The suspect wanted in connection with the kidnapping and subsequent death of a 30-year-old Detroit nurse has surrendered to police.
Detroit Police Chief James White noted the development during a Monday afternoon news conference at the Detroit Public Safety Headquarters downtown. Patrice Wilson, 30, had been abducted at 7:40 a.m. Saturday in the 4300 block of St. Antoine. The suspect – Jamere Miller – a 36-year-old former boyfriend of Wilson was sought in the abduction that involved a black 2020 Lincoln Nautilus.
“She was viciously murdered. Someone lost their child,” White told reporters. “Detroit has lost another daughter and we did everything we could to get this perpetrator off the street.”
White said Wilson was found deceased in her vehicle and characterized the suspect as a “very violent person” who has a “significant criminal history.”
Multiple units worked to locate Wilson and Miller, including DPD’s homicide, major crimes, fugitive, and organized crime divisions, among others, as well as the Michigan State Police, Wayne State officers and the Inkster and Novi police departments. Investigators issued search warrants and combed social media for leads and due to the pressure of the search, White said, the suspect negotiated his surrender through an attorney. Miller was taken into custody at 2:15 p.m. Sunday at the Detroit Detention Center. At the time of the abduction, outside a local hospital, White said, Miller had worn a blond or red wig in an attempt to disguise his identity.
“We are currently finalizing our investigator’s report to submit to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for their review and hopefully their charges,” the chief said.
White said Wilson, also a mother, was “cherished” by friends, family and coworkers and “would put others before herself.” Wilson and Miller, he said, had been in a previous dating relationship and had recently broken up.
“She appears to have done everything the right way. She got out of the relationship. And unfortunately, the tragic outcome was his violence and his persistence to keep her in that relationship. This (Wilson) is someone who did what she could to separate herself from that situation.
“Unfortunately, these types of offenders don’t take no for an answer,” White added. “More needs to be done to protect our victims.”
White stressed Monday that resources are available to cope with domestic violence that “continues to be a problem in our community.”
The chief noted last week’s death of a high-ranking Oakland County health official who was killed in an apparent murder-suicide.
“And now, here we are with ours in Detroit,” he said. “There’s been a number of them already this year. We’ve had 12 homicides with a domestic violence nexus to them. That’s 12 victims this year alone that have lost their life at the hands of someone at some point they thought cared for them and that they cared for.”
There are resources for those who need them, he said. For help any time, any day of the week, call (313) 883-1660.