Suspect in Christmas Day double slayings killed in raid

The suspect in the Christmas Day slayings of his wife and her special-needs daughter was killed in a police raid, authorities said Tuesday. 

Dwayne McDonald, 62, was shot by police after they said he fired a weapon as officers entered his apartment on Owen Street with a search warrant, Detroit police Chief James White said at an afternoon news conference. The officers returned fire, killing him, White said.

Officers knocked on the door of the apartment and announced themselves before forcibly entering in, White said.

A shot was fired, and police then fired on McDonald, who died at the scene, White added. White could not confirm if the shot was aimed at officers. 

McDonald was a suspect in the killing of his wife, 57, and her adoptive daughter, 13, in their apartment on on Dec. 25, said White. 

He is believed to have been hiding in the apartment since the slayings and was found in the raid with two other people, one of whom is disabled, White said. Police had set up video surveillance in the area after what he described as the "heinous" incident. 

The news conference was held outside the apartment where McDonald was killed at the intersection of Owen Street and Woodward Avenue, which was cordoned off with police vehicles and yellow tape. 

One of the people in the apartment with McDonald was "instrumental" in providing the police with information that helped locate him, White said, adding that he did not think they were aiding and abetting the suspect. 

White on Sunday the bodies of the victims, whose names have not been released by police, were found about 4 p.m. Saturday in the 18900 block of Prevost. 

When the woman's daughter and her family showed up for dinner, White said they could see the woman's body on the ground.

They called the police and forced entry.

Inside, they found the two victims. The woman's husband was missing. McDonald was not the child's father, police said. 

"She was a caregiver," said White of the mother. "She was a person who loved children and loved giving back to the community, and she was passionate about helping that child ... For her to meet this demise is absolutely awful.”

The child had "developmental disabilities" and used a wheelchair, White said  Sunday. There had been unspecified "minor disputes" at the home, he said, but they "never rose to the level of concern" or a domestic violence arrest. 

Police do not yet know the motive, said White. 

halbarghouthi@detroitnews.com

@HaniBarghouthi