Lansing, Michigan · October 2025 – August 2026 Five men found fatally injured along one mile of river trail in ten months. Police say whether the cases are related is still under investigation. This file documents the record.
SUBJECT: FIVE DEATHS ALONG THE LANSING RIVER TRAIL — LANSING, MICHIGAN
Under Investigation
🚶 Walk the File
Read the case the way the record builds — five deaths along one mile of trail over ten months, one page at a time.
14 pages · October 2025 → October 2026 · every page sourced
CrowdSleuth publishes photographs only from official releases, family releases, public records, or licensed sources — so this file shows the place, not the people. Family-released photographs of the men appear in news coverage; those images are their families', and none is published here. If a family shares one for this file, it will be added with their credit.
The cases Five men found fatally injured along a one-mile stretch of the Lansing River Trail, October 2025 – August 2026 The five Gino Chouinard, 54 · Denis Dunnebacke, 70 · Robert Smith, 57 · Daniel Lusk, 22 · Louis Woodruff, 57 — all believed by police to have been unhoused (Lansing Police Department) Medical examiner Robert Smith — homicide · Louis Woodruff — homicide · Daniel Lusk — homicide (stabbing) · Gino Chouinard — cause undetermined · Denis Dunnebacke — no finding issued Police position All five are active investigations; whether some or all are related is under investigation; no connection has been declared (Chief Robert Backus, Oct. 2, 2026) Charges One man is charged in the Lusk case only (see People in the record). He is presumed innocent, and police have not linked him to any other death in this file Tips Lansing Police Department: (517) 483-6023
Five deaths along the river trail
The Lansing River Trail follows the Grand River through downtown Lansing, Michigan. Between October 2025 and August 2026, five men were found fatally injured along a single one-mile stretch of it. Lansing police believe all five were unhoused.
The spacing is part of the record: 268 days passed between the first death and the second, and the remaining four followed in under two months. Four of the men had blunt-force or facial injuries, and police have identified no weapon in those cases; the fifth, Daniel Lusk, was stabbed. Police describe the victims as lying down, possibly sleeping, in the early-morning hours, around 3 to 4 a.m.
The department's public position, stated by Chief Robert Backus at an October 2, 2026 press conference, is that all five cases are active investigations, that police are examining whether some or all may be related, and that no connection has been declared. One man, Edward Joseph Smith, has been charged in the Lusk case only; he is presumed innocent, and police have not linked him to the other deaths. The department has increased patrols along the trail, added cameras, and worked with homeless-service groups, and Chief Backus has said the lack of witnesses and footage is an investigative challenge. This file records what officials and reporting have established, attributes what is claimed, and marks plainly what remains open.
The timeline — full text
Tuesday, October 14, 2025Gino Chouinard, 54, is found unconscious on the Lansing River Trail in the 300 block of E. Oakland Avenue, with severe head and facial injuries. He is taken to a hospital. — Lansing State Journal READ ARTICLE
Monday, October 27, 2025Chouinard dies, 13 days after he was found. The Ingham County Medical Examiner later determines the cause of death undetermined. No suspect is identified. — Lansing State Journal
Thursday, July 9, 2026Denis Dunnebacke, 70, is found unresponsive near the Kalamazoo Street bridge with facial injuries, in critical condition. Hospital staff raise the possibility of a medical event; police treat the case as suspicious. — Lansing State Journal
Monday, July 13, 2026Robert Smith, 57, is found on a bench along the trail, unresponsive and bleeding from his head. — Lansing State Journal
Thursday, July 16, 2026Dunnebacke dies. The medical examiner has issued no finding in his case; Lansing police say a finding awaits additional medical follow-up. — Lansing Police Department, as reported by the Lansing State Journal
Friday, July 17, 2026Robert Smith dies at U-M Health–Sparrow Lansing, four days after he was found. — Lansing State Journal
Thursday, August 20, 2026Daniel Lusk, 22, is found with multiple stab wounds under the bridge at E. Michigan Avenue and S. Grand Avenue at about 4 a.m. He is pronounced dead at the scene. His death is Lansing's fifth homicide of 2026. — Lansing State Journal
Sunday, August 30, 2026Louis Woodruff, 57, is found unconscious with facial trauma in the 200 block of E. Cesar Chavez Avenue, near the trail. — Lansing State Journal
Tuesday, September 1, 2026Woodruff dies. Police investigate his death as a homicide. — Lansing Police Department, as reported by the Lansing State Journal
Wednesday, September 2, 2026Edward Joseph Smith, 23, is arrested in connection with the Lusk case. He is not charged in any other death in this file. — Ingham County Prosecutor's Office, as reported by the Lansing State Journal READ ARTICLE
Thursday, September 3, 2026Smith is arraigned in 54-A District Court on an open murder charge as a second-time offender and is held without bond. Court records later show a referral for a competency evaluation. He is presumed innocent, and police have not linked him to any other death in this file. — Ingham County Prosecutor's Office; the competency referral as reported by CNN READ ARTICLE
September 2026The medical examiner determines Robert Smith's death was a homicide, and police acknowledge they are investigating it as one. — Lansing State Journal
Friday, October 2, 2026 — the press conferenceChief Robert Backus says all five cases are active investigations and that police are examining "the idea or the possibility that these may be related cases." Asked whether the man in custody could be responsible for all five, he calls it "a challenging question to answer" and urges caution. Mayor Andy Schor says the investigation "includes all possible connections." — Lansing Police Department press conference, Oct. 2, 2026 READ ARTICLE
Wednesday, October 14, 2026A CNN Newsource report carried by stations including KWTX and WVLT brings the series national attention. All five investigations remain open. This file opened October 14, 2026. — CNN Newsource, via WVLT READ ARTICLE
The unverified record — accounts not established by documents
Officials have confirmed the five deaths, the locations, and — in three cases — homicide findings (see the timeline). The account below comes from a family member describing what he saw himself; it is credited to its source and stamped accordingly, because no official document in this file confirms or contradicts it.
Robert Chouinard's account of his nephew's injuriesRobert Chouinard, Gino Chouinard's uncle, told CNN that he checked his nephew himself and saw no defensive wounds. He describes severe injuries — in his account, a crushed skull and six broken ribs — and says he believes Gino was attacked while sleeping. The medical examiner's public finding in Gino Chouinard's case is that the cause of death is undetermined; the injuries his uncle describes are recorded here as his account, not as an established fact.UNVERIFIED— Robert Chouinard, to CNN
The public question — and the police answerPublic discussion of the five deaths has raised the possibility of a serial killer. Police say that question is open and under investigation, and they have made no such determination. CrowdSleuth records the question because officials were asked it on the record — and records their answer the same way. — Lansing Police Department press conference, Oct. 2, 2026
Public statements — who has said what, on the record
Haleigh Lusk, Daniel Lusk's sister · WLNS, August 26, 2026Haleigh Lusk spoke publicly to WLNS on August 26, 2026. She said her brother "was a brother, he was an uncle, he was a son," and that he "deserves justice." His family said Lusk loved fishing and mushroom hunting. — WLNS, Aug. 26, 2026
Mayor Andy Schor · press conference, October 2, 2026Mayor Schor said the investigation "includes all possible connections," as police examine whether the five cases are related. — Lansing Police Department press conference, Oct. 2, 2026
Robert Chouinard, Gino Chouinard's uncle · to CNNRobert Chouinard gave CNN a first-person account of his nephew's injuries and his belief that Gino was attacked while sleeping. Because it is a family member's account of facts that no public document in this file confirms, it is recorded in the unverified section above rather than here.UNVERIFIED— CNN
Statements are summarized in CrowdSleuth's words except where quotation marks are shown. Entries stamped UNVERIFIED carry an account or claim credited to its source but not established by investigators or documents.
People in the record
The five men
Gino Chouinard · 54 · found Oct. 14, 2025, on the trail in the 300 block of E. Oakland Ave.; died Oct. 27, 2025; cause of death undetermined
Denis Dunnebacke · 70 · found Jul. 9, 2026, near the Kalamazoo Street bridge; died Jul. 16, 2026; no medical-examiner finding issued
Robert Smith · 57 · found Jul. 13, 2026, on a bench along the trail; died Jul. 17, 2026; ruled a homicide
Daniel Lusk · 22 · found Aug. 20, 2026, under the bridge at E. Michigan Ave. & S. Grand Ave.; died at the scene of stab wounds; ruled a homicide
Louis Woodruff · 57 · found Aug. 30, 2026, in the 200 block of E. Cesar Chavez Ave.; died Sep. 1, 2026; investigated as a homicide
Officials Robert Backus · Chief, Lansing Police Department — the department's public voice on the five cases · Andy Schor · Mayor of Lansing
Charged in one case only Edward Joseph Smith · 23 · charged with open murder in the death of Daniel Lusk only; arraigned Sept. 3, 2026, in 54-A District Court and held without bond. He is presumed innocent. Police have not linked him to the deaths of Gino Chouinard, Denis Dunnebacke, Robert Smith, or Louis Woodruff. He is not the victim Robert Smith; the two men share a surname in the record, and nothing in it connects them.
Family voices Haleigh Lusk · Daniel Lusk's sister — spoke publicly Aug. 26, 2026 · Robert Chouinard · Gino Chouinard's uncle — gave a first-person account to CNN (see the unverified record)
The records — findings issued, and findings still open
Dunnebacke — medical examiner finding — no finding has been issued; Lansing police say it awaits additional medical follow-up. Status: NOT ISSUED
Chouinard — medical examiner determination — the cause of death was determined to be undetermined. Status: ISSUED — UNDETERMINED
Robert Smith — medical examiner ruling — homicide, determined in September 2026. Status: HOMICIDE
Woodruff — classification — police investigate the death as a homicide (Sept. 1, 2026). Status: HOMICIDE (POLICE)
Lusk — criminal case — Edward Joseph Smith is charged with open murder in 54-A District Court; he is held without bond, and a referral for a competency evaluation has been reported. He is presumed innocent, and the charge covers the Lusk case only. Status: CHARGED
Lansing PD press conference, Oct. 2, 2026 — Chief Backus's public statement on the status of all five cases. Status: PUBLIC
Michigan deaths — Oct. 2026 — national coverage of the five cases, including Robert Chouinard's account of his nephew's injuries (recorded in this file as his account; see the unverified record). READ ARTICLE
If you hold a document this file lacks — a medical examiner's finding, a court record, a police release — the "Add to This Case" button below exists for exactly that.
Watch & listen
🎙️ The Oct. 2 press conference — FOX 2 Detroit. Coverage of Chief Backus's press conference, where police took questions on whether the five cases are related. Watch →
🎙️ The national wire report — WVLT (CNN Newsource). The Oct. 14, 2026 report that carried the series to stations across the country. Watch →
CrowdSleuth links to recordings and videos; it does not copy or re-host them.
How to read this file: Five men are dead, and one man is charged in exactly one of those deaths. He is presumed innocent, and police have not linked him — or anyone — to the other four. Police have also not declared the cases connected; that question is open, and this file takes no position on it. If you know something about any of these deaths, the Lansing Police Department takes tips at (517) 483-6023.
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Case File 016 · The Lansing River Trail Deaths
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