Second suspect charged after allegedly posing as utility worker and killing Michigan man

By: CNN

Posted: Oct 18, 2024 3:07 PM CDT

Oakland County Sheriff's Office via CNN Newsource

By Zoe Sottile

(CNN) — The second of two suspects has been charged with felony murder after they allegedly posed as utility workers to gain access to a couple’s Michigan home before killing the husband and leaving his wife restrained with duct tape, according to authorities.

Joshua Zuazo, 39, of Dearborn, Michigan, was charged with felony murder and two counts of unlawful imprisonment on Thursday, according to a Facebook post from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. He is expected to be arraigned Friday afternoon.

Zuazo was taken into custody “without incident” Monday afternoon, according to an X post from the sheriff’s office. Authorities identified him traveling in Plymouth Township and made a traffic stop, the post said. Plymouth Township is around 45 miles from Rochester Hills, where the killing took place.

The first suspect, Carlos Jose Hernandez, 37, was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Saturday. He also faces a felony murder charge, which could carry a penalty of life in prison if convicted, and unlawful imprisonment charges. Hernandez was being held in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, but the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said it plans to extradite him to Michigan.

It’s unclear whether Zuazo or Hernandez have legal representation.

A charging document stipulates Hernandez committed the killing “in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a robbery.”

Authorities said the two men arrived at the Rochester Hills home Hussein Murray, 72, shared with his wife on Thursday and Friday. On both occasions, the men posed as workers for DTE, a Detroit-based energy provider, and said they were there to investigate a gas leak.

On Thursday, the Murrays did not allow the men into their home. But when they returned on Friday, Murray “signed a piece of paper purportedly from DTE and escorted the defendant to the basement,” according to a Sunday news release from the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Then the two men returned upstairs, asking Murray’s wife “where the money and jewelry were,” the release said. They duct-taped her wrist and ankles, hit her across the face, and took her phone and watch before leaving in a truck with a DTE sign, according to the release.

Murray’s wife was able to call 911 and told officials she thought her husband may have been kidnapped, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Murray’s body was discovered in the basement, with his wrists and ankles also duct-taped, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.

“Because of the gruesome nature of the injuries, it was not immediately clear if he had been shot or bludgeoned to death,” the sheriff’s office said.

Murray’s death was ruled a homicide on Saturday by the Oakland County Medical Examiner, according to the sheriff’s office. His wife was hospitalized following the incident and has since been released, the sheriff added.

A doorbell camera video of one of the suspects wearing a respirator mask and identifying himself and another man as DTE Energy workers looking for gas leaks was released by the sheriff’s office on Friday.

“Our hearts go out to the victims of this horrific and tragic event, and we hope the perpetrators are quickly apprehended and brought to justice,” DTE Energy said in a statement. “Before DTE makes a routine visit to your home, we will make every effort to contact you in advance, either through a phone call from our call center or via email or text message.”