DETROIT – Police are investigating the death of a well-known homeless man in the Detroit area who was always seen with his dog.
Both the man and his dog are dead as the result of a vicious attack.
“Jesse was a unique individual. He was with his dog everyday and she was a service dog,” said Daphne Johnson.
Johnson said she was used to seeing Jesse Eastwood and his dog, Baby Girl, in the Harbortown Market Plaza all the time.
“I saw him three or four times a week. He never asked for anything, but I would give him food for the dog and food for himself,” Daphne recalled.
All that changed in Dec. 10 when Jesse and Baby girl seemed to disappear out of nowhere. Detroit police reported he had been fatally shot.
“He was brutally beaten and shot,” Johnson said. “He didn’t deserve it. I mean, nobody deserves it.”
Jesse, whose real name was Johnie Best, was homeless and didn’t want to go to a shelter because Baby Girl was not allowed.
From time to time, he would work at Wadsworth restoration. It would be guys from the shop that found his body.
The saddest part is that even though she was beaten herself, Baby Girl never left his side.
“Just really really sad that she stayed with him in the cold for two days,” Johnson said.
But after Jesse’s body was taken away, Baby Girl wouldn’t eat and died shortly afterwards, never recovering from her injuries. With all the bad news, Daphne worked to create a GoFundMe to give Jesse a proper burial and in the process was able to find his parents.
“He was cremated and the remains were sent to his hometown, to his parents in North Carolina. I wanted to do something for him. I did not want the city to bury him. I didn’t want him to be forgotten or in the morgue for three years,” Daphne concluded.
Police are still trying to figure out a motive in the murder. Daphne said she and the family want to start a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in honor of Jessie.
More: Detroit crime news