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(FOX 2) - Tina Taylor is still wrapping her head around the death of her aunt Tamara Jones.
Detroit Police identified the 55-year-old mother of two on Monday. She was found dead in an abandoned house on Detroit’s eastside last week, in what police call a string of killings tied to serial killer Deangelo Martin.
“When we determined that there was a possibility of the same suspect that was involved in other crimes, we put it out,” said Chief James Craig of the Detroit Police Department.
Martin was arraigned Monday for a separate attack. He’s accused of stabbing and raping a 26-year-old woman. Authorities say she’s one of two women that survived Martin’s attacks and have come forward to share her story after investigators named him a person of interest in three women’s deaths.
Nancy Harrison, Trevesene Ellis and Tamara Jones were all found dead in vacant homes. All are believed to be Martin’s victims.
“I'm sorry for what he did to my aunt and the other women and only God knows how many more that's going to come to the light.” Said Tina Taylor, Tamara Jones’ niece.
Investigators believe Martin may be tied to another woman’s disappearance. That woman is 64-year-old Deborah Reynolds was last with Martin in August of 2018, after a run in with Ferndale Police.
Taylor says Jones was last seen Memorial Day weekend with her daughter, but after not hearing from her mother for several days, she went looking for her.
“She went two places they said she wasn't there and she immediately went to the morgue,” Taylor said. “Immediately when she left out of there she called me at work, screaming hollering.”
While Taylor says her aunt was a panhandler who struggled with a mental illness, she was not a sex worker.
“She was not a violent person,” Taylor said. “She was a person of laughter. She loved to laugh. She was very creative, very talented. She shared a lot of love, warmhearted.”