Detroit man is charged with murder of Dr. Devon Hoover, found dead in attic of his Boston-Edison mansion last year

DETROIT (WWJ) --A 34-year-old man has been charged with the murder of popular neurosurgeon Dr. Devon Hoover, who was found dead in the attic of his historic Detroit home more than a year ago.

Announced Wednesday, Desmond Burks of Detroit is facing a total of eight felony counts, including first degree murder, felony murder, larceny of over $20,000, using a computer to commit a crime, felony firearm, possession of a firearm as a felon.

Speaking at a news conference alongside Detroit Police Chief James White, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said text messages revealed that Hoover and Burks were involved in "an intimate relationship."

Hoover, who worked at Ascension Healthcare at St. John Hospital, was discovered dead in the attic of his home — one of the city's most beautiful mansions in the Boston-Edison District — on April 23, 2023. Officials said the deceased 53-year-old was "facedown, wearing only socks, wrapped in a blood-soaked carpet."

An autopsy concluded that Hoover had been shot twice in the back of the head.

Further investigation found that Hoover's cell phone, wallet, money, credit cards and designer watches were missing from the home, according to prosecutors.

Worthy's office said an analysis of the Hoover’s cell phone records revealed that he had around 4,000 communications with a number attributed to Burks, and that Burks would at times charge Hoover for sexual services.

In a statement, Worthy said this investigation was a "massive undertaking." complicated by the fact that many witnesses were reluctant to come forward to share sensitive and personal information.

“This investigation was conducted for over a year in conjunction with local, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office investigators, state and federal law enforcement agents and spanning five states and three countries," Worthy said. "I want to thank Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Detectives Kelly McLaughlin and Rick Pomorski, as well as Executive Assistant Krista Chludzinski for their dedicated and tireless work. Volumes of documents and evidence were recovered, analyzed, scrutinized, and then summarized. There are several terabytes worth of digital data."

At one point shortly after Hoover's death, Detroit Police arrested a "person of interest" on an unrelated charge. That unnamed person was eventually released , and no charges were filed in connection with Hoover's death. Worthy did confirm that that person was Burks.

Back in May, Burks was charged with second-degree murder in an unrelated hit-and-run incident.

He remains in custody, being held on the Wayne County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Worthy said the case will be prosecuted by Wayne County Assistant Prosecutors Lisa Lindsey and Michael Glynne, adding: "We will continue to work tirelessly to bring justice to the Hoover family.”