Arson suspected in fatal Detroit fire • ShotStopper contracts renewed • Lawyer arrested after break-in attempt

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - A woman is accused of torching her ex-boyfriend's Detroit home, killing his mother.

Fire crews responded to the burning home on Seminole late Monday and found the victim dead inside. She was in a wheelchair and unable to escape, while her son and another woman made it out a window.

The suspect, who was later arrested at a Livonia motel, allegedly sent her ex a string of threatening text messages before the fire. She is accused of buying an accelerant at a nearby gas station and setting the blaze.

"By the time I came outside, it was blazing. It already made it to the top," said Brandi Brewer, a neighbor. "That was really, really heartbreaking for the family to have to sit here and watch that."

ShotStopper contracts renewed

As murder and shooting rates decrease in Detroit, contracts for ShotStopper have been renewed.

Detroit Friends and Family, Detroit Peoples Community, Force Detroit, and New Era CC were all awarded year-long contract renewals, while Detroit 300 and Wayne Metro were given three-month extensions. 

This extension comes after a year of the program that provides funding to community organizations that are working to reduce violence in the city. 

Detroit Friends and Family, Detroit Peoples Community, Force Detroit, and New Era CC were all awarded year-long contract renewals, while Detroit 300 and Wayne Metro were given three-month extensions.

The reason for the difference is the first four groups have seen "significant improvement" an official with the city told councilmembers. The other two have also had progress, "but need some additional time to refine their tactics and reach the same level of impact as the other groups."

Armed lawyer caught trying to break into home

A Dearborn lawyer was allegedly armed with a gun, knife, handcuffs, masks, a hammer, a crowbar, duct tape, and latex gloves when he tried to break into a former co-worker's Royal Oak home over the weekend.

Police said the victim was sleeping inside her home on Smith Avenue near Crooks Road around 1:20 a.m. Saturday when she awoke to Levi Trahern Smith, 34, trying to break into her side door. She activated a panic button, and Smith tried to walk away but was caught by Royal Oak police officers.

Investigators learned Smith used to work with the victim and previously showed romantic interest in her.

More guns were found at Smith's home.

"There were a large number of firearms as well as ammunition found throughout the home -as well as the vehicle," said Det. Zach Meckl during a court hearing. "There are still two registered handguns that are outstanding that we are unable to locate."

Smith was charged with first-degree attempted home invasion and felony firearm. His bond was set at $25,000 cash or surety, no 10%.

Man charged with murdering 1-year-old

A Wixom man is facing charges after authorities allege he abused his girlfriend's daughter to death over the weekend.

Police were called to a home in the 30000 block of Tamarack Drive early Saturday on reports of an unresponsive child. When they arrived, they found Christopher Savage and the child's mother administering CPR to McKinely Hardy.

The girl was taken to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi and then transferred to Children’s Hospital in Detroit, where she died.

"The child has substantial injuries. Multiple injuries that spread all over her body. We do know the one that most likely was the cause of death at this point, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office, would’ve been an injury to her head," Wixom Police Det. Sgt. Dean Caldwell said. ""It’s disturbing. These injuries are horrific."

Savage was arraigned Tuesday on charges of felony murder and first-degree child abuse. He's being held in the Oakland County Jail.

Hit-and-run suspect gets prison time

A man who fled after a Walled Lake hit-and-run that killed a 13-year-old learned his prison sentence on Tuesday.

Gavin Kassab will spend 8-15 years behind bars for his role in the March 2023 crash.

Kassab, who was 18 years old at the time of the crash, was with a driver who was 15 years old. The driver was fleeing police and ran a red light in Walled Lake, causing a four-car crash that killed 13-year-old Piper Carrothers, injured her mother, Erica Carrothers, and seriously wounded the victim's 10-year-old sister, Cora Carrothers.

Both Kassab and the minor who was driving fled from police again after the crash. 

"While Gavin was running, they were loading the limp body of my daughter Piper into an ambulance," said the victim's mother, Erica Carrothers. "My husband was rushing to the hospital to meet her as I held out hope." 

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon.

What else we're watching

1. The Monroe County Health Department will collect water samples at Lake Erie beaches to determine if the water is safe for swimming. Sampling recently resumed and will happen through Labor Day.
2. Ann Arbor's Session Room transitioned this weekend into Arbor Brewing Co. The restaurant will stay the same, with the addition of Arbor Brewing taps.
3. Wayne State University faculty and staff marched across campus to denounce the aggressive removal of students from a pro-Palestine encampment last week. 
4. Despite social media posts claiming the Lakeside Mall plants are free to take as the mall closes, they aren't. Don't take them.
5. A man is wanted after a shooting early Tuesday at Detroit Blues Cafe. 

3-year-old dies after random stabbing outside Ohio grocery store

A woman suspected of brutally stabbing and killing a 3-year-old child outside an Ohio grocery store was charged with aggravated murder on Tuesday.

Bionca Ellis, 32, was arraigned and the judge set a bond of $1 million, according to FOX 8.

On Monday, June 3, the child, identified as Julian Wood, and his mother, 38-year-old Margot Wood, were walking to their car after grocery shopping.

A woman, suspected of being Ellis, wearing all black then charged at Margot and Julian and stabbed both of them with a kitchen knife, police said.

Ellis was inside the grocery store when she saw the boy and his mother and then followed them into the parking lot. Julian was stabbed in the face and back while Margot was stabbed in the shoulder. The attack happened over the span of about five seconds, Det. Sgt. Matt Beck told FOX 8.