Neighbors will miss man killed in Eaton Township homicide

EATON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WILX) - People who live on Ackley Road in Eaton Township said they’ll miss their neighbor who was shot and killed on Father’s Day.

The Eaton County Sheriff’s Office said around 3 p.m. Sunday, a 79-year-old man was found by his son, shot in the doorway to the house on the 2100 block of Ackley Road.

Neighbors told News 10 it wasn’t unusual for him to be outside waving to everyone who went by. They said you wouldn’t know he was 79 because he was always willing to help people with projects around the house.

“It’s very unfortunate it happened on father’s day and a family member had to find his father,” said Eaton County Sheriff Thomas Reich.

Sheriff Reich said while any homicide is tragic, this one is especially hard on the community.

“It’s emotional for everybody, not only family members but also for the deputies that respond to these types of calls, having to view a body that’s been deceased caused by another human,” said Reich.

A 23-year-old man was arrested nearby. Reich said detectives were trying to figure out if the suspect and victim knew each other.

Sunday’s homicide wasn’t the first deadly crime at that residence on Ackley Road. The victim’s garage was, in 2014, part of an arson investigation according to a press release on the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Firefighters had also noticed two other fires on Ackley Road that day. The arson suspect in those fires, an 18-year-old, was found dead in one of the burned garages.

The suspect in the homicide is expected to be arraigned on Monday or Tuesday.

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