Police Said Michigan Neurosurgeon’s Murder Would Be Solved ‘Before Snow Hits the Ground.’ Now There’s Snow But No Arrest

Detroit Police Chief James White told city officials on Aug. 31 that his department would bring justice to the family and loved ones of Dr. Devon Hoover, a neurosurgeon found murdered execution-style in the attic of his mansion "before snow hits the ground."

On Monday, nearly two inches of snow fell on Detroit, according to the National Weather Service, but there is still no arrest in the mystifying case.

"We wish it could be quick like a one-hour TV show. Unfortunately, it takes longer than that,” the police department’s media relations director Dayna Clark told The Messenger Wednesday. "The department hopes to close the investigation as quickly as possible."

Hoover, 53, was a renowned neurosurgeon at Ascension St. John Hospital, who was found shot twice in the head at point-blank range in his $1.2 million home in the Boston-Edison district on April 23.

His body was dragged and concealed in the crawl space of his attic, covered with blankets and a rug. He was wearing nothing but a black sock, according to an autopsy report cited by the Detroit Free Press.

A person of interest was taken into custody about a week after Hoover was killed but "did not become a suspect" and was released, according to Clark.

She said investigators are continuously working on the case and hope to bring closure to Hoover’s family so they can move forward in their grief.

“The Chief said he’s confident they will bring some closure to the family very, very soon,” Clark added, repeating a statement White made nearly a month ago on Nov. 3.

Friends of Hoover have grown frustrated as they wait for news of an arrest and wonder if they should be worried since a brutal killer or killers may be on the loose.

“This man had no enemies," neighbor Jeff Cowin said in September. “It's concerning not knowing where the suspect is, how many suspects there are."

Clark told The Messenger Wednesday "no one is in danger" despite the lack of an arrest.

"It’s a huge rock on my head. It’s just pressing, just to know," Hoover's best friend, Carol Gove, told Action 7 News of the case remaining unsolved. "If the police don’t have anything, just say so — I can accept that."

Clarked added that investigators are working in tandem with Wayne County’s Prosecuting Office while “crossing 'T's and dotting 'I's."

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Maria Miller said the office had been reviewing the case, and modified the latest deadline.

"We are hoping to have movement on the case between late December and the beginning of the new year," she said.

The wait, according to Gove, will continue to be difficult for Hoover's friends and family.

"I just want it to be over," she said. "I just want them to say something. Just tell us something, just so we can just put it to rest."