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Royal Oak man charged with killing father, leaving his body with hands, legs bound

Dane Steward charged with first-degree murder

Dane Mathew Steward (WDIV)

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – A Royal Oak man suspected of killing his father and leaving him with his hands and legs bound was arrested after "violently" assaulting officers and leading them on a wild chase through several counties, according to authorities.

Dane Mathew Steward, 31, was arraigned Monday on a first-degree murder charge. He faces the possibility of life in prison, if convicted.

Royal Oak police were called at 5:52 p.m. Thursday to a home in the 3700 block of Elmhurst Avenue. Relatives said they were concerned about the victim after repeated phone calls to the home went unanswered.

Family members said Steward lived at the home with his 73-year-old father.

Officers found the father dead inside the house with his hands and legs bound, according to authorities. The father's vehicle and Steward were missing, police said.

During the investigation, police said a Berrien County deputy encountered Steward on I-94 near the Indiana border, where the vehicle had run out of gas.

Around the same time, Gratiot County deputies were called Thursday evening to investigate a man acting erratically at a gas station. The man was identified as Steward.

Deputies were told Steward was wanted in connection with the Royal Oak homicide investigation.

When officers tried to take Steward into custody, he "violently" assaulted the deputies and fled in the vehicle, sparking an hour-long chase through several counties, according to authorities.

Gratiot County deputies followed the vehicle through Clinton, Ingham and Livingston counties while other authorities joined and deployed spike strips, disabling all four tires of the vehicle, police said.

The vehicle was disabled on I-96 in Livingston County near Howell, where Steward was taken into custody with the help of Livingston County deputies, officials said.

There were no injuries reported during the chase, according to police.

Officials took Steward to a hospital to be evaluated for minor injuries.

Steward is wanted in Gratiot and Livingston counties in connection with the alleged assault and fleeing incidents, according to officials.

Steward was denied bail. He is scheduled to return to court Feb. 1.

You can watch Local 4's previous coverage of this story in the videos below.


About the Author
Derick Hutchinson headshot

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

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