HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) — Three men who disappeared after planning to rap at a Detroit party were killed by multiple gunshots, police said Tuesday, five days after their bodies were found in a vacant, rat-infested building.
Detroit Police, Michigan State Police and ATF agents work the scene at West McNichols and Log Cabin in Detroit on the border of Highland Park, Mich. on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Authorities searching for three aspiring rappers who have been missing for nearly two weeks have found “multiple bodies” at a vacant Detroit-area apartment building. (Robin Buckson/Detroit News via AP)
“The investigation also has revealed that this was not a random incident,” state police said on Twitter. “The investigation is continuing and detectives are making progress and we believe we may have determined a motive.”
The victims were Armani Kelly, 27, of Oscoda; Montoya Givens, 31, of Detroit; and Dante Wicker, 31, of Melvindale.
The bodies were found Feb. 2 in Highland Park, near Detroit, nearly two weeks after the men were last seen. At least two of them were supposed to rap on Jan. 21 at a club called Lounge 31, but the event was canceled.
“It has been determined that the cause of death for each of the men was multiple gunshot wounds,” state police said.
Kelly, Givens and Wicker met while in prison. Kelly and Givens were on parole at the time of their disappearance, according to the state Corrections Department.
