ROYAL OAK, Mich. – A barricaded police situation in Royal Oak has come to an end after the man, who had been in a standoff with police, was found dead inside the home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police were following a lead in a Franklin murder investigation which led them to the home in Royal Oak. The man, 33-year-old Thomas Matthews, was surrounded by police for hours at the home on Sprague Avenue.
Oakland County Sheriff's SWAT team members had sent a robot inside the home to check on the man.
"The homicide suspect was in fact in the home. We found him. He is deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," said Royal Oak Police Chief Corrigan O'Donohue. "Our SWAT team came out, breached the front window ... they weren't able to see much so we contacted Oakland County -- they have a robot. We sent the robot in to see what it could see. Once we were reasonably certain there was no threat in there, the SWAT team members went inside and found the deceased."
The murder happened earlier Tuesday at a home in the 26000 block of Charles Lane in Franklin. Matthews lived with the victim, 72-year-old Harry Berkowitz, at that Franklin home. Matthews' ex-girlfriend lived at the house in Royal Oak.
Police say Matthews had a key to the Royal Oak home. He was the only person inside the house when they found him. Police did not hear gunshots and they do not know how long Matthews may have been inside the home.
Read: Police investigate possible murder-suicide in Franklin
Stay with Local 4 and ClickOnDetroit.com for more information on this developing story.