Mother of six murdered at Detroit motel • A looming 'tridemic' • Attorney says Ethan Crumbley is remorseful

TUESDAY NEWS HIT - A 42-year-old mother of six was murdered in a Detroit motel, leaving a grieving family desperate for closure, and police, for answers,

Stacie Ball’s body was discovered at the Travel Inn on Harper Road last Tuesday.

"You didn't have to her like that, you didn't," said Sherry Ball, Stacie's sister.

"He said, 'Mama, they got it on Facebook: they found my mama dead.'" said Lugusta Ball, her mother.

She says they had not talked with her for a few weeks and that raised alarms.

Stacie’s friends began looking for her - one of them stumbled upon a heavy police response at the motel last week, where authorities say she was shot several times.

"And I’ve cried so much, my head (is) cloudy ... just trying to think you know, who could do her like that?" said Sherry.

Lugusta Ball says Stacie struggled with substance abuse and she often prayed and pleaded for her daughter to come home and get clean.

"She said, ‘I’m trying, mama. I’m trying.’ I said, ‘I want you to try harder, baby. Come on back home,’" Lugusta said. "I said, ‘mama getting older now and I ain’t going to be here much longer, I want you to come home.’ She said, ‘Mama I’m going to try. I’m going to try real hard.’"

Lugusta says she’ll remember her daughter as the family comedian and life of the party.

She’s survived by six children and a grieving family with this message for the person who took her life.

"I hope that my sister gets justice," said Sherry. "I hope that we can stand before you one day and tell you how bad you hurt us."

Detroit police says this is still an active investigation - anyone with information about what happened here please call the Detroit Police Department's Homicide Section at (313)-596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

Read more here.

Doctors warn of ‘Tridemic’ of diseases this winter 

The weather is getting colder, which means that doctors are on high alert for the coming sickness that usually comes with the seasonal flu. However, it's not just influenza that's worrying medical experts. 

Coronavirus remains a very active threat to the public. Combined with RSV - a common respiratory virus - Dr. Dennis Cunningham of Henry Ford Health is on high alert for a "tridemic." All three could peak at the same time.

 "Ever since Covid hit it's been so much different, so could all three hit at the same time? It is a possibility, but I'm really hoping that flu waits until RSV goes away," said Dr. Dennis Cunningham. Both Henry Ford Health and Beaumont Health doctors are seeing RSV as the main culprit behind the recent rise in emergency room visits.

RSV typically starts to peak in late December, but medical professionals believe isolation caused by the Covid pandemic could be the cause for this early spike.

Here's what else doctors had to say about diseases.

Absentee ballots could delay Michigan election results again

Michiganders most likely will not know who the next governor is when they go to bed on Election Day next week. This is due in large part to the overwhelming number of absentee ballots that cannot be counted until after the polls close.

Lawmakers approved a bill allowing clerks to pre-process those absentee votes two days before the vote which would speed up the counting process, but Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said that won't make a difference this year.

"The reality is the pre-processing legislation was enacted without any additional funding, and we told this to everyone involved in the deal that it was not one that we were really going to be able to act on because of the lateness and the lack of funding," she said. 

Because many local clerks did not have time to train workers on how to pre-process the avalanche of absentee votes, close race results will be late. "People should still expect unofficial results will be ready within 24 hours of the polls closing on Nov. 8," Benson said. "Wednesday evening when especially the close races we'll know the full unofficial results of the election."

Read more election coverage here.

Homicide suspect remains at large after escaping Detroit Police stand-off

A 23-year-old Detroit man remains at large after fatally shooting a woman and escaping police following a barricade inside his home. Keyon Fields should be considered armed and dangerous after he went missing Monday morning following a standoff with Detroit police. By the time a police drone was flown inside the home on Santa Rosa Street, the suspect had disappeared. 

He's still being sought by police. Fields is accused of shooting two people, including one woman fatally after he became upset with a party that was thrown at a home in the 12100 block of Santa Rosa near Livernois. The deceased victim was a 20-year-old woman. The other victim, a woman in her 30s is stable.

According to Detroit Police Chief James White, Fields was upset with the music volume during the party. After shots were fired, Fields went inside his home which was a multi-family complex and made the job of securing the property difficult for police. 

Fields is on probation for carrying a concealed weapon. If you know anything about his whereabouts you are advised to not approach him and to call police immediately at (313) 267-4600.

More info on the standoffs that occupied police yesterday. 

Ethan Crumbley's attorney says hes remoresful

First came the not guilty plea, then the insanity defense and now a drastic change for Oxford mass shooter Ethan Crumbley pleading guilty. Crumbley appeared in court Monday pleading guilty to 24 counts against him for the Nov. 30 school attack.

His attorney said today that with the guilty plea it was her client wanting to take accountability for his actions in the mass shooting at Oxford High School. Crumbley with only one-word answers in court - seeming to lack emotion or remorse, but his attorney disagrees. She says he is remorseful and more will come out at the next hearing.

"He definitely is. We have to remember he is a 16-year-old boy," said attorney Paulette Loftin. "So, a very scary situation today."

Evidence is likely to be used against James and Jennifer in their upcoming criminal trials. 

More on the teen's conviction here.

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Daily Forecast

Prepare for one final day of exceptional weather in Southeast Michigan before temperatures begin to reel and rain is expected to fall. It'll be 70s and a mix of sun and clouds Tuesday. On Wednesday, temps hit the 60s and potentially the 50s on Thursday.

What else we're watching

1. A pair of snatch and grabs in Detroit has investigators looking at robbery attempts on E Jefferson and Morang. One location was a suspected marijuana grow operation.
2. A policy conference is scheduled in the city of Detroit Tuesday where TED Talk-style speeches will be given by members of the city, Black business alliance, RiDetroit, and the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership.
3. Tudor Dixon and Gretchen Whitmer will debate for a second time tonight in Rochester. The two gubernatorial candidates are entering the final stretch of campaign season that has recently turned more competitive.
4. Another major affordable housing announcement project is expected in Detroit Tuesday. The mayor will be at a rehabbed housing development this afternoon in Midtown.
5. Local centenarians will be honored at a 2 p.m. event in Macomb County where citizens who have surpassed their 100th birthday will be celebrated at the Macomb County Information Communication Center.

Georgia men come to pick up their daughter from school, realize it's the same girl: report

A Georgia TikTok user says two men discovered they were both fathers to a young girl when they came to pick her up from the school where she works.

In a series of videos posted by @Sheena_20200 – who FOX 28 said works in the front office – the men came in before dismissal earlier this month – each claiming the girl was their daughter and that they wanted to check her out for the day.

"And so, they both look at each other, and the dad was like, ‘Why are you checking my child out? Who are you?'" Sheena Jackson said in the video. 

Read the full story here.