Juries seated in fake DTE murder in Rochester Hills; trials to start Tuesday

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (FOX 2) - Two juries have been seated in the trial of two men charged with posing as DTE workers to access a Rochester Hills home and kill a man a year ago.

The jury has been seated in Judge Yasmine Poles' courtroom in Oakland County as two men head to trial.

Carlos Hernandez and Joshua Zuazo are both on trial for murder and two counts of unlawful imprisonment for the Oct. 11, 2024 murder of 72-year-old Hussein Murray in the basement of his home.

Opening statements are expected on Tuesday and the case is expected to last several weeks as attorneys present their cases against both men.

Hussein Murray (Photo courtesy of Murray family)

The case is unique in that both men are on trial in the same courtroom, but there will be two separate juries seated for each of them.

FOX 2 will stream the entire case start to finish on our YouTube channel.

The backstory:

In previous court hearings, Hussein's wife, Linda, said the suspects first came to the couple's home on Newcastle Drive in Rochester Hills the night of Oct. 10, 2024. The men said they worked for DTE, and told the victim that they had already visited some of his neighbor's homes.

Linda Murray said the men told Hussein that they would return the next day. When they did, she testified that the couple allowed both men into the home and they followed Hussein into the basement.

She said she didn't hear anything after that but that Zuazo came up from the basement with blood on him. Linda said Hernandez then asked where she kept her cash and jewelry and when she aske him where Hussein was, he hit her int he face and then duct-taped her wrists and ankles.

The two men then dug through their garage before leaving the home.

Hussein's death was ruled to be caused by blunt force trauma and the medical examiner said it appeared he had also been strangled.

The next day, Hernandez was arrested in Louisiana. Zuazo was arrested in Plymouth Township a few days later.