Two men accused of posing as DTE Energy employees were bound over for trial on Tuesday after the Oakland County medical examiner said a 72-year-old Rochester Hills man had his jaw and neck bones broken and assailants would have applied significant, sustained pressure to his neck to cause his death.
Carlos Hernandez, 39, and Joshua Zuazo, 39, are accused of entering the home of Hussein and Linda Murray under the false premise of being DTE employees before prosecutors they attacked and ultimately killed Hussein and restrained Linda with duct tape.
Both are charged with felony murder and two counts of unlawful imprisonment, and were sent to stand trial after 52-3 Rochester Hills District Court Judge Laura Polizzi found there was probable cause for each charge.
“We have substantial evidence that has been admitted today,” Polizzi said Tuesday. “Based upon all the testimony of these witnesses, based upon all the exhibits that have been entered, this prosecution has met their burden by a probable cause standard and this court finds probable cause the defendants committed a crime.”
Hernandez’s attorney, Paulette Loftin, and Zuazo’s attorney, Michael McCarthy, made little argument against the bindover of the charges, just noting that the issues in the case were questions that a jury should answer. McCarthy also said there were some issues with the identification of his client as a suspect, but did not elaborate.
Both declined to comment after Tuesday’s hearing.
Hussein Murray, 72, was the owner of Gold & Glitter Jewelry in Hamtramck. Police have said they suspect Murray was targeted in connection to his business.
Hussein Murray’s wife, Linda Murray, testified Tuesday that Hernandez and Zuazo came to their door in the 3700 block of Newcastle on the night of Oct. 10 and said they were DTE employees checking for a gas leak. Linda said they did not let the men in because it was late, and they told them they would be back the next day.
Wife: Safe and jewelry sought
Hernandez and Zuazo returned around 10 or 11 a.m. Oct. 11 and this time, Hussein let them in, Linda said. Both were wearing DTE badges, yellow vests and masks. They were driving a white pickup truck with a DTE identifier on it, police said.
Hussein led the men to the basement and Linda said she returned to the kitchen to continue making breakfast. She didn’t hear anything downstairs, she said, and the men came back upstairs 10 to 15 minutes later.
Linda said Hernandez asked her where their safe and jewelry was, and she told him they did not have a safe and the jewelry was in a safety deposit box at the bank. Hernandez then asked her where the money was, and she told him she had about $300 of cash in her purse and her husband had several thousands dollars in his pocket.
She asked Hernandez where her husband was, but they didn’t answer, she said. When she saw Zuazo come into the kitchen with blood on his vest, she started screaming, Linda Murray said. Hernandez hit her in the face and covered her mouth with his hand, she said. He sat her at the kitchen table, took her watch and phone away, and duct taped her wrists and ankles together, she said.
Linda Murray said she could hear Zuazo upstairs rifling through the drawers in the master bedroom. When she later went back upstairs, she found the room to be disheveled and askew, with missing jewelry.
Linda said she had never seen or met the men before, and they had never been in her home. She escaped from some of the duct tape and call 911. She told deputies initially that she believed her husband may have been kidnapped, but his body was found in the basement.
Medical examiner gives findings
Oakland County Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Shauna Bryan testified Tuesday that Murray died from compression to his neck. He had a broken hyoid bone that indicated someone put continued heavy force on him, she said.
Bryan said the contusions and bleeding in Murray’s neck could have been caused by someone stomping on him, but the broken hyoid would have to come from continued pressure.
“If a person of a great size were to press their foot into a person’s hyoid bone in their neck, would that (cause those injures)?” McCarthy asked, referring to Hernandez, who he had previously referred to as a “huge” and “uniquely physically characterized individual.”
Murray’s jaw was fractured and he had multiple cuts on his scalp, bruises on his head and bleeding under his scalp. The head injuries were consistent with using the butt of a gun to injure someone, Bryan said.
Hernandez allegedly told Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Wendell Smith that he was at the Murray’s home Oct. 10 and Oct. 11, but denied killing Hussein Murray or tying up Linda Murray. He said Zuazo tied up Linda Murray and couldn’t remember who hit her. He originally had denied being involved in the incident, but changed his mind after Smith showed him the Ring camera video.
Hernandez told Smith that someone provided him and Zuazo with the Murray’s addresses and the DTE equipment and paperwork.
“When we asked him why only one victim was killed, he became irate and yelled ‘What do you mean why was only one killed? It wasn’t supposed to go down like that,'” Smith said.
Loftin asked Smith if Hernandez “repeatedly said ‘it wasn’t supposed to go down like this,” in reference to Murray’s death, and Smith confirmed he had.
Before the hearing began, Zuazo asked Polizzi to remove McCarthy as his attorney because he said he didn’t feel McCarthy had been doing enough investigating on his case and didn’t feel comfortable with him. Polizzi told Zuazo it was too late to do that.
McCarthy also asked Polizzi after the hearing to dismiss the case because of an alleged delay in his arraignment, but Polizzi said there was not an unreasonable delay in his arraignment.
Murray and his wife were married 54 years, and have three children and 11 grandchildren, said one of Murray’s grandchildren, Hussein Murray.
“Our family is deeply saddened by the loss of my grandfather, Hussein,” Murray said in a statement. “My grandfather was a man with a heart of gold, who treated all those around him with kindness and compassion. He has made a lasting impact with our family and community, and I’m beyond proud to call him my grandfather.”
DTE said residents should ask to see a badge with photo identification if anyone arrives at their home or business saying they are from the utility.
Residents who want to verify a worker’s identity or confirm that a vehicle is an authorized company vehicle can immediately call DTE at 800-477-4747. If the person becomes agitated or acts in a strange manner, insisting that you let them inside, call 911 DTE said.