MURDER: 5 Homeless Men Died on the Same Mile of Lansing Trail

Between October 2025 and September 2026, five men experiencing homelessness were found badly hurt or dead along the same stretch of about one mile of the Lansing River Trail, beside the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. Gino Chouinard, 54, was found in Old Town in October 2025 and died two weeks later. In July 2026, Denis Dunnebacke, 70, was found under the Kalamazoo Street bridge, and four days later Robert William Smith, 57, was found on a bench on East Oakland Avenue. Both men died within days. On August 20, Daniel “Bones” Lusk, 22, was stabbed to death under the East Michigan Avenue bridge. Ten days later, Louis Woodruff, 57, was found under the Cesar Chavez Avenue bridge and died on September 1. Three of the deaths have been ruled or treated as homicides; two remain undetermined. Police say city cameras followed a man away from the scene of Daniel Lusk’s stabbing. Edward Joseph Smith, 23, has been charged with open murder in Lusk’s death only. He is presumed innocent, and no one has been charged in the other four cases. At an October 2026 press conference, Lansing Police Chief Rob Backus said investigators see “patterns” and that the cases “may be related,” as the city kept asking: is there a serial killer in Lansing? This documentary follows the timeline, the victims’ lives, the investigation, and the questions that are still unanswered. Case Biopsy is a true crime documentary channel. We take real cases apart, piece by piece, using public records, court documents, police statements and local reporting. This content is for educational and informational purposes: to understand what happened, how investigations unfold, and who the victims were. We cover unsolved murders, missing persons and disappearances, cold cases, serial crimes, fraud and scams, cults, heists and robberies, criminal masterminds and elaborate schemes, internet and cybercrime, and organised crime and the mafia. Every story is told with respect for the victims and their families. If you found this case interesting, like this video and subscribe to Case Biopsy for more content like this. Turn on notifications so you never miss a new case.