Hearing for suspect accused of killing Detroit Dr. Devon Hoover begins
It's been more than two years since neurosurgeon Dr. Devon Hoover was found dead in the attic of his home in Detroit's Boston-Edison neighborhood.
Now, we're learning more about the evidence gathered in the case against the suspect, Desmond Burks.
On Monday, Burks was in court for Day 1 of his preliminary exam.
It was a packed courtroom with Hoover's family in the crowd sitting across a cuffed Desmond Bur, who is accused of shooting Hoover twice in the head, killing him at his home in April 2023.
Prosecutors believe he and Hoover had an intimate relationship, with Burks occasionally charging Hoover for sexual services.
The preliminary exam is expected to take several days as prosecutors present massive amounts of evidence in the case. On Monday, we heard from two witnesses.
The first witness was a Detroit police officer who testified that on April 22, 2023, he was sent to check on a vehicle after a woman placed a 911 call. He says that the vehicle was a white Range Rover.
"I walked up to the vehicle, observed blood on the driver's seat, back seat, on the steering wheel of the vehicle," said the officer.
When asked what he did after seeing the blood, the officer said, "I scouted from the third precinct to do a welfare check of the location of the registered owner."
The officer was then questioned by Burks's defense team.
"You are not able to tell us if that blood, for example, was dry or wet. Would that be accurate?" asked the defense attorney.
"That's accurate," the officer said.
Body camera footage was shown in court of that welfare check when Hoover's body was found in the attic of his home with two gunshot wounds to his head.
The second witness to take the stand was a family member of Burks who was asked to identify the man shown in a video.
"What was unusual about the way he walked?" asked the prosecutor.
"He had a limp because he got shot," the family member said.
"After looking at the video, were you able to determine or recognize the way the subject was walking in the video?" asked the prosecutor.
"Yes," said the family member.
More witnesses are expected to take the stand all week. CBS News Detroit will not be allowed to livestream the proceedings.
