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Michigan Serial Killer Pt 1: Is It Happening Again?

October 16, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

A String of Killings on the Lansing River Trail

In Lansing, Michigan, five men have been killed along the same stretch of the Lansing River Trail since October 2024. All were white, all were homeless, and all were attacked while sleeping. Four died from blunt force trauma to the face—no weapon used. The fifth, 22-year-old Daniel Lusk, was stabbed to death. The killings happened overnight or in the early morning hours, in a bridge area of the trail that has few cameras. Police have arrested 23-year-old Edward Joseph Smith in connection with Lusk’s stabbing, but they have not linked him to the other four deaths. As of mid-October 2025, no arrests have been made for those attacks, and the question hanging over the city is whether a serial killer is operating on the trail.

The Pattern That Emerged

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What you'll learn

  • 1 Michigan Serial Killer Pt 1: Is It Happening Again?
  • 2 Timestamped Navigation Outline
  • 3 (01:05) **Episode Setup: A Potential Serial Killer in Lansing** - The host introduces the core question: is there a serial killer on the loose near a Michigan college town, and why are police now labeling five killings as potentially connected?
  • 4 (03:57) **The Five Victims and Their Timeline** - The host lists each victim chronologically, revealing the compressed timeframe of the killings.
  • 5 (04:54) **The Medical Examiner's Patterns Emerge** - The host explains what autopsy findings finally allowed police to connect the cases.
  • 6 (06:20) **Police Chief's Press Conference: "These May Be Related"** - The host plays and analyzes the moment Lansing Police Chief Rob Backus publicly acknowledged the possibility of a serial killer.
  • 7 (07:04) **The One Arrest: Edward Joseph Smith** - The host clarifies the only arrest so far and its limited connection to the broader pattern.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Lyndon Blake

Show Notes

Is there a serial killer on the loose near a Michigan college town? Why police are now labeling the five killings over the last year along the Lansing River Trail as potentially connected? The public may not like it, but Lynden Blake explains what takes so long to connect these types of crimes, plus who is most at risk?


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