Five homeless men have died after violent attacks along a short stretch of the Lansing River Trail in Lansing, Michigan, since October 2025. Police are investigating whether one person is behind the deaths. A 23 year old man, Edward Joseph Smith, is charged with murder in one case, but police haven’t linked him to the other four or confirmed a serial killer.
That’s the official picture. The deeper story is how these men ended up sleeping on that trail at all, and why the official record may never call some of these deaths murder.
What happened on the Lansing River Trail?
The victims ranged in age from 22 to 70. Gino Chouinard, 54, was found with severe head and facial injuries on Oct. 14, 2025, and died 13 days later. The next four attacks came within weeks of each other this summer.
Denis Dunnebacke, 70, was found under the Kalamazoo Street Bridge on July 9 and died a week later. Robert Smith, 57, was found bleeding from the head on July 13. Daniel Lusk, 22, was stabbed to death under a bridge Aug. 20. Louis Woodruff, 57, was found with severe facial injuries Aug. 30 and died Sept. 1. Police believe the men were attacked overnight while lying down or asleep.
Is there a serial killer in Lansing?
Police haven’t said so. At an Oct. 2 news conference, Police Chief Robert Backus raised the question himself and said the cases may be related, but he stressed that each is being investigated separately. He noted that the Lusk stabbing involved a victim and suspect in their 20s, while the other four victims were over 50. It’s also the only case with a known weapon…