Popular Detroit Neurosurgeon's​ Murder: Timeline Of Events

DETROIT — Prosecutors shared more details Wednesday into the killing of a popular Detroit doctor who was gunned down more than a year ago.

Devon Hoover, 53, and a certified Detroit neurosurgeon, was found shot to death inside his Boston-Edison neighborhood home, located on the 100 block of W. Boston Boulevard, near Woodward Ave, on April 23, 2023, according to police.

Prosecutors said the investigation into the killing started on April 22, 2023, a day before officers found Hoover's body. On that day, officers found a white Range Rover blocking a driveway on the 9900 block of Coyle Street after a parking complaint, according to police.

Investigators also found what appeared to be blood inside the Range Rover, which was registered to Hoover, according to police.

When officers arrived at Hoover's home, no one answered when they knocked at the front and back doors, although the driveway gate was wide open, according to police.

The SUV was found roughly five miles from Hoover's home, according to police.

Officers returned to Hoover's home the next day after a family member requested a welfare check because Hoover didn't show up to see his sick mother, according to police.

Once officers saw blood on the back door of the home, they forced their way into the home and eventually found Hoover's body stuffed in the attic, according to police.

Hoover's body was wrapped in a sheet, and he was only wearing socks, according to police.

The autopsy showed Hoover was first shot behind his right ear and then in the back of his head, according to police.

A week after the killing, someone smashed a back window and entered Hoover's home during the overnight hours on April 29 to 30, 2023, according to police.

It was unclear if anything was taken, and investigators haven't released any further details about that break-in. The break-in was also just hours after Hoover's funeral.

Officers then arrested a man in connection with the killing, but released him on May 2, 2023, after questioning, according to police.

Police didn't identify the man immediately after the arrest, but said he remained a focus of the investigation. That man was later identified as Desmond Burks, who had been involved in an intimate relationship with Hoover, according to prosecutors.

On April 17, 2024, nearly a year after Hoover's killing, police said Burks punched a man during a road rage incident in near West Chicago Street and Greenfield Road.

Burks then fled the scene as the man he hit suffered from a head injury, according to police.

The 67-year-old Dearborn man was taken to a nearby hospital and died on May 11, 2024, according to police.

Burks, then 33, was charged with second-degree murder in connection to the killing. He was given a $1 million bond and placed in the Wayne County Jail, where he has been since.

On Wednesday, prosecutors charged Burks in connection with the Hoover killing. He was charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, larceny over $20,000, using a computer to commit a crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was also charged with three second-offense felony firearm violations.

His next court date in the Hoover case was scheduled for Thursday. His next court date in the road rage incident was scheduled for Sept. 3.

Prosecutors did not reveal a motive for the shooting. They did not explain any further details about the relationship between Hoover and Burks.

Prosecutors said the investigation spanned five states, including Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Texas and California. The investigation also spanned across three countries, including the U.S., England and France.

Investigators examined hundreds of video, years worth of Digital evidence and executed 134 search warrants.

No other specific details about the shooting were released Wednesday.