25 y.o.small-time ex-con is charged w/using hammer to massacre 4 adults inside their home last week,in MI
Joe1orbit
A few days ago, a family of four was found dead, inside of their home in a
rural area of Michigan. All four victims were adults, an elederly couple who
owned the house, along with the elderly's woman's son and his wife. All four
victims were BEATEN to death with a HAMMER. Someone else here at this NG did
post a news item about this quadruple murder, while I was away on my monthly
trip.
The killer did indeed successfully escape from the scene, and he apparently
covered his tracks FAIRLY well, eluding capture for 3 days AFTER the bodies
were found.
But we learn below that on Tuesday, 25 year old Michael Barnhart was
arrested, and he is being charged with this quadruple hammer murder. Michael
did not KNOW the elderly homeowners. But a FRIEND of his used to live near the
family and TOLD Michael just two days BEFORE Michael committed the massacre,
that this particular house would make a good target for a burglary and that the
owners kept lots of money in the house. Here you see why you should NEVER
become friendly with your neighbors. Every human on planet earth is a potential
predator. None of my neighbors evenknow my NAME, much less what I do for a
living or what the interior of my home is like.
Police say that he broke into this house NOT having any specific intent to
commit mass murder, but just to commit a burglary, and when he stumbled across
the 4 humans, he simply decided to beat them all to death with a hammer.
This is theoretically possible, but IMO, it is NOT likely. It is more likely
that Michael was an ENRAGED individual, who MAY have been satisfied with
robbing homes, but at his CORE, he desired to exact homicidal vengeance against
human beings. He WANTED to kill, he satisfied himself with robbing people &
artificially altering his brain chemistry via drugs. But at his core, Michael
came to this house ready, able, and EAGER to claim human lives, and he
certainly demonstrated an IMPRESSIVE degree of rage, successfully BEATING four
adult human beings to death!
Michael entered the house through a basement window, that he pried open with
a screwdriver. These homeowners were clearly not properly security-conscious.
To leave a basement window so VULNERABLE, not putting on any iron bars and not
having any alarm system, they absolutely DESERVE the fate that befell them. How
STUPID! Basement windows are the MOST vulnerable entry point to any house. Only
a fool would fail to at LEAST weld iron bars to the INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR of
all basement windows, along with having each window hard-wired to a monitored
alarm system.
Our new 25 year old quadruple murderer does have a past criminal record, for
drug and burglary offenses. But absolutely NO previous history of documented
violence. Well, he certainly did burst upon the True Crime murder scene in a
big way. Four at a time! That's a nice big slice of death, that Michael sunk
his teeth into.
He is of course being held without bail, and no doubt will face a likely Life
prison sentence, IF he is convicted. Police say that shortly after his arrest
Michael DID CONFESS to the killings. Bad move on his part! He was also a VERY
poor tactician. His car was soaked with blood, and police recovered the hammer
that he used in the massacre, AND blood-stained gloves, from inside the car,
when they arrested Michael. He had LOOSE LIPS even BEFORE committing this
massacre, and was in fact TURNED IN by an informant. This informant was the
SAME PERSON who DIRECTED Michael to target this specific house, two days before
the massacre. It was certainly stupid of Michael to commit this massacre,
KNOWINg that his "friend", who had directed him to the house, was still alive
and VERY possibly would rat him out to police.
After Michael's arrest, reporters went to his Mommy's house, and she had a
CLASSICALLY irrational response when asked about what she thought about her
womb excretion becoming a quadruple murderer. She declared: ""I just found out
about it. My son would never do anything like that." Ha! BBBZZZZZZZZ, wrong
answer, Mommy Suzanne.
The informant ios himself being grilled by police, since he admitted TELLING
Michael to target this house. But there is no reason to believe that anyone
helped Michael carry out this quadruple murder. He did it all on his own.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
Criminal Arrested in Family Slaying
GROVELAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A small-time criminal was charged with
beating four people to death with a claw hammer after allegedly breaking into
the house in search of money for drugs.
Michael Barnhart, 25, was arrested Tuesday, three days after the victims'
bodies were found in Holly Township.
An elderly couple were slain in their bed, and the woman's son and his wife
were killed in other bedrooms. All had been beaten in the head.
Investigators believe Barnhart entered the home through a broken basement
window.
``It is our understanding from his drug record that he was getting money for
drugs,'' said state police Lt. Ted Monfette.
Barnhart has previous convictions for breaking and entering and marijuana
possession.
AP-NY-11-05-98
-----------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 11/5/98 online edition of The Detroit
Free Press newspaper:
Suspect in 4 murders arrested
Police say he killed for cash, confessed
November 5, 1998
BY BRIAN MURPHY
Free Press Staff Writer
With a $500 drug debt and a 10-year-old tale of a hidden fortune dancing in his
head, Michael L. Barnhart broke into a Holly Township home early Sunday,
bludgeoned four people to death with a claw hammer and escaped into the chilly
darkness with a handful of cash, police allege in court documents filed
Wednesday.
For three days, fear-gripped residents of this northern Oakland County
community locked doors and wondered aloud whether there was a killer in their
backyards. Meanwhile, Barnhart drove around with blood-soaked gloves and the
murder weapon underneath his seat, according to an affidavit State Police used
to obtain search warrants for Barnhart's car and room in Waterford Township.
The affidavit and two high-ranking law enforcement officials confirmed that
Barnhart, 25, confessed to killing John Hopson, 72, his 71-year-old wife,
Adelheid, and her son and daughter-in-law during a burglary gone bad.
The Hopsons and Wilhelm Adelsberger, 54, and his wife, Elaine, 61, of South
Huntingdon Township, Pa., were found dead by the Hopsons' daughter. All but
Wilhelm Adelsberger were killed as they slept.
Apparently awakened by the noise, Wilhelm Adelsberger confronted the intruder
in his bedroom and was beaten to the floor with the hammer, Barnhart allegedly
told investigators.
After killing Elaine Adelsberger in bed, Barnhart ransacked the room before
moving to the other bedroom.
John Hopson was stirring when Barnhart killed him and then his wife, according
to the affidavit.
Barnhart told police he stole cash from wallets and purses and fled to his car,
parked several hundred yards away.
The probe, which began Sunday and involved 18 detectives, led police to
Barnhart, who was stopped on Elizabeth Lake Road about 11 p.m. Tuesday while
driving his mother's 1986 Pontiac Fiero. Detectives arrested him on a September
warrant alleging that he broke into an Independence Township construction site,
authorities said. Sheriff's officials said they had been looking for him since
it was issued.
Investigators impounded the car and seized a tool bag with blood-stained gloves
and a hammer inside, according to the affidavit.
Barnhart is being held in the Oakland County Jail on the breaking-and-entering
charge and on suspicion of murder. He is expected to be charged today with four
counts of first-degree murder in what is likely the worst mass killing in
Oakland County history.
"From the evidence we have, we are very confident this subject acted alone,"
State Police Lt. Ted Monfette said Wednesday.
The search came to an end Tuesday when a tipster told investigators at the
Groveland Township State Police post of a conversation he had with Barnhart on
Friday -- two days before the slayings, the affidavit said.
The informant said that Barnhart came to his Groveland Township mobile home
Oct. 30 and asked to borrow $500 to retire a drug debt. The tipster refused,
and the pair went to a party store to buy beer.
On the way, Barnhart allegedly told the tipster that he had broken into several
homes, including one in which he assaulted an elderly man.
The informant told Barnhart that about 10 years ago, he lived near the Hopsons
and knew their granddaughter, Adrienne Taylor, who lived with them and that
Taylor had said her grandparents kept "large amounts of cash at the home," the
affidavit said.
Police moved immediately, placing Barnhart's rented room in Waterford Township
under surveillance. Detectives uncovered his criminal record and warrant, and
when Barnhart left the home in the Fiero, they stopped him a short distance
away.
After his arrest, Barnhart waived his right to remain silent and confessed to
breaking into the Hopsons' home between 4:30 and 5 a.m. Sunday, the affidavit
said.
He told detectives that he donned a pair of cotton gloves, pried open a
basement window with a screwdriver and climbed into the home.
Among the questions police and prosecutors will try to answer today is how
Barnhart, described Wednesday by a high school classmate as shy, moved from
small-time burglar to mass-murder suspect.
Barnhart, who is 5 feet 6 and 135 pounds, has been arrested on fraud, breaking
and entering and marijuana-possession charges, and been convicted of the latter
two.
"I just found out about it," his mother, Suzanne Barnhart, said Wednesday of
her son's arrest. "My son would never do anything like that," she added,
shaking and closing the door of her Waterford Township condominium.
Authorities still would like to know why the informant told Barnhart about the
Hopsons' home.
The tipster, reached Wednesday at his home, said he barely knew Barnhart. "I
worked with him for six months before he got fired," he said, refusing to
comment further.
A woman who identified herself only as the informant's girlfriend, said the
tipster had known the Hopson family since childhood. "He and his brother and
sister grew up" near the Hopsons. "His mother's taking it pretty hard. It's
really sad."
Investigators intend to re-interview the tipster and have him take a
lie-detector test to determine his role in the case. "We're not letting him off
the hook that easy," one law enforcement official said.
An area defense attorney said that if the informant simply told Barnhart that
his former neighbors had money, that probably would not be enough to implicate
him in the slayings.
"His suggestion that some money might be found at a given location is not an
agreement, and would not be enough to warrant charging him with conspiracy,"
Pontiac attorney Elbert Hatchett said.
But Hatchett also noted that the tipster exposed himself to possible criminal
charges if he did not try to secure immunity before going to police.
Staff writers L.L. Brasier, Matt Helms, Bill Laitner, Marsha Low and David
Zeman contributed to this report.
Brian Murphy can be reached at 1-248-586-2611.
MICHAEL L. BARNHART
• Born: Oct. 16, 1973.
• Residence: Waterford Township.
• Education: Graduated from Waterford Mott High School, 1991.
• Criminal history: Arrests on charges of fraud, breaking and entering and
marijuana possession, with convictions for breaking and entering and possessing
marijuana, dating to 1991. He was wanted on a felony warrant issued in
September in a breaking and entering at an Independence Township construction
site.
WWWoLadyA
Joe1orbit
>
> A few days ago, a family of four was found dead, inside of their home in a
>rural area of Michigan. All four victims were adults, an elederly couple who
>owned the house, along with the elderly's woman's son and his wife. All four
>victims were BEATEN to death with a HAMMER
Hello Joe,
Thank you for posting this follow up to my original post.
What intrigued me about this crime was that the murderer was somehow able to
accomplish the beating deaths of all 4 of these individuals apparently without
any of them becoming fully alerted soon enough to save themselves.
It entered my mind that the members of this household might have been
hearing - impaired instead of just sound sleepers.
> Police say that he broke into this house NOT having any specific intent to
>commit mass murder, but just to commit a burglary, and when he stumbled
>across
>the 4 humans, he simply decided to beat them all to death with a hammer.
I also doubt that this theory explains the violent outcome of this break-in.
Seems if he were not driven by rage of some kind ...... he could have easily
left the scene undetected......and possibly still accomplished the robbery
since the inhabitants of this house remained asleep.
The only drug mentioned in the articles was marijuana, which is not one which
might be expected to provoke such a violent response.
>To leave a basement window so VULNERABLE, not putting on any iron bars and
>not
>having any alarm system, they absolutely DESERVE the fate that befell them.
They do not deserve to die from a violent assault for using "ordinary care" to
secure their home. They deserve to live in a world where individuals with
criminal histories are not released back into society without careful
monitoring for these potential progressions into more violent crimes.
Sincerely,
Lady A
Joe1orbit
>> A few days ago, a family of four was found dead, inside of their home in a
>>rural area of Michigan. All four victims were adults, an elederly couple who
>>owned the house, along with the elderly's woman's son and his wife. All four
>>victims were BEATEN to death with a HAMMER
wwwo...@aol.com (WWWoLadyA) Wrote:
>Hello Joe,
>
>Thank you for posting this follow up to my original post.
Hello Lady A,
My pleasure. I really appreciated your original post, giving our as yet
unknown quadruple murderer some attention here at the NG, while I was away on
my trip.
>What intrigued me about this crime was that the murderer was somehow able to
>accomplish the beating deaths of all 4 of these individuals apparently
>without
>any of them becoming fully alerted soon enough to save >themselves.
That is an intriguing element, but it does happen quite often, that an
attacker can and does beat or stab or strangle numerous people within a home to
death, simply by going from one to the other in a quiet fashion.
>It entered my mind that the members of this household might have been
> hearing - impaired instead of just sound sleepers.
That was a theoretical possibility. But apparently not true in this case. It
does give aspiring predators an INTERESTING tactical idea, as far as
specifically targeting deaf people is concerned, for either serial or mass
murder.
>> Police say that he broke into this house NOT having any specific intent to
>>commit mass murder, but just to commit a burglary, and when he stumbled
>>across
>>the 4 humans, he simply decided to beat them all to death >>with a hammer.
>I also doubt that this theory explains the violent outcome of this break-in.
>Seems if he were not driven by rage of some kind ...... he could have easily
>left the scene undetected......and possibly still accomplished the robbery
>since the inhabitants of this house remained asleep.
Correct. The question is, did Michael have a SPECIFIC INTENT to commit murder
when he broke into the house? That is open to question. He was clearly prepared
to commit mass murder, and IMO, he WANTED to FIND a REASON to unleash his rage
and hate violently. But it's still very possible that he only committed this
quadruple murder because the elderly male homeowner had woken up and was about
to, or had already, realized that an intruder was in the house. This struugle
could have awakened the elderly man's wife, leading to her killing, and then
the 2 younger adults might have been awakened by the stuggle.
>The only drug mentioned in the articles was marijuana, which is not one which
>might be expected to provoke such a violent response.
True. But the article does not state that Michael ONLY used marijuana. Simply
that he only had a criminal record involving that specific drug.
>>To leave a basement window so VULNERABLE, not putting on any iron bars and
>>not
>>having any alarm system, they absolutely DESERVE the >>fate that befell them.
>They do not deserve to die from a violent assault for using "ordinary care"
>to
>secure their home.
That is not "ordinary care" in my book. It is gross negligence and deliberate
risk-taking.
> They deserve to live in a world where individuals with
>criminal histories are not released back into society without careful
>monitoring for these potential progressions into more violent >crimes.
No. They deserve to live in a world that chooses to not subject helpless
children to so much abuse, trauma, injustice, and brutalization, that the
helpless child is molded, shaped, and made, into an enraged multiple murderer.
Take care, JOE
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Lady A
Joe1orbit
Here is an update on Michael Barnhart, the 25 year old druggie and petty
criminal in Michigan, who transformed himself into a hammer wielding quadruple
murderer about 8 days ago, when he broke into a house and BEAT all four adult
occupants to death, using a hammer, and targeting the HEADS of his victims.
Quite an impressively enraged rampage of death!
Yesterday was arraignment day in court for Michael, and we get a nice
overview of what the scene was like, as relatives of both Michael and his
victims got a chance to see Michael in person, inside the courtroom. The
relatives were quite upset, from both sides. But not Michael, he was VERY calm
and cool and showed no emotions at all. Most of you humans labor under the
DELUSION that "life is precious". People like Michael however, wisely realize
that the life itself is absolutely worthless. Society does not care about the
life of ANY individual citizen-slave. Society never cared about Michael, not
from the moment of his conception, as evidenced by the legality of abortion.
Not from the moment of his birth, as evidenced by the fact that he was handed
over to his biological creators without any attempt being made to determine
their competency.
Nobody cared if Michael lived or died or suffered. WHY the hell should be, a
victimized creation of society, feel any regret or remorse or negative emotions
about having slaughtered four humans? Very simply, there is NO rational reason
for him to feel any such emotions, and his calm & cool courtroom demeanor
simply demonstrates that he sees and accepts the TRUTH about life, far more so
than the angry/emotional relatives of the victims.
Michael was indeed formally charged with four counts of first degree murder.
You can bet that he won't be offered any sweet plea bargain deals, as are
parents who kill their legally owned slaves.
Police say that ever since his arrest, Michael has generally been very stingy
with his emotions. Showing a little remorse, but almost no "emotion". Why the
hell are you humans so hung up on emotion? It is just PATHETIC, how you choose
to seek out and demand that your own created predators express REMORSE over
what they did. You don't care if the remorse is SINCERE or not. You simply want
the anti-social predator to PROSTITUTE himself to his society, by expressing
regret and showing remorse. HONESTY is of NO value in your society. Neither is
Truth. Comforting lies are eagerly embraced, undesirable Truths are met with
total HOSTILITY and rage and denial and cries for vengeance against the honest
and truthful predator. How pathetic your culture is!
There was some question about what types of drugs Michael was a user of.
Initial news reports told of a past conviction for marijuana possession/sale,
but in this update we learn that Michael was also a COCAINE user. However,
police say that Michael was NOT high on any drugs when he broke into this house
and committed the quadruple hammer massacre. I'm very glad to hear that
Michael's brain chemistry was NOT artificially altered by any substance when he
committed this rampage. This makes it far MORE likely that the killings were an
absolutely accurate reflection of his core True Reality experience of life, as
it was forcibly imposed upon him from birth onward.
If you would like to view a facial photo of Michael, apparently taken after
his arrest, in which he displays a very interesting facial demeanor that is
hard to read or interpret, simply point your web browser to:
http://detnews.com/1998/metro/9811/06/11060160.htm
You can view an even larger and clearer photo of Michael, showing his face
and upper body, inside of the courtroom, by going to the following URL:
http://www.freep.com/news/index.htm
But be advised that this page is updated daily, and the photo will likely
only be there for the next 12 hours or so.
We also learn that yesterday was funeral day for all four murdered humans,
and get some typical sad commentary on the funeral scene.
Police have decided NOT to charge Michael's "friend", the man who TOLD
Michael that there was a lot of money inside this particular house, 2 days
before Michael's rampage, and who then turned police informant after the
massacre occured, with ANY crime. That's cool. The man obviously had no way of
knowing that Michael would kill anybody, and should not face any criminal
charges simply for suggesting to Michael that this house would make a good
robbery target.
Take care, JOE
The following two news articles both appear courtesy of the 11/6/98 online
edition of The Detroit News newspaper:
Holly suspect cool amid sobs, outrage
Man, 25, arraigned in hammer slayings
By Mike Martindale and James A. McClear / The Detroit News
11/6/98
CLARKSTON -- Relatives of the murder victims choked back sobs and muttered
"murderer." Nearby, the suspect's family appeared anguished.
Michael Barnhart, 25, of Waterford Township was unemotional for a man
accused of killing four people with a claw hammer in a Holly Township home.
During his arraignment Thursday, he glanced around the packed courtroom once,
but spent most of the time staring ahead, as Clarkston 52-2 District Judge
Gerald McNally read the charges against him -- four counts of first-degree
murder, four counts of felony murder and one count of home invasion.
Barnhart responded to questions, but said little as he was accused in
Sunday morning's deaths of John Hopson, 72; his wife, Adelheid, 71; her son
from a previous marriage, Wilhelm Adelsberger, 54; and his wife, Elaine, 63. He
was being held without bail in the Oakland County Jail.
Relatives and friends of the victims cried as the judge read the charges.
As the shackled Barnhart was led away, surrounded by seven police officers, one
blurted out, "String him up."
Barnhart's family said nothing, but a relative sat outside court, his head
in his hands.
A friend of the Hopsons was seeking answers. "I don't understand how one
human being could do that to another human being. I'm tired of the excuse of
drugs," said Donna Marlow, co-owner of the Whoopie Bowl, where the Hopsons
worked.
Barnhart's demeanor has changed little since his arrest, police said. He
has shown some remorse, but little emotion, state police Detective Sgt. Gary
Muir said. The Waterford Mott High School graduate is a cocaine user, police
said, but wasn't high the night he is accused of the murders.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tears and friends fill slain family's funeral
11/6/98
4 killed Sunday will 'live through me,' granddaughter says
By Brian Harmon / The Detroit News
HOLLY -- The gifts were simple.
An apple for the teacher. A gold putter for the golfer. A model airplane
for the World War II veteran. And a crocheted afghan for the woman friends
called Teddy.
Carried down the center aisle of St. Rita's Catholic Church on Thursday,
the objects served as symbols for the four relatives brutally killed Sunday in
Holly Township. It was another emotional moment in a nightmarish week for
family and friends of John and Adelheid Hopson and Wilhelm and Elaine
Adelsberger.
Nearly 300 people jammed the stone-covered church for the funeral. Many
cried during the ceremonious gift presentation.
During the eulogy by Fr. Joseph Killeen, emotions swung between convulsive
sobs and guarded laughter.
When Killeen mentioned that Adelheid Hopson, 71, was "affectionately called
Teddy," the cries prevailed. Then chuckling followed when the priest said the
crocheter "was teased for her yodeling."
Her casket sat between two others -- those of her husband, John, 72, a
career Army veteran, and son, Wilhelm Adelsberger, 54. The cremated remains of
Adelsberger's 63-year-old wife, Elaine, were inside a tan, marbleized urn near
his casket.
Elaine Adelsberger, a recently retired home economics teacher, and her
husband, an avid golfer, were visiting from West Newton, Pa. Wilhelm
Adelsberger was Adelheid Hopson's son.
"Why did God not prevent this? God can do all things except take away our
freedom," he said. "We can live wonderful and good lives or we can be desperate
and ugly.
"Adelheid, John, Elaine and Wil were lights in all of your lives," Killeen
added.
The Hopsons' granddaughter, Adrienne Taylor, also spoke during the service.
She cried through her delivery.
"They gave me everything I ever needed to be who I am today. They will all
live through me," said Taylor who was first to find her relatives slain in
their home Sunday.
--------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 11/6/98 online edition of The Detroit
Free Press newspaper:
Informant in slaying won't face charges
Giving burglary tip to suspect not a crime, official says
November 6, 1998
BY BRIAN MURPHY
Free Press Staff Writer
The informant who helped police crack the Holly Township quadruple slaying may
have stirred his cash-strapped, cocaine-addicted friend into targeting a home,
but that is not a crime, Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said Thursday.
The issue came to light after Michael Barnhart was arrested late Tuesday in the
bludgeoning deaths of John Hopson, 72, his 71-year-old wife, Adelheid, and her
son and daughter-in-law, at the Hopsons' home early Sunday.
Barnhart, 25, of Waterford Township, was arraigned Thursday on four counts each
of first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree felony murder, and one
count of first-degree home invasion. If convicted, he faces life in prison
without parole.
Police said Barnhart used a claw hammer to kill the Hopsons and Wilhelm
Adelsberger, 54, and his wife, Elaine, 61, of South Huntingdon Township, Pa.,
in a burglary gone bad. All but Wilhelm Adelsberger -- who was beaten to the
floor with the hammer after confronting the intruder in his bedroom -- were
attacked as they slept, Barnhart allegedly told police.
Relatives of the suspect and victims packed Clarkston District Judge Gerald
McNally's courtroom.
Barnhart briefly made eye contact with his mother, Suzanne, who looked
distraught. He told McNally he wanted to hire an attorney, and Barnhart was
held without bond.
"String him up," one relative of the victims said as Barnhart was led away.
"We need justice served, and I think everybody knows justice will be served,"
said Doug Hopson of Morehead, Ky., Wilhelm Adelsberger's son.
Asked what he thought when he saw Barnhart enter the courtroom, Hopson said: "I
wanted to jump over with a hammer."
The informant told investigators that on Oct. 30, Barnhart asked him for $500
to retire a cocaine debt. After he refused, Barnhart went on to admit several
home invasions.
The 29-year-old informant, whom the Free Press is not identifying, told
Barnhart he once lived near the Hopsons, and he heard they kept a lot of cash
at the home.
"That information, though extremely distasteful, does not rise to the level of
a crime," Gorcyca said.
Gorcyca said the informant passed a lie-detector test Thursday during which he
was asked whether he was present at the slayings and whether he helped in the
break-in.
The informant "is not an accomplice to the murders, and therefore will not be
charged," Gorcyca said.
Barnhart told police he thought the Hopson home was unoccupied when he pried
open a basement window about 5 a.m., killed the four people, stole cash from
purses and wallets and fled.
"It is a sad day when people lose their lives so brutally in order for someone
else to feed their drug habit," Gorcyca said.
State Police Detective Sgt. Gary Muir, who led the investigation, declined to
say how much cash Barnhart took.
After Barnhart was arrested, police searched the car he was driving, his
mother's Pontiac Fiero, and found blood-stained gloves and the hammer believed
to be used in the killings. They later searched his rented room and found
bloody clothes, authorities said.
Barnhart first denied involvement, but then confessed, police said. "Toward the
end, he seemed to show some remorse," Muir said.
Barnhart has had several run-ins with law enforcement since 1991.
Last month, Waterford Township police raided the Irwindale Street home Barnhart
rented with others and confiscated a variety of suspected drugs that are being
tested. Police said they have also responded to nuisance complaints from
neighbors.
On Sept. 8, Barnhart was spotted at an Independence Township construction site
with copper wiring in his car. A worker told police that a home Barnhart had
been seen exiting had been stripped of $175 in wiring, Sheriff's Lt. Dale
LaBair said..
Barnhart agreed to questioning on Sept. 15 and was released. A week later,
prosecutors issued a larceny warrant, but Barnhart eluded capture until his
arrest Tuesday.
LaBair said the decision to release Barnhart in September was guided by his
willingness to cooperate, his lack of a violent criminal record and the
nonviolent nature of the larceny charge.
"Had we been aware he would be connected to something like this, we would have
dropped everything else and gone after him," LaBair said. "We don't let violent
people go at all."
Staff writers L.L. Brasier and David Zeman contributed to this report.