot twice in the back of the head.

On the day of the killing, Burks was seen parking Hoover’s Range Rover near the 9900 block of Coyle Street, a home that police had linked to Dr. Hoover and Burks via phone records. That home is where one of Hoover’s luxury watches was found. The piece of jewelry, a “Ballon Bleu” Cartier watch, was purchased by Hoover a day before he was murdered, investigators say. That was one of the many pieces of evidence that led to the charges issued against Burks.

Burks is currently in jail on separate murder charges, after he allegedly punched and killed a driver in a road rage incident back in April.

Exterior of Dr. Devin Hoover’s Detroit-area home. (Scripps News Detroit)

Burks has been charged with the following:

• First-degree premeditated murder
• Felony murder
• Larceny of over $20,000
• Using a computer to commit a crime
• Possession of firearm by a felon
• Three felony firearm charges

Burks is scheduled to appear in 36th District Court in regards to these charges tomorrow at 10:30 a.m.

Hoover was a physician at Ascension St. John specializing in neck and back disorders. He completed medical training at Indiana University School of Medicine before doing his residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. He completed fellowships at Louisiana State University School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

This story was originally written by Kellen Voss at Scripps News Detroit, an E.W. Scripps Company.