DETROIT – A man has been charged in connection with the 2025 murders of two people found dead in a Detroit basement, officials said.
Muhammad Mastakella Murphy, 35, who is unhoused, has been charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in the deaths of Dwayne Pinkston, 60, and Barbara Jackson, 68, according to a release. The suspect and the victims knew each other.
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Pinkston and Jackson were found dead on March 11, 2025. At about 5:30 p.m., officers responded to a home in the 8700 block of Desoto Street after receiving a report that someone was dead.
A woman living at the home told police that she had left for about an hour, and when she returned, her door was locked.
She couldn’t enter the home through the door, so she went in through a window and searched for the people who had locked the door.
“When she entered, she observed a Jane Doe at the bottom of the basement step, obviously deceased,” police previously reported. “She retreated, 911 was called.”
Previous coverage: Bodies found in basement of home on Detroit’s west side -- What we know
When police arrived, they found Pinkston in the basement with injuries to his neck.
Jackson was also found in the basement, placed inside a plastic container and submerged in an unknown liquid, according to the release.
Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene. The Wayne County Medical Examiner ruled that blunt force trauma caused their deaths.
Authorities said Murphy allegedly hit Pinkston with a hammer and a crowbar multiple times, and also hit Jackson multiple times with a crowbar, resulting in their deaths.
Murphy fled from the scene. He was identified and arrested by Ypsilanti police on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, and was turned over to Detroit police.