Madison Heights firefighters discovered two bodies with stab wounds when they entered a house to extinguish a fire early Wednesday in what public safety officials say was a murder-suicide.
Police said the bodies are those of the man who lived there, Christopher Spicer, 40, and an ex-girlfriend he had maintained contact with, Candace Hawkins, 42, a resident who lived elsewhere in the city.
A neighbor called 911 after seeing white smoke coming from the roof of the house at 52 W. Harding Street at 9:27 a.m. Wednesday, said Madison Heights Fire Marshal Paul Biliti. The street is just west of John R Road one block south of Lincoln Avenue.
“The fire was set by (Spicer) to conceal a crime,” Biliti said.
Hawkins’ body had multiple stab wounds and she was wearing pajamas when firefighters found her in a bedroom, he said.
Spicer’s body, clad only in shorts, was discovered near the front door of the house.
The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Officer ruled the deaths a murder-suicide later in the day, police said in a statement.
“The preliminary autopsy results revealed Hawkins’s manner of death was homicide and she had stab wounds that were not self-inflicted,” Police Lt. David Koehler said in the statement.
Spicer’s death was ruled a suicide.
“Our condolences go out to those affected by this tragedy,” Koehler said in the statement.
He confirmed Spicer and Hawkins were in a previous dating relationship, but “they were still in communication.”
Before taking his own life, Spicer poured gasoline in a hallway closet and ignited it, Biliti confirmed.
“From the outside of the house you couldn’t even tell there was a fire at the house,” Biliti said. “We got there before the fire had a chance to get going.”
The only telltale sign was the smoke coming from the peak of the roof at the single-story house where Spicer resided.
Two found dead in Madison Heights house fire; investigation underway
Unlike Hawkins, Spicer had only a few stab wounds to his chest when firefighters got to the house and found the bodies, he added.
When firefighters first entered the house they found some blood near Spicer’s body and much more in the room where Hawking’s body was discovered, Biliti said.
“She had numerous knife wounds to her torso and neck,” he said.
A gasoline can was found near the hallway closet where the fire was set. Because the blaze was caught so soon after it was set there is not a considerable amount of damage to the house.
Police were called to investigate as soon as firefighters found the bodies, and a Michigan State Police mobile crime lab was called in to help collect and examine evidence at the house.
Officers closed off a section of the residential street as fire and police investigators worked.
“We’re still waiting on test results from DNA, fibers and fingerprints from the state police,” Biliti said.
The Madison Heights Fire Department’s investigation led to the conclusion that the fire was intentionally said, Koehler said in his statement.
Police are still reviewing evidence to confirm if it is consistent with the fire department’s investigation and the autopsy results.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Koehler at 248-837-2732 or the Madison Heights Police Departments at 248-585-2100.