DETROIT – Multiple bodies were found in an abandoned Michigan apartment building Thursday, according to Michigan State Police.
Family members of a Michigan man missing for nearly two weeks along with two friends were notified Thursday evening of the discovery.
Taylor Perrin, fiancee of rap artist Armani Kelly, told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that police notified Kelly’s family of three bodies found, but that identities had not yet been confirmed. Perrin, who lives in Grand Rapids, said she was told to travel to Detroit.
Kelly, 27; Montoya Givens, 31, of Detroit; and Dante Wicker, 31, of Melvindale, were set to perform at a hip-hop show Jan. 21 at a Detroit club, but the performances were canceled. No one has heard from the three men since.
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Police confirm ‘multiple victims’ found, don’t release identities
Lt. Mike Shaw of Michigan State Police confirmed “multiple victims” were found in an abandoned apartment building in Highland Park, a small city surrounded by Detroit.
Shaw said he could not confirm the number of bodies or their identities.
“We still need to get the search warrant and have the lab get there before we can start to search the building. It’s an abandoned apartment, but there are a lot of squatters inside,” he said.
“We haven’t identified any victims. People like to jump to conclusions – I don’t guess. I don’t have time for that.”
‘We think it’s my cousin in there’
Detroit police on Monday asked the public for help locating the three missing rap artists, who were set to perform at Lounge 31 on Detroit’s east side before they went missing.
At the scene Thursday night, Antoine Woods, who identified himself as Wicker’s cousin, said police had not told his family whether Wicker was among the victims found, but that “we think it’s my cousin in there.”
He said he last spoke to his cousin in the days before he went missing.
“He was excited about making music,” Woods said.
He said the trio was about to perform their first gig together at Lounge 31.
“He didn’t live here,” Woods said, pointing to the complex of dark brick apartment buildings that stretch along McNichols Road, across from a posh strip of homes along the Detroit Golf Club. “I don’t know why he’s here.”
Along with state police, Detroit police and an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene. State police said members of a homicide task force and a forensic lab were investigating.
Lounge 31 owner Darnell Williams told the Free Press the performances were canceled the night the men went missing because of technical failures with DJ equipment. He said there were too many people in the crowd to know whether or when the missing men arrived at the venue, but that police were reviewing video footage.
The car Kelly drove from Oscoda to Detroit was found in Warren. A juvenile was arrested in connection with the vehicle’s theft and charged with receiving and concealing stolen property, according to Warren police.
Follow reporter Andrea Sahourion Twitter @andreamsahouri.
