Dearborn Michigan, Brenna Kathleen Machus 20
Jul 16, 2013 22:10:42 GMT -5
Post by meme on Jul 16, 2013 22:10:42 GMT -5
Dearborn dollar store homicide leaves family, friends in grief and shock
Surveillance video shows Family Dollar suspect: This surveillance video released by Dearborn police shows a person wanted for questioning in the robbery and homicide that occurred Monday night at a Family Dollar store.
Gazing across the front porch of her Dearborn Heights home, Bonnie Orlando struggled to comprehend the killing of her 20-year-old grandson during a robbery and the abduction of his fellow employee.
“I just don’t understand,” she whispered Tuesday afternoon, holding back tears. “It’s not right they ripped him away from us. If you want to rob someone, rob someone, but don’t kill them.”
Orlando’s grief was shared by other family members and friends, shocked over the slaying of a young man known for his sense of humor and warm personality. Police say Joseph Orlando — called Joey O by those close to him — was shot dead Monday evening at the Family Dollar store in a strip mall off Michigan Avenue in west Dearborn. A store surveillance camera filmed the suspect as he entered the store about 7:30 p.m.
Police are searching for Orlando’s co-worker Brenna Kathleen Machus, 20, of Romulus, who hasn’t been seen since she was working at the store Monday evening with Orlando. Police say she may be in danger.
“Her car was still parked there” in the lot outside the store when police arrived Tuesday morning, Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly told the Free Press.
The robber targeted a safe and cash drawer in the store, O’Reilly said, calling the killing “a heinous crime.” The type of homicide, rare for Dearborn, shook the community as police launched an aggressive investigation to find the suspect and the missing woman.
Employees arrived Tuesday morning to find the store in disarray and the body of Orlando, who had started working there just last week. Workers at nearby stores said they didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary Monday night, during which there was heavy rain and thunder.
Mark Thomas, manger at the neighboring Aco Hardware store, said an employee at his store saw Machus on Monday evening. If a bullet did go off, employees might have thought “it was thunder,” Thomas said. A manager at La Pita, a restaurant that sits just west of the store, also said no one heard or saw anything out of the ordinary that night.
Police released a video clip from the store surveillance camera showing the suspect, who appears to be a man in blue jeans, white sneakers and a black hooded jacket. His face is obstructed from view. He seems to wave his hand at someone as he walks through the door, heads right into the store and grabs a shopping cart.
Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a news release that the investigation is ongoing.
Friends and family took to social media Tuesday, trying to spread the word of Machus’ disappearance. A missing persons’ poster is circulating on Facebook, and prayers for her safe return were posted.
In a message, Machus’ sister Megan Utley said this is a difficult time for her family.
“We love Brenna dearly,” she said. “She is a wonderful daughter, sister and aunt.”
On Tuesday, those who knew Orlando left flowers and balloons in front of the store, which had a handwritten sign that read: “Closed. Open Tomorrow.”
“We’re devastated,” said Romna Poccia of Dearborn, who visits the store five times a week. “This is unbelievable.”
Poccia left a vase of flowers and a few balloons, one that read: “Love & Prayers.”
Orlando graduated from Cabrini High, a Catholic school in Allen Park, said his grandmother. He planned to enter college in the fall.
While looking for a job, his grandmother told him not to work at a 7-Eleven store because she was worried he might get shot during a robbery. Bonnie Orlando said she never imagined he would be killed working at Family Dollar.
“I’m dumbfounded,” she said in the parking lot outside the store. Speaking about the robber, she said: “This is what greed does to people.”
Every day, she called her grandson to tell him, “I love you.”
“I told him every single day; I never missed a day,” she recalled.
If he didn’t pick up, she would leave a voice mail.
“He always called me back,” she said. But Monday night, “he didn’t. Obviously, he couldn’t.”
Now, all she has left are memories.
“He was fun loving,” she said. “He had the customers laughing.”
“I want him back,” she added. “I just want him to call me on his cell phone.”
Chad Thomas of Dearborn Heights remembered seeing the two employees as he walked by the store Monday night.
“It’s terrible,” Thomas said. “How could people do something like this?”
www.freep.com/article/20130716/NEWS02/307160093/Dearborn-dollar-store-missing-Machus
Surveillance video shows Family Dollar suspect: This surveillance video released by Dearborn police shows a person wanted for questioning in the robbery and homicide that occurred Monday night at a Family Dollar store.
Gazing across the front porch of her Dearborn Heights home, Bonnie Orlando struggled to comprehend the killing of her 20-year-old grandson during a robbery and the abduction of his fellow employee.
“I just don’t understand,” she whispered Tuesday afternoon, holding back tears. “It’s not right they ripped him away from us. If you want to rob someone, rob someone, but don’t kill them.”
Orlando’s grief was shared by other family members and friends, shocked over the slaying of a young man known for his sense of humor and warm personality. Police say Joseph Orlando — called Joey O by those close to him — was shot dead Monday evening at the Family Dollar store in a strip mall off Michigan Avenue in west Dearborn. A store surveillance camera filmed the suspect as he entered the store about 7:30 p.m.
Police are searching for Orlando’s co-worker Brenna Kathleen Machus, 20, of Romulus, who hasn’t been seen since she was working at the store Monday evening with Orlando. Police say she may be in danger.
“Her car was still parked there” in the lot outside the store when police arrived Tuesday morning, Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly told the Free Press.
The robber targeted a safe and cash drawer in the store, O’Reilly said, calling the killing “a heinous crime.” The type of homicide, rare for Dearborn, shook the community as police launched an aggressive investigation to find the suspect and the missing woman.
Employees arrived Tuesday morning to find the store in disarray and the body of Orlando, who had started working there just last week. Workers at nearby stores said they didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary Monday night, during which there was heavy rain and thunder.
Mark Thomas, manger at the neighboring Aco Hardware store, said an employee at his store saw Machus on Monday evening. If a bullet did go off, employees might have thought “it was thunder,” Thomas said. A manager at La Pita, a restaurant that sits just west of the store, also said no one heard or saw anything out of the ordinary that night.
Police released a video clip from the store surveillance camera showing the suspect, who appears to be a man in blue jeans, white sneakers and a black hooded jacket. His face is obstructed from view. He seems to wave his hand at someone as he walks through the door, heads right into the store and grabs a shopping cart.
Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said in a news release that the investigation is ongoing.
Friends and family took to social media Tuesday, trying to spread the word of Machus’ disappearance. A missing persons’ poster is circulating on Facebook, and prayers for her safe return were posted.
In a message, Machus’ sister Megan Utley said this is a difficult time for her family.
“We love Brenna dearly,” she said. “She is a wonderful daughter, sister and aunt.”
On Tuesday, those who knew Orlando left flowers and balloons in front of the store, which had a handwritten sign that read: “Closed. Open Tomorrow.”
“We’re devastated,” said Romna Poccia of Dearborn, who visits the store five times a week. “This is unbelievable.”
Poccia left a vase of flowers and a few balloons, one that read: “Love & Prayers.”
Orlando graduated from Cabrini High, a Catholic school in Allen Park, said his grandmother. He planned to enter college in the fall.
While looking for a job, his grandmother told him not to work at a 7-Eleven store because she was worried he might get shot during a robbery. Bonnie Orlando said she never imagined he would be killed working at Family Dollar.
“I’m dumbfounded,” she said in the parking lot outside the store. Speaking about the robber, she said: “This is what greed does to people.”
Every day, she called her grandson to tell him, “I love you.”
“I told him every single day; I never missed a day,” she recalled.
If he didn’t pick up, she would leave a voice mail.
“He always called me back,” she said. But Monday night, “he didn’t. Obviously, he couldn’t.”
Now, all she has left are memories.
“He was fun loving,” she said. “He had the customers laughing.”
“I want him back,” she added. “I just want him to call me on his cell phone.”
Chad Thomas of Dearborn Heights remembered seeing the two employees as he walked by the store Monday night.
“It’s terrible,” Thomas said. “How could people do something like this?”
www.freep.com/article/20130716/NEWS02/307160093/Dearborn-dollar-store-missing-Machus
