Southgate police say missing woman found dead, husband arrested

SOUTHGATE, Mich. - Southgate police said a woman who had been missing since January 1 has been found dead outside an apartment on Northline Road and her husband is in custody.

According to police, 31-year-old Amanda Hilton was found dead and her husband has been arrested as a person of interest in her death. 

The dead body was found near the same residential complex that a missing person's report was filed after a woman disappeared on New Year's Eve.

Police were first spotted at the Dix Northline Neighborhood apartments early Tuesday morning. A body was discovered with gunshot wounds around 5 a.m. in the field near the apartment, located on Northline near Fordline Road.

A few hours later, police had focused their investigation closer to the apartment, near the property's dumpster. Officers could be spotted combing through bushes at the site.

"What we want to say is this is a tragic incident. We rarely have incidents like this in the city of Southgate and want our citizens (to be) rest assured that this is an incident that is a known victim-offender relationship," said Southgate Director of Public Safety Joseph Marsh. "This is not a random act of violence or anything like that so we feel there is no harm or public concern to the community."

Police declined to identify the victim or the individual in custody, only saying they were around the same age and both lived at the apartment.

On New Years Day, a woman's mom reported her daughter was missing as of Dec. 31. She lived at the same apartment where police are investigating and is the same age as the victim.