The same home is tied to three deaths and a surviving assault victim.
DETROIT, Mich. — A home on Edsel Street is at the center of a Detroit triple homicide case after three men were found dead in its basement and another man reported being attacked there.
Wayne County prosecutors say Lance Alan Clowney, 27, of Detroit, killed Mark Barnett, Norman Hamlin and William Barrett at Hamlin’s home in the 3100 block of Edsel Street. The victims were 65, 66 and 72. Clowney has been charged with three counts of premeditated first-degree murder and remains jailed.
The case is built around what investigators say happened inside the house on Feb. 17. Prosecutors allege Clowney struck the three men multiple times with a hammer and a knife, causing fatal wounds. The next day, Barrett’s wife reported him missing. Police followed that report to the neighborhood and later found all three men at Hamlin’s home. The prosecutor’s office said the full evidence will be presented in court. No motive has been publicly released.
The house drew police attention for another reason at about the same time. A 69-year-old man told officers he had been attacked inside the residence. Prosecutors later charged Clowney in that attack, saying the man had been struck with a hammer. Those charges were filed Feb. 22 and include assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and felonious assault. The assault case moved forward before the murder charges were announced.
Police descriptions of the scene have been stark. The three men were found in the basement, covered with old or dirty clothing and carpeting. Detroit Police Cmdr. Rebecca McKay said shortly after the discovery that the bodies did not appear to have been moved into the home from somewhere else. She said it appeared the violence took place inside the residence. First Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald said the victims had suffered blunt force trauma, and local reports said some also had stab or cut wounds.
The timeline released by prosecutors puts the alleged killings on Feb. 17 and the discovery on Feb. 18. The murder charges came more than a month later, after further investigation by Detroit police. Clowney was arraigned March 27 in 36th District Court before Magistrate William Burton. The prosecutor’s office announced the three first-degree murder counts March 30. The delay between discovery and murder charges reflects the separate investigation that followed the basement discovery and the already pending assault case.
Hamlin’s address became a repeated point in both cases. Prosecutors say the three killings and the nonfatal attack on the 69-year-old man happened at the same home. Local reporting said Clowney had been staying there, though officials have not fully detailed the relationship among Clowney and the victims. Barnett and Hamlin were from Detroit. Barrett was from River Rouge. The three men were all older than 60, a fact that drew attention from police and local media as the case unfolded.
The legal record now shows two tracks. In the homicide case, Clowney faces three first-degree murder counts. In the assault case, he faces three additional felony counts. Wayne County jail records list him at the Adult Detention Facility with no bond amount. The record lists a May 8 date connected to the assault charges and a June 15 date connected to the homicide charges. Those dates may change as the court schedule moves forward.
Neighbors told reporters they did not notice anything unusual before officers arrived. Thomas Barnes, identified in local coverage as a block club president, said he did not hear anything. “Tragic,” Barnes said, describing the violence as something that had happened close by without warning to those outside. Police have not said whether any witnesses saw the alleged attacks or whether evidence from inside the home will be used to establish the full sequence.
Clowney remains in custody as the cases continue. The next listed milestone is May 8 in the assault case, followed by a listed June 15 date in the homicide case.
Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.