Suspect in custody as Roseville police investigate woman’s death

St. Clair Shores man stabbed in second incident

By: Alyssa Ochss, Brian Wells, David Wallace | C&G Newspapers | Published May 17, 2023

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ROSEVILLE/ST. CLAIR SHORES/WARREN — A suspect is in custody as Roseville police are investigating the death of a woman whom they found “unresponsive with what appeared to be several stab wounds to her body.”

At approximately 6 a.m. May 17, Roseville officers were dispatched to a Belle Tire in the 32000 block of Gratiot Avenue. When they arrived, they located the unresponsive woman and are investigating it as a homicide, according to a press release from the Roseville Police Department.

The victim has been identified as 60-year-old Cheryl Ryan-Parsley. A Gofundme page has been set up to help her family with funeral arrangements. At press time, it had reached $4,827 of its $5,000 goal.

“She was loved by so many and died in such a sad and senseless manner,” the fundraising page states.

The fundraiser also states that Ryan-Parsley had suffered from poor health earlier in the year.

“Cheryl was her husband’s whole world, and now he and her children are lost,” the fundraising page reads.

Roseville police released a surveillance photo of a suspect and photos of his vehicle, a Chevrolet HHR. They said the suspect was believed to be armed with a hunting knife with a 4-inch fixed blade.

In response to Roseville’s be-on-the-lookout bulletin, Warren police officers conducting a directed patrol in the area of Nine Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue at about noon saw a suspect matching the description from Roseville police driving a Chevy HHR. The officers stopped the vehicle at Van Dyke and Cadillac Avenue, which is a few streets south of Nine Mile.

Warren police said that they arrested the suspect, a 30-year-old Washington Township man, without incident. Roseville police detectives reportedly responded to the scene of the traffic stop, and Warren police turned over the suspect and the Chevy HHR to Roseville’s custody.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer praised the “outstanding awareness” of the department’s officers.

“Thanks to the quick actions of our officers, this suspect was located and taken into custody safely without incident,” Dwyer said in a prepared statement. “Our officers are always on the lookout for suspects wanted in connection to crimes in Warren and surrounding jurisdictions, particularly those involving violent crimes. The Warren Police Department is always proud to assist other agencies in locating and arresting violent crime suspects.”

Roseville police said that they are working with detectives from the St. Clair Shores Police Department, who are investigating a complaint of an assault with a dangerous weapon that is believed to involve the same suspect and vehicle.

St. Clair Shores Police Chief Jason Allen was able to provide information about what happened during the incident, which occurred on Harper Avenue. 

“There was a 43 year-old male St. Clair Shores resident who was at a bus stop on Harper south of 12 Mile who was approached by a stranger and stabbed several times,” Allen said.

The victim in the St. Clair Shores incident has been identified as Robert Baecke. A Gofundme page was created by his employers, The Pool Guys LLC, to assist with his medical bills. At press time, it had reached $11,745 of its $30,000 goal.

“Robert, the hardest working man in our company, has always gone above and beyond, even without a vehicle,” the fundraising page reads.

The page states that Baecke was stabbed eight times.  

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said he believed the incidents to be random.

“Based on everything that we have learned right now, even from the family … (it’s) an unexplainable, random act of violence,” he said. “So does this person have drugs, mental (illness), some combination? Were they on something? This is pretty devastating, but it’s also horrific to just go up to somebody filling their tire up and start stabbing them, killing them. And then it’s even more horrific to get in the car, go down the street and start doing it again.”

The suspect is expected to be arraigned May 19. Lucido said the suspect had a “lengthy” criminal record in California.

Information about the St. Clair Shores incident as well as the Roseville incident was passed along to the three school district superintendents in St. Clair Shores, Allen said, and they decided to not let students go outside for recess or lunch breaks. It was not a full lockdown.

​​At the request of the Roseville Police Department, Roseville Community Schools staff kept all students inside for the day, including during lunch and recess, while the suspect was on the loose.

Allen said detectives were completing the paperwork May 18 to seek charges against the suspect. 

“Our detectives are completing paperwork and are working with Roseville detectives, and both sets of detectives will present warrant requests to the Prosecutor’s Office,” Allen said.  

Allen also said it is up to the prosecutor which city the case will go through, but it’s his understanding that it will be primarily in Roseville. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Roseville Police Department at (586) 777-6700.

To donate to Ryan-Parsley’s fundraiser, visit gofundme.com/f/vq66wg-funeral-arrangements.

To donate to Baecke’s fundraiser, visit gofundme.com/f/help-support-roberts-recovery-and-lost-wages.

Staff Writer Maria Allard contributed to this report.

Call Staff Writer Brian Wells at (248) 291-7637.

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