Police found three dead men while investigating a missing person report.
DETROIT, Mich. — A man who said he survived a hammer attack helped lead police to a Detroit home where three older men were found dead in the basement, authorities said.
The surviving man, 69, is part of a separate assault case against Lance Alan Clowney, 27. Clowney is also charged with three counts of premeditated first-degree murder in the deaths of Mark Barnett, 65, Norman Hamlin, 66, and William Barrett, 72. All four cases are tied by prosecutors to Hamlin’s home on Edsel Street.
Police were in the area Feb. 18 because Barrett had been reported missing by his wife. While officers were near Edsel Street and Francis Avenue, the 69-year-old man told them he had been assaulted inside a nearby home. Officers went to the residence and found Barnett, Hamlin and Barrett dead in the basement. The discovery shifted the investigation from a missing person search and assault report into a triple homicide case.
Prosecutors say the attack on the three men occurred Feb. 17, one day before police found them. At Hamlin’s home, Clowney allegedly used a hammer and a knife to strike the victims multiple times. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office said the blows were fatal and that Clowney fled the scene. Officials have not publicly identified a motive. They have also not released a full account of what they believe happened before the alleged attacks began.
The surviving man’s case moved first. On Feb. 22, Clowney was charged with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and felonious assault. Prosecutors said that case involved the nonfatal hammer attack of the 69-year-old Detroit man at the same home on Feb. 17. During early proceedings, prosecutors said they believed Clowney was connected not only to the assault but also to the three men later found dead in the basement.
Police later described the basement as the place where the victims were discovered under clothing and carpeting. Detroit Police Cmdr. Rebecca McKay said the early evidence did not suggest the bodies had been brought there from another location. “It appears that the assault happened inside of the home,” McKay said. Detroit police officials also said the victims had been brutally assaulted. Local reports cited blood inside the home and said the men appeared to have been dead about a day.
The victims came from Detroit and River Rouge. Hamlin and Barnett were Detroit residents. Barrett lived in River Rouge, where his wife’s missing person report started the police response that led to Edsel Street. Authorities have not publicly said why Barrett was at the home or whether all three men arrived together. Police have also not released a detailed public timeline for the hours between the alleged Feb. 17 killings and the Feb. 18 discovery.
The murder charges were filed after the homicide investigation continued through March. Clowney was arraigned March 27 in 36th District Court before Magistrate William Burton and remanded to jail. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office announced the charges March 30. Sheriff’s records list him at the Adult Detention Facility with no bond amount. The record lists three first-degree murder charges and three assault-related charges.
Clowney’s prior record became part of coverage after the arrests. Court records cited in reports show earlier felony convictions, including armed robbery, carjacking, felony firearm possession and fleeing police. Those past convictions are separate from the pending Edsel Street cases. In the current cases, prosecutors must prove the charges in court, and Clowney is presumed innocent unless convicted.
The court calendar now shows the linked cases moving on different dates. The assault case has a listed May 8 court date, while the homicide case has a listed June 15 court date. As of April 27, Clowney remains jailed while the next proceedings approach.
Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.