Suspect in east side serial killings charged in separate assault of surviving victim: police

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The man arrested last week in connection with what Detroit police chief James Craig has said could be a series of connected killings is being charged Monday in a separate crime.

The case is not one of the three deaths that Craig believes are part of the serial killings, but the circumstances are similar so Craig said Monday he believes this separate case is connected. In this case, the 26-year-old victim survived. 

Deangelo Martin, 34, of Detroit is being charged in connection with a sexual assault of the woman. Prosecutors allege Martin stabbed and sexually assaulted her on May 7 at 1:40 a.m. on the east side of Detroit. He's facing one count of assault with intent to murder, and four counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree. 

Martin's expected to be arraigned Monday afternoon. 

Martin was arrested Friday night in connection with a suspected serial killer case targeting sex workers, just hours after Craig announced police were looking for him. Martin is said to be homeless and frequents the east side of the city, where three bodies have been found whose deaths appear to be connected.

Last week Craig said three women have been killed since mid March and all of them were lured into abandoned homes, raped, and then killed.

On Monday, Craig said there was another surviving victim that has come forward, bringing the total involved to two surviving victims and three murders. Craig said Martin is suspected in all of these crimes.

So far, only the first death has been ruled a homicide; a cause of death has not been determined for the other two women. Craig reiterated several times that he felt strong enough in his belief that one person is responsible for all of the crimes. 

He would not elaborate further on the evidence linking the crimes together.

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On Friday Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced that 40 neighborhood police officers would be searching in teams of teams of two to go into every open and abandoned home in the next two weeks to look for other possible victims. 

"1,000 homes on the east side need boarded up. Teams are on overtime, working six days a week. The goal is to have every single house on east side boarded up by end of July," Duggan said.

He said there are also 1,000 homes on the west side and the goal is to have all vacant homes in the city boarded up by the end of September.