Bloomfield Township Police Continue to Investigate Violent Home Invasion

When word spread about the violent home invasion and slaying of an elderly Royal Oak woman this month, Bloomfield Township Police detectives looked for any familiar details.

For the past three months, they've been trying to solve their own case in which an elderly resident in the 2000 block of Rambling Way was bound to her bed by an intruder who stole silver flatware at about 2 a.m. Aug. 17. The 85-year-old woman in that case was not injured. The only similarity police found after conferring with authorities in Royal Oak was the victim's age, Lt. Phil Langmeyer said.

Nancy Dailey, 80, of Royal Oak was found dead in her home Nov. 20 with her hands bound behind her back, police said. Her throat was cut in what police said they believe was a robbery.

Tonia Michelle Watson, 40, and Alan Craig Wood, 48, were arrested in connection with the crime last week at a Meijer store in Canton, with assistance from the Oakland County Fugitive Apprehension Team and U.S. marshals. Authorities said they expect the pair to be arraigned on murder and robbery charges this week. They remain in custody on parole violations while the investigation continues.

"We did look into it a little bit because you always want to be sure, but we have no reason to believe that the crimes are tied together," Langmeyer said.

Bloomfield Township investigators had limited physical descriptions to work with but received numerous tips from neighbors and concerned residents, Langmeyer added. In October, they developed a possible suspect after a man was arrested for burglary in Royal Oak. That man is not cooperating with Bloomfield Township detectives and remains in the Oakland County Jail on unrelated charges, Sgt. Kurtis Dudek said.

Langmeyer said he would not release the man's name while the investigation was ongoing and that there was not enough evidence at this time to present the case to prosecutors for charges.

Initial reports in the Bloomfield Township crime indicated that as many as five people were involved in the home invasion; however, investigators have not been able to substantiate that more than one intruder was inside the house, Dudek said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Investigations Division at 248-433-7755.