DETROIT – The hearing for a man accused of murdering a well-known Detroit doctor is continued on Wednesday.
Desmond Burks, 34, was back in court for his preliminary examination in connection with the death of 53-year-old Dr. Devon Hoover.
The hearing began on Monday, June 23, and will resume on Thursday.
Here are some facts to know about the case:
- Dr. Devon Hoover was found dead at his home in Detroit’s Boston-Edison Historic District on Sunday, April 23, 2023. He was a neurosurgeon at Ascension Hospital in Detroit at the time of his death.
- Police found his body wrapped in a carpet in the attic of his house.
- An autopsy confirmed he died from two gunshot wounds to his head.
- Desmond Burks was charged in Hoover’s death after he was arrested in an unrelated road rage case.
New media coverage rules:
We’ll have live updates for you throughout this hearing, but there are a few rules from the judge regarding media coverage, including a new one that was given during court on Tuesday.
According to an order filed by 36th District Court Judge Shawn K. Jacque, we cannot:
- Live stream the hearing
- Show or publish the faces of any witnesses
- Show or publish the names of any witnesses
- Play or publish the voices of any witnesses (unless their voices are concealed or disguised)
During the preliminary examination on Tuesday, the judge also stated that he was amending his order and that, for our media coverage moving forward, we couldn’t refer to witnesses by any descriptors that could identify them.
On Tuesday afternoon, the judge made another revision and said we could refer to witnesses by gender and that police witnesses could be referred to by name.
Here are the full updates from court today:
Closing arguments
- 4:26 p.m. Wednesday
Closing arguments will happen tomorrow. The preliminary examination will resume at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 25.
Prosecution rests
- 4:25 p.m. Wednesday
The prosecution rests, and the defense said they don’t have any witnesses to call.
Exhibits entered into evidence
- 4:13 p.m. Wednesday
The People intended to call two Detroit officers. They stipulated that they would testify about responding to Hoover’s house on the day he was found dead.
They talked to someone near Hoover’s house who said he saw several different males visit him for about 45 minutes at a time before leaving.
That person said Hoover’s white Range Rover wasn’t there.
Officers went through a broken back gate to get to Hoover’s house, and after seeing what they believed was blood on a door handle and the concrete by the door, they forced entry.
In a crawl space on the third floor, they found Hoover rolled up in a carpet with no clothes on, besides socks.
Officers also found two shell casings at the scene.
In addition, they proposed an exhibit that includes a video from when Burks was first arrested. They also included an exhibit of an analysis of the shell casings, which were identified as being fired from the same weapon.
Another exhibit includes a fingerprint on the inside driver’s window of Hoover’s Range Rover that belonged to Burks.
No more witnesses
- 4:11 p.m. Wednesday
The prosecution said they don’t have any more witnesses they plan to call today, but have some stipulations that they want to read.
Witness 10’s testimony concludes
- 4:10 p.m. Wednesday
Witness 10’s testimony has ended.
Redirect
- 4:06 p.m. Wednesday
The prosecutor questioned the witness about the period of time they were referring to.
Witness 10 said Burks looked different after she gave him the Cartier glasses. She said he had a crisp black outfit and a fresh haircut. This was April 2023, around the time of Hoover’s murder.
The prosecutor also referred to the defense attorney’s questions about what the witness learned about the case from the media.
The prosecutor also asked if Burks had referred to Hoover as a homophobic slur in a phone conversation, and the witness said, “Yes.”
Cross-examination
- 4:04 p.m. Wednesday
The defense asked about Burks having a gun pointed out the window.
Witness 10 said she only saw the barrel of the gun.
When the defense attorney asked how she could identify it as a 9mm if that’s all she saw, the witness said she could tell because she had seen guns before.
Witness 10 cross-examined
- 3:52 p.m. Wednesday
The defense attorney asked Witness 10 about when Burks got new clothes.
The witness said she doesn’t recall the year.
She then said she believes it was spring of 2022, but wasn’t sure.
The witness said she cut Burks’ hair every couple of weeks for him, but after Burks was shot, she didn’t cut his hair.
The defense argues the witness wasn’t honest with the police because she didn’t want to get in trouble since she knew she had also committed some crimes. The witness agreed.
The witness was asked if she expected to be charged for those crimes, and the witness said she hoped not.
The attorney asked if someone told her she could still be charged even though she has immunity, and the witness said, “No.”
After Burks got out of jail the first time, he used the slur about Hoover to the witness.
The witness said she saw articles about Hoover in the media.
In March 2023, the witness said Burks drove by with a gun. Before that date, the witness couldn’t recall when she last saw Burks.
When asked if she had seen Burks at all in March or February before seeing him with the gun, the witness said she couldn’t recall.
Prosecution asks Witness 10 more questions
- 3:47 p.m. Wednesday
The witness said Burks had dressed better and more polished in April 2023.
When Witness 10 asked Burks about knowing Hoover, he allegedly called him a homophobic slur.
She doesn’t recall Burks saying how he knew Hoover. Burks also had asked Witness 10 about getting a credit card reader.
Court returns
- 2:46 p.m. Wednesday
Court has resumed.
Brief break
- 2:35 p.m. Wednesday
Court is taking a brief pause.
Witness 10 returns
- 3:26 p.m. Wednesday
Witness 10 re-enters the courtroom after the discussion.
The witness tried to help Burks get his number changed. Witness 10 said when she called, she couldn’t get the number changed, but then Burks called and was able to get it changed.
Witness 10 said the Cartier glasses were delivered, and she gave them to Burks.
After this, the witness learned that Burks was arrested.
At some point, the witness talked to the police. When asked, the witness said she wasn’t entirely honest with the police at that time.
Burks had called the witness from jail. He told her that he had $6,000 on his Cash App card.
He asked the witness to pick up his property from the Detroit Detention Center.
Burks also told the witness he was going to kill himself if he got charged with a homicide.
In addition, Burks told her to delete the messages about the purchases and delete Cash App from her phone. She said she deleted the app but didn’t disable her Cash App account.
When the prosecutor asked the witness if Burks ever told her that he knew the victim, she said, “Yes.”
She said she didn’t ask him how he knew Hoover, and said she didn’t have a reason when the prosecutor asked her why she didn’t question how Burks knew Hoover.
Declared a hostile witness
- 3:10 p.m. Wednesday
The prosecutor said the witness is being hesitant, and it’s clear that she doesn’t want to say anything that would be detrimental to Burks.
In addition, the prosecutor doesn’t believe the witness is being entirely truthful when she says she doesn’t remember certain events happening.
The defense attorney argued that remembering specific details, like the date and time of a certain text, would be difficult.
The prosecutor asked for Witness 10 to be declared hostile, and the judge declared that Witness 10 is a hostile witness.
Changing phone number
- 3:04 p.m. Wednesday
Burks asked Witness 10 to help him change his phone number, but the witness doesn’t recall him saying why he needed it changed. He was being urgent about it. This was on April 23, 2023.
Burks told her that he had gotten money, but before this, he had never talked about having a lot of money.
Witness 10 was asked to step out of the courtroom so the defense and prosecution teams could discuss an objection.
Text messages, looking at designer items
- 3:00 p.m. Wednesday
The witness texted Burks about the order going through.
After that, she shopped for herself.
She looked at Gucci bags and visited another designer purse website. She also looked at Nike items.
She texted Burks when additional purchases weren’t going through.
When asked if she was going on a shopping spree with a card that was not Burks’, the witness said, “Yes.”
Purchases with Hoover’s card
- 2:52 p.m. Wednesday
Witness 10 made online purchases for Burks. The witness didn’t use her card.
She used Devon Hoover’s name and credit card number that Burks gave her.
The witness wrote the name on an envelope. Burks told her to write down Devon A. Hoover along with the card number.
At that time, the witness said she knew that this wasn’t Burks’ account.
After writing the information down, Burks told the witness to buy herself something nice and purchase him a pair of Cartier glasses.
The witness used a fake name to order the glasses for $3,345.
Cash App transactions
- 2:48 p.m. Wednesday
On April 22, 2023, Witness 10 was in contact with Burks.
She received a Cash App from Burks but it didn’t come from his own account. The witness said he told her to send the money back to him at his personal Cash App account.
After that, he told her to delete her account, but didn’t say why.
Witness 10 testifies about Burks with gun
- 2:40 p.m. Wednesday
The witness said her family member shot Burks after the witness and Burks were involved in a dispute. Her family member is currently incarcerated for that shooting.
She said Burks didn’t have credit cards but had a Cash App card and said at one point, Burks had a cellphone in her name.
After being shot, the witness said Burks walked with a limp.
In March 2023, Witness 10 saw Burks with a black handgun. After that, the witness called the police.
The witness said Burks drove past their house in a silver truck and had the gun pointed out the window, and then went by again and taunted them.
She said that before Burks drove by, he texted her.
The prosecutor read a text Burks sent to that witness in which Burks said he had his gun.
Discussion about Witness 10
- 2:31 p.m. Wednesday
The defense and prosecution discussed the relevance of the shooting that happened months before the death of Hoover.
This refers to when Burks had been shot, which caused him to walk with a limp. Burks was shot by a family member of Witness 10.
The defense said it wasn’t relevant to this case because it happened months before, but the prosecution argued that it is relevant because Witness 10 was in contact with Burks at the time of the shooting and stayed in contact with him after he was shot by her family member.
The judge overruled the defense attorney’s objection to the discussion about Burks being shot.
Witness 10 called to testify
- 2:27 p.m. Wednesday
Another witness was called to testify. We will refer to this witness as Witness 10.
Burks enters courtroom
- 2:23 p.m. Wednesday
Burks has entered the courtroom
Court still on break
- 2:00 p.m. Wednesday
Court is still on a break.
Media coverage rules
- 1:51 p.m. Wednesday
The judge has revised his media coverage rules again.
Moving forward, we can now refer to witnesses by gender, and any police witnesses can be referred to by name.
Friends of Hoover previously said they knew who the killer was all along
- 1:30 p.m. Wednesday
Burks was charged more than a year after Hoover was found dead.
In August 2024, a friend of Hoover’s said that she and the doctor’s inner circle of friends knew Burks was the killer all along.
Catch up on the case
- 12:59 p.m. Wednesday
As we continue to cover Burks’ preliminary examination, you can catch up on everything we learned about the case before the hearing began with the following article:
--> Man charged in well-known Detroit doctor’s murder to appear in court. Here’s everything we know
Court goes on break
- 12:40 p.m. Wednesday
The court is on a one-hour lunch break.
Judge may revise media order
- 12:34 p.m. Wednesday
The judge discussed his revised media order.
He said his intent isn’t to limit coverage of the case, but to protect certain witnesses who have safety concerns.
The judge said he may loosen some of the restrictions put in place yesterday.
Court resumes, cellphone data
- 12:24 p.m. Wednesday
The prosecution reads in a few stipulations.
It includes call data analysis from Burks and Hoover as part of the investigation.
Court takes brief break
- 12:16 p.m. Wednesday
Court is on a brief break.
Witness 9’s testimony ends
- 12:08 p.m. Wednesday
Witness 9’s testimony has concluded.
‘I thought he was going to kill me’
- 12:07 p.m. Wednesday
The prosecutor asked the witness to talk about the situation at Rouge Park where Burks threatened them.
Witness 9 said that Burks told the witness he could do something to the witness and beat them, then take their car and that nobody would be able to find them.
“I thought he was going to kill me,” Witness 9 said.
Cross-examination
- 12:05 p.m. Wednesday
The defense attorney asked if Burks was violent toward the witness.
The witness said Burks spoke to them aggressively, drove them to Rouge Park and threatened them.
Witness 9 said Burks took their stuff, phone, keys and wallet, and said he’d beat them and leave them there and take the car since the witness was so afraid of him.
Witness 9 said that while Burks threatened them, the witness was never physically violent.
Redirect
- 12:02 p.m. Wednesday
The prosecutor also asks Witness 9 about the conversation about the gun. Witness 9 clarified that they initially misunderstood the question.
Witness 9 said they initially didn’t want to believe Burks was responsible for any of it, and then later became afraid of him.
Conversation about gun
- 11:47 a.m. Wednesday
The defense asked the witness about Burks saying he wanted to get rid of a gun.
Witness 9 said they overheard him say this on the phone while they were heading to the hotel.
A lawyer went with Witness 9 to obtain an immunity agreement.
The defense attorney read transcripts from the previous conversation.
Witness 9 had said they didn’t see the gun at this point, but heard him talking about getting rid of a gun. However, the witness had previously seen Burks with a gun, just not in that moment.
The defense attorney argued that today, Witness 9 said the conversation about getting rid of the gun happened the same day as the chop shop conversation.
Witness 9 said the conversation about the gun was before they left the house, and the conversation about the chop shop was while they were in the car.
The attorney continued to question Witness 9 about Burks saying he had to get rid of the gun.
Witness 9 questioned by police
- 11:42 a.m. Wednesday
Witness 9 said they packed a change of clothes for Burks, and then he put other items in the bag.
At this point, Witness 9 said she hadn’t seen him with a gun.
Defense asks about family, hotel rooms
- 11:36 a.m. Wednesday
The defense attorney asked Witness 9 about their relationship to Burks and how long they had known him.
The witness was asked about Burks’ walker and cane. They said he used the walker for about a month before switching to a cane.
Witness 9 said that a family member of Burks would drop off stuff for him, but the witness didn’t really know that family member.
The defense attorney asked about Burks’ work. The witness said he worked before he got shot, but didn’t have a job after.
The attorney asked about Burks’ depression and claimed that Burks sometimes wanted to get away and be alone, which is why he wanted to rent hotel rooms. The witness agreed.
Cross-examination
- 11:35 a.m. Wednesday
The defense begins cross-examining Witness 9.
Burks said police were trying to frame him
- 11:33 a.m. Wednesday
After Burks was taken into custody and released, Burks told Witness 9 that the police were trying to frame him for the murder.
Burks also told the witness he sold pills to the doctor, but didn’t tell the witness anything else about the doctor.
Burks asks about police
- 11:32 a.m. Wednesday
When Witness 9 brought him the boxes at the hotel before he was taken into custody, Burks asked the witness if they’d seen any cops.
The witness said they hadn’t seen any and asked why they would be around.
Burks’ items at hotel
- 11:29 a.m. Wednesday
When at the hotel, Burks asked Witness 9 to bring him some Cartier boxes he had. They were glasses and watch boxes.
When the witness brought them, Burks was still at the extended stay.
When Burks was arrested, one hotel room was still in Witness 9’s name.
From jail, Burks called Witness 9 and asked them to get his property.
The witness said they didn’t go get it for him.
Gifts from Burks
- 11:26 a.m. Wednesday
During this time, Witness 9 received gifts from Burks.
He bought the witness a Nike jumpsuit and shoes.
The witness said he didn’t buy them anything outside of food or gas before this.
The prosecutor read messages that Burks sent the witness about removing the photo from their Cash App account.
Cash App transactions
- 11:20 a.m. Wednesday
Burks called Witness 9 and said a friend was going to send them money via Cash App.
He sent the witness a large amount of money and asked the witness to send a portion of it back.
There were multiple transactions like this.
Witness 9 received the money from the “friend’s” account, but sent the majority of it back to Burks’ account.
After this, Burks told the witness to take their photo off and delete the account. Witness 9 tried to delete the account, but said they couldn’t.
When the witness asked Burks why the photo had to be removed, Burks instructed the witness to do as he said.
Fancy jewelry
- 11:18 a.m. Wednesday
The witness said they brought items to a hotel room for Burks.
Witness 9 said Burks was wearing Cartier glasses and his gold chain and a silver watch. The witness hadn’t seen the watch before this.
Two phones
- 11:16 a.m. Wednesday
In addition to renting the room on April 22, the witness also rented Burks a room at the Best Western off of I-94.
Witness 9 said they saw Burks with two phones, but the witness only had one of his numbers.
They said Burks had an old iPhone, but on April 22, the witness saw Burks with another phone.
In the car, the new phone fell, and when the witness went to pick it up, Burks snatched it from them.
Renting hotel room, getting rid of gun
- 11:10 a.m. Wednesday
In April 2023, Witness 9 got a call from Burks, and he asked the witness to get him a hotel room.
When Witness 9 got home, they agreed to rent Burks a hotel room. There was a fire in the backyard when the witness got home to talk to Burks.
They first rented him a room at an extended stay hotel in Dearborn.
The witness said Burks was in a hurry and told them that if anybody came looking for him, to say they didn’t know.
Witness 9 said Burks has asked for a hotel room before, but this is the first time he mentioned anything about someone looking for him.
On the way to the hotel, Burks was on the phone with someone looking for a chop shop.
Burks also had said he needed to get rid of a gun.
The witness said they were afraid of Burks. The fear built up over time, but they said at this point, they were scared.
Burks’ limp, how he made money
- 11:08 a.m. Wednesday
Witness 9 talked about Burks’ limp and how he walked with a cane.
When the prosecution asked about how Burks made money, the witness said Burks was “a hustler” and sold drugs.
He had no consistent income once he had been shot.
Witness 9 testifies
- 11:06 a.m. Wednesday
Witness 9 was granted immunity in connection with fraudulent transactions after Hoover’s murder.
Witness 9 called to testify
- 11:04 a.m. Wednesday
The next witness, Witness 9, was called to testify.
Witness 8 testimony concludes
- 10:58 a.m. Wednesday
Witness 8’s testimony concludes.
Jewelry store in Dearborn
- 10:55 a.m. Wednesday
Witness 8 was at the jewelry store.
The witness said Burks purchased a 10K yellow gold charm and diamond earrings. Burks paid for the jewelry in cash.
The receipt had Burks’ signature on it.
The jewelry was bought on April 22, 2023.
Witness 8 to testify
- 10:52 a.m. Wednesday
Another witness has been called to testify. This is the first person called on Wednesday, but the eighth person called since the hearing started.
They will be referred to as Witness 8 in this article.
Burks enters courtroom
- 10:47 a.m. Wednesday
Burks has entered the courtroom as his preliminary examination resumes on Wednesday, June 25.
Hearing to begin soon
- 10:28 a.m. Wednesday
The judge finished up calling the other cases and said Burks’ hearing will begin soon.
What we’ve learned so far
- 10:18 a.m. Wednesday
Here’s video coverage from this morning that details what we’ve heard in court so far.
Hearing hasn’t started yet
- 9:59 a.m. Wednesday
Burks’ hearing hasn’t begun yet. The judge is still calling other cases.
Witnesses
- 9:47 a.m. Wednesday
Due to the judge’s media coverage rules, in this article, we are referring to the Witnesses as Witness 1, Witness 2, etc.
Seven witnesses have already been called to testify during this preliminary examination, so we will refer to the first person who testifies on Wednesday as Witness 8.
Who has testified so far?
- 9:30 a.m. Wednesday
So far, seven witnesses have been called to testify during the preliminary examination.
The prosecution is expected to call multiple witnesses on Wednesday.
At least two witnesses were excused on Tuesday due to there not being enough time for them to testify, and they were told to report back to court on Wednesday morning.
Previous coverage of the preliminary examination
- 9:19 a.m. Wednesday
If you missed our previous coverage of Burks’ preliminary examination, you can get caught up on what has happened so far at the following articles:
--> (DAY 1) Full updates: Hearing for man accused of murdering well-known Detroit doctor begins
--> (DAY 2) Full updates: Hearing for man accused of murdering well-known Detroit doctor continues
