Lansing Police Warn of Possible Serial Killer on River Trail
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What happened
Lansing, Michigan, police are investigating five deaths of unhoused men found along a roughly 1.5-mile stretch of river trail near downtown, spanning from October 2025 through early September. Three of the deaths have been ruled homicides; the manner of death in the other two is undetermined or still pending. Four victims—Gino Chouinard, 54; Denis Dunnebacke, 70; Robert Smith, 57; and Louis Woodruff, 57—suffered blunt-force injuries to the face; Daniel Lusk, 22, was stabbed to death on Aug. 20. Police arrested Edward Smith, 24, in connection with Lusk’s killing; he has not been charged in the other deaths. Police Chief Robert Backus said investigators are examining whether the cases may be related and have added camera trailers and night patrols along the trail.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 3 articles
3 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 3 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Lansing Police Chief Robert Backus, David Hayes, Professor Karen Holt, Lansing Police Department and Robert Backus
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 3
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 3
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 7, 21:23 UTC by CBS News, naming its source.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
BLINDSPOT.
Only left-leaning outlets are covering this story
— the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Right-leaning coverage has not reported this story. Left-leaning coverage says Lansing police are investigating whether deaths of homeless men along a river trail may be the work of a serial killer. That silence is the gap that changes what a reader knows: one side hears a police warning in Michigan's capital, and the other hears nothing. Left-leaning coverage also notes a suspect was arrested in one stabbing and has not been charged in the remaining cases.
Left-leaning coverage leads with a serial-killer warning while the chief says he wishes he could be more certain. Left-leaning writeups do not disagree with each other. They leave out criminologists who note that a changed method of killing would not by itself rule out one offender.
What evidence besides a shared trail and homeless victims ties the blunt-force deaths to a single killer?
Bottom line
If you only follow right-leaning news, you would not know Lansing police told the public they may have a serial killer after five deaths on a river trail.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Lansing police are investigating five deaths of homeless men along a river trail as possibly related, including the possibility of a serial killer
- Three of the deaths were determined to be homicides; one was ruled undetermined and one still has no finding
- Four of the deaths involved blunt force traumatic injuries to the face, and no weapon has been identified
- Hospital staff initially believed Denis Dunnebacke's death could have been from a medical issue, and its manner of death has not yet been determined
- Police set up camera trailers along the trail and assigned night shift officers to patrol the area
- A criminologist said the men were a definite victim type who were probably all sleeping rough around the bridge
The Left View
NBC News reported that Lansing Police Chief Robert Backus told reporters a series of deaths of homeless men along a short river-trail stretch may be the work of a serial killer, and that all five cases remain active investigations. The coverage named the victims, ages, dates, and injury types; noted that three deaths are homicides and two are not yet classified; and stated that a suspect arrested in the Aug. 20 stabbing of Daniel Lusk has not been charged in the other deaths. Outlets quoted Backus on the lack of cameras and witnesses, early-morning timing, and delayed public warning after the second death, when hospital staff initially thought injuries might be medical. Framing centered on the police warning, a possible linked pattern, and vulnerability of unhoused men along the trail.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it is grounded in an on-the-record police news conference, named victims and dates, a named arrest in one homicide, and specific investigative steps (camera trailers, extra patrols). Established facts are five deaths of unhoused men in a confined area, three ruled homicides, four with similar blunt-force facial injuries, and one stabbing with a suspect in custody for that case only. The serial-killer theory remains unproven; Backus described related cases as a possibility under review, not a finding, and no common weapon or charged offender links all five. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for completed manner-of-death rulings, any charges connecting the cases, forensic or witness corroboration of a single offender, and further official updates.
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