Dr. Devon Hoover murder: Suspect found competent to stand trial
Desmond Burks appears for a competency hearing on March 7, 2025
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The man accused of killing well-known Detroit neurosurgeon, Dr. Devon Hoover, was found competent to stand trial, according to results of a psychological evaluation.
Desmond Burks, 34, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, larceny over $20,000, felon in possession of a firearm, and three counts of felony firearm for the April 2023 murder of Hoover at his Boston Edison home.
Desmond Burks (left) and Devon Hoover
The backstory:
Hoover, 53, was found shot to death and wrapped in a bloody carpet in the attic of his home on April 23, 2023, a day after his Range Rover was parked outside another Detroit home.
Police went to Hoover's house after the vehicle was found, but no one answered. They returned the next day and found his body, face down, wearing only socks, after his family requested a welfare check because he missed a trip to visit his dying mother in Indiana.
"Dr. Hoover had approximately 4,000 communications with a number attributed to Desmond Burks," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said during a news conference last summer. "The text messages established that Desmond Burks and Dr. Hoover were in an intimate relationship with one another and that, on occasion, Desmond Burks would charge Dr. Hoover for these sexual services."
Dr. Devon Hoover murder: Massive amount of evidence leads to charges against Detroit man
A man accused of murdering well-known Detroit neurosurgeon Devon Hoover is now facing charges after an investigation that has been ongoing for more than a year.
Worthy laid out the sheer amount of evidence that led to Burks finally being charged with Hoover's murder. This included interviews with nearly 90 witnesses, more than 300 pieces of evidence, 134 search warrants, and hours worth of video footage from security cameras and police body cameras. She said more than 70 law enforcement officers helped with cracking the case.
Burks is also facing murder charges stemming from an April 2024 road rage incident that left a 67-year-old Dearborn man named Reda Saleh dead. Worthy said this case was not connected to the investigation into Hoover's murder.
What's next:
Burks' next court date is expected to be scheduled by the end of Friday.
The Source: FOX 2 attended Burk's competency hearing and used previous coverage to report this news.