Lansing River Trail Deaths: Is There a Serial Killer? What We Know

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Five unhoused men were found badly hurt or dead along about a mile of the Lansing River Trail in Lansing, Michigan, between October 2025 and August 2026. On Oct. 2, 2026, Police Chief Robert Backus said police are investigating whether the deaths are related. Police have NOT said they are connected or that there is a serial killer.

What's confirmed

1. Oct. 14, 2025Gino Chouinard, 54, was found injured near E. Oakland Avenue. He died Oct. 27. The medical examiner listed the cause as undetermined. (Lansing police via ABC News, WKAR, WDIV; Lansing State Journal)
2. July 9, 2026Denis Dunnebacke, 70, was found under the Kalamazoo Street bridge. He died July 16. No medical examiner finding yet; police said his death could be medical rather than criminal. (ABC News; WKAR; WDIV; Lansing State Journal)
3. July 13, 2026Robert Smith, 57, was found bleeding from the head near E. Oakland Avenue. He died July 17. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide in September. (ABC News; WKAR; Lansing State Journal)
4. Aug. 20, 2026Daniel Lusk, 22, known as "Bones," was found stabbed to death under the Michigan Avenue bridge. A 23-year-old man was charged with open murder and arraigned Sept. 3. (ABC News; WDIV; Lansing State Journal)
5. Aug. 30, 2026Louis Woodruff, 57, was found with facial injuries under a bridge near E. Cesar Chavez Avenue. He died Sept. 1; police classify it as a homicide. (ABC News; WKAR; WDIV; WILX)
6. Oct. 2, 2026Chief Backus: "One question that we are being asked is 'Do we have a serial killer in Lansing?' What we need the public to know is that we are investigating all of these cases." (ABC News; FOX 2; WDIV)
7. Patterns police cite: the men appear to have been unhoused; they were hurt overnight or in the early morning; police believe they were lying down, maybe sleeping; four had blunt-force injuries to the face with no known weapon; the fifth was a stabbing. (ABC News; WKAR; WXYZ; FOX 2)
8. Few witnesses and little surveillance. "More cameras would help us in this scenario," Backus said. Police have added patrols and camera trailers. (WKAR; ABC News; WXYZ; WDIV)

What we don't know

• Whether the deaths are connected. Asked whether the man charged in Daniel Lusk's death is a suspect in the others, Backus said it is "a challenging question to answer and one that I have to be very cautious on." (FOX 2; ABC News)
• What caused two of the deaths: Gino Chouinard's is undetermined; Denis Dunnebacke's is pending.

What happens next

• The investigations remain active; the Lusk case is in court. We'll post a dated UPDATE here.

How to help

Lansing Police Department tip line for the River Trail cases: (517) 483-6023.

Who they were

Louis Woodruff's daughter told WILX he taught her and her siblings to fish along the trail: "he was very well loved." Tributes to Daniel Lusk, known as "Bones," are painted near the spot where he died.

Please note

A 23-year-old man is charged in Daniel Lusk's death only. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court, and police say he is not confirmed connected to the other deaths. We are not naming him. Lansing police have not said there is a serial killer.

Chapters

1. 0:00The question
2. 0:23Five men
3. 1:09Who they were
4. 1:28The pattern
5. 1:56One arrest
6. 2:27Where it stands

Sources

1. ABC News (Mason Leib, Stephanie Pawlowski, Oct. 7, 2026)abcnews.com/US/michigan-police-suggest-serial-killer-responsible-string-deaths/story?id=137067436
2. WKAR (Berl Schwartz, Oct. 2, 2026)wkar.org/wkar-news/2026-10-02/lansing-police-chief-sees-patterns-in-five-river-trail-deaths
3. WDIV ClickOnDetroit (Oct. 7, 2026)clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/10/07/is-there-a-serial-killer-in-lansing-heres-what-police-say/
4. FOX 2 Detroit (Oct. 5, 2026)fox2detroit.com/news/lansing-river-trail-deaths-serial-killer-investigation-homeless

Spot an error? Email corrections@undercurrentdaily.com. See our corrections policy. Have information about this case? Contact the investigating agency first.

Part of What We Know: open cases, confirmed facts only · YouTube playlist