DETROIT (TCN) — A 17-year-old suspect will be tried as an adult after allegedly targeting a gay man on a dating app and fatally stabbing him.
On Sept. 29, Detroit Police responded to a home on Minock Street, where they found the victim, identified by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office as 64-year-old Howard Brisendine, deceased in the living room with apparent stab wounds.
Authorities allege that Ahmed Al-Alikhan “targeted the victim on an online dating app because he was a member of the LGBTQ community.” On Sept. 24, Al-Alikhan went to Brisendine’s home and allegedly fatally stabbed him multiple times before driving off in the victim’s vehicle.
According to WJBK-TV, the victim’s landlord and boss reportedly became concerned after Brisendine failed to show up to his job at a gay nightclub. When he went to check on him, he allegedly discovered Brisendine’s body and called law enforcement.
Dearborn Police took Al-Alikhan into custody and turned over the investigation to the Detroit Police Department on Oct. 1.
WJBK reports Brisendine was convicted of child molestation in Georgia in 1996 and was a registered sex offender.
Al-Alikhan faces charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, and unlawful driving away an automobile. He was arraigned on Oct. 8 and is scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 15.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said, “It is hard to fathom a more planned series of events in this case. Unfortunately, the set of alleged facts are far too common in the LGBTQ community.”
Alanna Maguire, president of the Michigan Justice Project, said, “This case highlights the very real threats of deadly violence that LGTBQ individuals face every day.”