Super Unsolved Mystery – April 23, 2024

Did Detroit sweep a murder under the red carpet it rolled out for the NFL during Super Bowl XL? ML, Marc and Shawn discuss a cold case that police officials once described as a “delayed arrest.” Even if that was a legit law enforcement term, the delay is now going on 18 years.

STRAIGHT DOPE

The entire city is amped up about the NFL Draft coming to Detroit, and ML has a story about an 18-year-old cold case including interviews with cops who worked the case and the victim’s family, so of course Yawn Windsor gets the show started with musings on people who take trips by themselves. For the rest of the world, here’s a link to ML’s On Guard column.

ML’s mention of Tecumseh – the hometown of a 24-year-old woman murdered in downtown Detroit during Super Bowl XL – reminds Shawn of a story he did with Jim Schaefer back in 2006 about a creepy high school coach from the small town that includes the epic line: “…how you going to play the Dizzle like that?”

When the conversation FINALLY turns to ML’s latest investigation, he and Marc get caught up on the case of Kyle Smith, a 24-year-old woman who was shot to death on Woodward Avenue a day before Super Bowl XL. ML and Marc discuss Smith’s fascinating life, which included a heroin addiction and a brush with one of the most notorious cops in recent history: Robocop.

Smith was standing outside the Good Life Lounge when she was shot by a man she bumped into around 1:30 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2006. ML discusses what happened next.

Police had a suspect in Smith’s murder, but couldn’t break his alibi. Smith’s family wonders whether Robocop might have been involved, since Smith testified against him in one of the biggest police corruption cases in recent Detroit history. The jury didn’t convict any of the officers, and Smith slept with a sawed-off shotgun under her mattress out of fear Robocop might seek his revenge.

Marc asks whether the killing could have been a hit. ML shares some details from an investigator on the case that suggest it could have been more than a random shooting.

ML shares some homicide statistics that reveal how murders have gone down since 2006, then shares one statistic that hasn’t changed.

Marc asks about the other person shot when Smith was killed. ML shares what the man’s father said about the aftermath of the tragedy.

Not everyone ML contacted would talk about Smith’s murder. Two people who blew him off were former Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings and current Detroit City Council President Pro Tem James Tate, who used to be a police spokesman. Listen and learn why ML thought they had something to share.

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GEEK OF THE WEEK

A Chipotle customer who shot a employee in a dispute over guacamole is this week’s geek.

ROOM 7609

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