DETROIT (WXYZ) — One week after two bodies were discovered in the basement of a Detroit home, police have now identified the victims. Loved ones say they're suspicious and shocked about the deaths and demand justice.
The victims are identified as 60-year-old Dwayne Pinkston and 68-year-old Barbara Jackson, who were found in a home in the area of Fenkell Avenue and Wyoming Avenue Tuesday around 5:45 p.m.
Detroit police say the woman who owns the home left Tuesday evening and when she returned, there were two dead bodies.
“A female who lived at the location said that she was there, she left for approximately an hour, she returned to find the front door locked. She could not enter the location, so she opened the window," Detroit Police Deputy Chief Jacqueline Pritchett said after the crime happened last week.
Hear from from DPD's Jacqueline Pritchett from last week in the video player below:
Detroit police say they are still investigating the cause of death, but a police source added that a gun was found inside the home. Police say a murder-suicide is not likely but are not ruling anything out.
Pinkton's close friend of 40 years, Sabrina Young, explained that Pinkton was at the home to help remodel it. You could still see construction materials scattered around and new windows.
“Something ain't right with that death," Young said. “He doesn’t deserve that and I’m his best friend. He was everything to me.”
Neighbors, who were still too shaken up to go on camera, say that the female victim lived on the street where the murders took place and was a kind neighbor and friend.
What the two were doing inside the home together and who killed them is still unknown. However, police hope now that they have been identified, someone will come forward with information.
"Somebody knows something. I'm not letting him die like that — he died in vain," Young said.
If you have any information call Detroit police. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
