October 13, 2026
Five Men Dead on Lansing's River Trail — Police Probe a Possible Pattern
Headline card by The Night Desk
Five Men Dead on Lansing's River Trail — Police Probe a Possible Pattern
Five men who were experiencing homelessness have died from apparent violence along a roughly one-mile stretch of the Lansing River Trail in under a year — and Lansing police say detectives are actively examining whether the cases are connected.
The five cases
- Gino Chouinard, 54 — found unconscious with serious injuries along the trail on Oct. 14, 2025; died Oct. 27. The medical examiner could not determine a cause of death.
- Denis Dunnebacke, 70 — found on the river trail near the Kalamazoo Street bridge on July 9; transported to a hospital with severe brain swelling and multiple spinal fractures; died July 16.
- Robert William Smith, 57 — found on a bench along the trail with severe head trauma on July 13; died July 17. Ruled a homicide.
- Daniel Lusk, 22 — fatally stabbed on the trail on Aug. 20. A 23-year-old man, Edward Joseph Smith, has been charged with murder in connection with the stabbing, according to Men's Journal. Police have not linked him to the other deaths.
- Louis Woodruff, 57 — found unconscious with facial trauma on Aug. 30 near East Cesar Chavez Avenue; died Sept. 1. Lansing police are investigating his death as a homicide.
Four of the five victims suffered head or facial trauma; the fifth was stabbed. Police believe the attacks happened overnight or in the early morning hours — likely while the men were sleeping — on the stretch of trail between Old Town and Kalamazoo Street.
"Every one of these cases is being investigated"
Lansing Police Chief Rob Backus said at an Oct. 2 news conference that all five cases are active investigations and detectives are searching for patterns and commonalities. Two of the five deaths have been ruled homicides.
"We want the public to understand that every one of these cases is being investigated," Backus said. "We are looking closely at whether they may be related."
Police have cautioned against assuming one person is responsible for all five deaths before investigators have sufficient evidence.
Families rally for an emergency shelter
On Monday, Oct. 12, about a dozen people — including Sariah Woodruff, 27, daughter of the fifth victim — rallied outside Lansing City Hall ahead of the 7 p.m. council session, demanding the city open an emergency shelter for its unhoused population. Signs read "Open Emergency Shelter," "Keep Our Homeless Safe," and "Everyone Should Sleep Safely."
Advocates say the city's unhoused residents are scared — many are now sleeping during the daytime or in shifts because of the river trail deaths.
Chief Backus said city officials are amenable to the shelter idea and that conversations about funding have begun. A spokesperson for Mayor Andy Schor said preliminary conversations have started, but cautioned that a new shelter would need a building, furniture, staffing, and programming — "costs could be fairly significant."
What we're watching
Whether investigators formally connect any of the four unsolved cases, whether the City Council acts on the shelter demand, and whether patrols and new surveillance cameras along the trail turn up anything. This story is developing — updates in the comments.
Tip line: if you know anything about the river trail deaths, contact the Lansing Police Department. Rest in peace, Gino, Denis, Robert, Daniel, and Louis.
Source: Lansing State Journal — read the original report
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