GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Neighbors in the Burton Heights area have been living on edge since the morning of Monday, Nov. 6 when the bodies of a young man and woman were discovered dumped in the road. Almost unbelievably, another man was fatally shot just hours later as he stood in the very same neighborhood.
Police identified the man and woman as 19-year-old Malik Eubanks and 20-year-old Anayia Rodriguez. The pair reportedly shared a close relationship.
Eubanks was found on Horton Avenue while Rodriguez was discovered about a quarter of a mile away on Melville Street.
Eubanks' nearly 3-year-old son was found covered in blood wandering in the Alger Heights area not long after the discovery of the two bodies.
Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom tells FOX 17 that their killer is believed to have dropped the child off near East Blaine Avenue and Ottillia Street SE at some point after the murders.
The child was later reunited with his mother at the police department downtown.
READ MORE: 3 people killed blocks apart in Grand Rapids, possible suspect vehicle located
“I have spoken to the child's mother," Chief Winstrom recalled Thursday. "She's obviously very happy that the child is unharmed, but he's without his father now.”
Chief Winstrom says investigators believe the boy witnessed his father being killed.
"I know he's already going through issues with that, and I think it's something that will probably be with him for the rest of his life."
At 3:52 p.m. Grand Rapids police were called back to Horton Avenue after a 32-year-old man had been shot several times. His body lay just a few feet from where Eubanks was found hours earlier.
"There's a very good chance that they're related, but we're going to keep a very open mind about it as everything plays out," Chief Winstrom said Thursday.
Because of the massive array of crime scenes associated with this investigation, there are mountains of leg work for detectives to run through.
"A lot of times surveillance cameras are what solve crimes, what solve murders. ... It sometimes comes down to a doorbell camera," Chief Winstrom said.
“But, when you think of all the doors between just the space of where that little boy was found, and where his father was found, [there are] hundreds, perhaps thousands of different doors to check.”
In addition to the physical canvassing investigators must do, there are a myriad of digital elements to examine as well, all with specific protocol to follow.
"In this day and age with all the digital evidence available, a lot of times we are required by the prosecutor to seek search warrants on cell phones, social media accounts, things like that," Chief Winstrom said.
It is an arduous task filling out such warrants. Chief Winstrom estimates they have already executed about 50 to 100 in this investigation alone.
"Each one of those search warrants is something that needs to be typed up, reviewed, signed by a judge, and then whatever result of that could lead you to further search warrants," he explained.
He says the department has recently approved a substantial amount of overtime hours for investigators and allocated more resources and manpower to the Burton Heights area.
They are considering the possibility of moving one of the department's mobile camera units further into the neighborhood. There was already one of the unit's stations on Melville the day of the killings. It is still unknown publicly if that captured the suspect vehicle.
Those with knowledge related to the investigation are urged to call GRPD investigators at (616) 456-3380 or submit information anonymously via Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345.
