HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – Could new witnesses and a torched car be the keys to help solving the case of two women who were kidnapped this week from a Hamtramck home?
Ashley Conaway, 21, and 18-year-old Abreeya Brown have been missing since Tuesday night. Family members say they were taken at gunpoint after a shootout between Brown's stepfather and the kidnappers at a home in the 22000 block of Andrus Street. The women were forced at gunpoint into the trunk of a car and driven away. Nobody was hit in the shooting.
Police sources say a burned-out, bullet-ridden Chrysler found on Detroit's west side was the car used in the kidnapping. It had it's VIN and license plate removed. Sources also said the wallet of one of the women was found inside the car's remains.
A melted plastic gas can, charred bumper and car light were found nearby.
Now, neighbors in the area of Lahser and Fenkell are also coming forward, saying they saw and heard the gunfire early Wednesday morning.
"I heard four to five shots. It was like, 'Pow, pow, pow,'" said David Townsend, who watched it play out, right out his back window.
Townsend also said he saw a man running from the car after it was set on fire.
Although the women have not been found, three men are in custody in connection with the case.
Brandon Cain, 25, was charged Thursday with two counts of assault with intent to murder and other charges for allegedly shooting at Conaway and Brown on Feb. 8.
That shooting last month was allegedly over Conaway breaking up with Cain.
Police confirm that Conaway and Brown both went to police earlier this month accusing Cain of shooting at Conaway as she tried to get away from him, a bullet grazing her head.
Family members said Cain tried to keep the women quiet about the incident by offering them $5,000. The women said no.
Two other men are held as persons of interest in the case. Andre Michael Todd-Douglass, 34, turned himself in Wednesday morning. Police arrested 24-year-old Bryant Christopher Lee in Pontiac on Wednesday night. They have not been charged.
The women's families are offering a $30,000 reward in the case.