'Brutal scene': Detroit police seek person of interest after 3 bodies found beaten to death in basement

Detroit police update on three men found dead in basement

First Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald give the latest details to the triple homicide in southwest Detroit. 

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit police are asking for the public's help finding a person of interest in a gruesome triple murder on the city's southwest side.

The backstory:

Three bodies were found beaten to death in the basement of a house on Edison Street near Francis Avenue Wednesday.

Police are looking for a light-skinned Black male with dreadlocks between 31 and 32 years of age, said DPD First Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald.

The ages of the men found beaten to death with blunt force trauma were 72, 66 and 65. The 66-year-old man was the owner of the home.

"It was a brutal scene inside, just awful," Fitzgerald said. "Not to go into too much detail on it, but, we believe at this point they all (were killed by) blunt force trauma. There were some stab wounds on a couple of them. 

"They were left in a basement area covered in old, dirty clothing, and one person was covered in a carpet."

Family members identified one of the victims as 66-year-old Norman Hamlin, who they say was a military veteran.

The other two victims were Mark Barnett, 65, and 72-year-old William Barrett.

Police officers were following up on a missing persons report in the area when they were approached by someone claiming they had been assaulted in a house nearby.

Fitzgerald said that the man was attacked with a hammer at the house the day before, in the head.

"When units finally got inside, the minute you opened the door you can see the blood, it's just a horrific scene," he said. 

He said the incident happened sometime Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday morning. 

One of the victims found inside the home was the missing persons report who had not been seen since Monday.

Neighbors who spoke to FOX 2 said the home was a "known drug house."

Fitzgerald said the homeowner was "free to open to his house to a lot of folks who would come and go.

"There's some speculation that I don't like to get into too much, that possibly some drugs were used in the location," Fitzgerald said, adding that nothing in that regard was found.

"Shocked," said one neighbor. "I couldn't believe it."