Man arrested in killing of ‘brilliant’ gay neurosurgeon in Detroit

Authorities in Detroit announced an arrest in the murder of Dr. Devon Hoover, a gay neurosurgeon whose lifeless body was found stuffed into a crawlspace at his home last year. He was reported missing after he missed a visit with his dying mother.

Desmond Burks, 34, was arrested and charged with the murder of Hoover, 53, according to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Prosecutors say Burks was in an intimate relationship with Hoover, who sometimes paid him for sexual services. They allege Burks shot Hoover twice in the back of the head on April 22, 2023, then stole his Land Rover, multiple Cartier watches, money, phone, as well as credit cards which he used to go on a small spending spree.

Later that same day, police received a complaint about a Land Rover blocking a driveway about a block from Burks’s home in Detroit. Officers noted what appeared to be blood in the vehicle before towing it to an impoundment lot. After determining the car belonged to Hoover, they visited his Detroit home. They found the back gate open but the house locked with nobody responding to repeated attempts at the front and rear entrances to the home.

On the following day, police responding to a welfare check requested by Hoover’s family entered the home and found his body wrapped in a bloody carpet and stuffed into a third-floor attic crawlspace of his expansive home. The family contacted police after they became concerned when Hoover missed a visit with his ailing mother in Indiana.

“He was only wearing socks,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Burk is officially charged with First-Degree Premeditated Murder, Felony Murder, Larceny of $20,000+, Using a Computer to Commit a Crime, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and three counts of Felony Firearm.

“This investigation was conducted for over a year in conjunction with local Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office investigators, state and federal law enforcement agents, and spanning five states and three countries,” Worthy said in a press release.

Worthy said investigators discovered over 4,000 messages between Hoover and Burk, and analysis of the messages revealed the two were in an intimate relationship.

“On occasion, Desmond Burks would charge Dr. Hoover for these sexual services,” Worthy said at the press conference.

Worthy said there was a wealth of information connecting Burks to the crime, including cell phone tracking and call data, video surveillance footage, search engine requests, and more. Police recovered Hoover’s Ballon Bleu Cartier watch at Burks’s home and a later search of another address belonging to Burks led to the discovery of a Pasha Cartier watch purchased by Hoover the day before he was murdered.

The loss was devastating for Hoover’s friends and family. Alan Kaniarz spoke with local ABC affiliate WXYZ last year about the murder, describing Hoover as a “brilliant surgeon” and a good friend.

“I’m just heartsick over it,” Kaniarz said last year. “The world is a lesser place without him. He was a good, good man.”