KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo Public Safety officers have determined that a woman’s death discovered over the weekend is a homicide, and now we are learning more about the victim.
Police tell FOX 17 that one person is in custody in connection with the homicide. Formal charges are not expected until Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.
Officials responded to the woman’s home at roughly 11:24 a.m. Sunday after they got a call to check and make sure she was okay. They discovered her body inside the Edgemoor Avenue home, and they say she may have been dead for several days.
Early Tuesday morning, police identified the victim as Debra Jean, 62. She appeared to have been dead for several days. Police originally labeled the incident as a suspicious death, but later determined it a homicide.
Police say they get very few calls to the area and neighbors say that they do see regular police patrols in the area. Neighbors are struggling to understand who could do this and why.
“She pretty much kept to herself,” neighbor Jerome Payne told us. “You really didn’t see her outside. The only time you really seen her was when she was leaving. Like I said, she was more than happy to throw you a wave and a smile.”
Autopsy results that may confirm a cause of death are forthcoming.
