Police are searching for two suspects after a 72-year-old Rochester Hills man was found dead in the basement of his home on Friday. The two male suspects who were posing as DTE employees, police said.
The incident happened shortly before noon today in a home in the 3700 block of Newcastle in an area of upscale homes.
Deputies were dispatched to the scene after the victim’s wife called 911. Upon their arrival, deputies found she had been tied up and her hands were duct taped. The wife told deputies she believed that her husband may have been kidnapped, according to a police news release.
While checking the house to make sure it was safe, deputies found the husband’s body in the basement. Because of the gruesome nature of the injuries, it was not immediately clear if he had been shot or bludgeoned to death, police said.
The woman, also 72, told deputies the two male suspects had come to the home the night before, claiming there was a gas leak, but they were not admitted to the home.
When they arrived today, they were allowed in the home and her husband accompanied the two men into the basement, to look for the leak.
The woman did not see her husband come up from the basement with the men and assumed he had been kidnapped. The husband owned a jewelry store in Wayne County.
Detectives are investigating to determine if anything was taken from the home.
Sheriff Bouchard said residents should be weary of anyone showing up at their home unexpectedly, claiming to be from a utility or some other business and wanting access.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
