Inset: Ladamien Hill (Oakland County Jail). Background: The house where Hill”s sister and nephew were stabbed to death (Google Maps).
A Michigan man is behind bars after his sister and nephew were brutally stabbed to death in their own home earlier this week.
Ladamien Keith Hill, 43, stands accused of premeditated murder in the first degree, according to Oakland County Jail records.
The victims of the attack, Linda Hill, 41, and her son, Kardi Jackson, 12, were found dead inside of a home on Berdeno Avenue in Hazel Park – a small, inner-ring suburb of Detroit – on Monday evening.
Both victims suffered multiple slash wounds to their throats, according to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.
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“This is a case of shocking and deplorable violence against a single mother and her son in their own home,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald in a statement obtained by The Detroit News and local ABC affiliate WXYZ. “Linda Hill and Kardi Jackson should still be with us. My heart goes out to their family as they grieve for their loss.”
The grim discovery was made by Linda Hill’s own uncle – who lives in the basement of the residence in question, according to a press release issued by the Hazel Park Police Department. At the time of the incident, the uncle called police to report loud noises because he thought no one else was home except his niece and grandnephew while he watched TV, prosecutors say.
The defendant was tied to the scene of the crime by the presence of a red Lincoln in the area before the mother and child were killed, according to authorities. That same car then left the immediate area of the residence around the time the murders are believed to have occurred. Then, the car left the general area entirely.
Later that same night, Ladamien Hill allegedly appeared at the residence – driving a red Lincoln, family members told police.
But it was not just the car that aroused suspicions. At first – the family told police – they had trouble locating the man whose sister just died.
“Family then reported that after police cleared the crime scene, Ladamien Hill walked into Linda’s home uninvited stating ‘forgive me’ and then reportedly walked into Linda’s bedroom, laying in her bed naked for 5-15 minutes before leaving the house,” the press release reads.
On Sept. 2, the accused man’s car and residence were searched by investigators from the local police and sheriff’s office.
Police claim to have found blood inside the vehicle as well as on clothing inside the defendant’s home, which “contained suspected blood evidence from the crime scene,” according to law enforcement.
Police additionally cited “video evidence” of clothing worn by the defendant “after the homicide,” the press release claims. The precise relationship between those purported articles of clothing and the evidence allegedly recovered in the case is not presently clear.
A motive is also, for now, elusive.
“At this time, we still do not know why this horrific crime occurred,” the police department said. “We can only hope that court proceedings to follow may shed some light on that question.”
On Friday afternoon, Ladamien Hill was arraigned on the charges against him, according to a courtroom report by WXYZ. During the proceedings, the accused stood without a word as his attorney entered a plea of not guilty.
The defendant is next slated to appear in court on Sept. 16, for a probable cause hearing.
