DETROIT – A 45-year-old Highland Park man pleaded guilty to murder charges Thursday in the death of a Detroit woman found in her basement was in court for a preliminary examination Wednesday morning for charges in the murder of a Detroit woman on the city's east side.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Woman found dead in basement on Detroit's east side
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Timothy Bernard Hawkins pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The first-degree murder charge was dismissed under a plea agreement.
Avril D. Taylor was found in January in the basement of her home on Goldengate Street, just east of Woodward Avenue. She was 48.
Taylor was found at about 1 p.m. when a friend went to the home to borrow something. She was struck in the head and personal property was missing from her home.
Timothy Bernard Hawkins was taken into custody shortly after he was seen driving Taylor’s car at Second Avenue and Tuxedo Street.
Hawkins is expected to be sentenced August 8.
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