Dr. Devon Hoover murder suspect to undergo competency hearing

Charges issued in murder of Detroit neurosurgeon

After months of investigation, police and prosecutors have finally arrested and charged a man behind the murder of a well-known Detroit neurosurgeon. Devon Hoover was found dead in his home in the Boston Edison neighborhood in 2023.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The man accused of killing well-known Detroit neurosurgeon Devon Hoover was referred for a competency hearing Thursday.

Desmond Burks, 34, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, larceny over $20,000, felon in possession of a firearm, and three counts of felony firearm for the April 2023 murder of Hoover at his Boston Edison home.

Hoover, 53, was found shot to death and wrapped in a bloody carpet in the attic of his home on April 23, 2023, a day after his Range Rover was parked outside another Detroit home.

Police went to Hoover's house after the vehicle was found, but no one answered. They returned the next day and found his body, face down, wearing only socks, after his family requested a welfare check because he missed a trip to visit his dying mother in Indiana.

Hoover was shot twice in the head, an autopsy concluded.

The discovery spurred an investigation that lasted more than a year as authorities worked to gather enough evidence to charge Burks. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Burks was the original person of interest. He was questioned and released, initially, because they needed more evidence to advance the case.

Worthy said that a massive amount of evidence was part of the investigation that spanned five states – Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, and California – and three countries – the U.S., France, and England, though she declined to say how those other locations were tied to the case.

Worthy also noted that the nature of the relationship made some witnesses hesitant to come forward with information.

Burks is also facing murder charges stemming from an April 2024 road rage incident that left a 67-year-old Dearborn man named Reda Saleh dead. Worthy said this case was not connected to the investigation into Hoover's murder.

Burks underwent a competency exam in that case, too.