2 Arrested After Teen Found Dead In Detroit Cemetery: Police

DETROIT — Two people have been arrested in connection with the death of a 15-year-old boy whose body was found in a Detroit cemetery last week, according to police.

Officers found the body of Lawrence Dowl at the Mount Hazel Cemetery in the area of Clarita Street and Lahser Road last Thursday, a day after he was reported missing, according to police.

Police said the teen was wearing a ski mask and gloves, along with the same clothes he was last seen wearing.

Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said Monday investigators were still trying to determine why the teen was wearing the mask and gloves. He suggested the teen might have been involved in questionable behavior.

"We've received numerous tips from the community basically telling me about his background and what he does and what he did do. I don't want to disclose that or disparage because he is a teen. I hold the adults responsible," Bettison said.

The chief didn't identify the suspects, but said they are adults in their 20s or 30s and knew each other. He said one suspect turned himself in to police shortly after Dowl's body was found. The other suspect was arrested on Saturday, the chief said.

Bettison declined to say if Dowl had been hanging around the suspects, but did say that Dowl was known to hang out with individuals with a "shady background."

"Know what your kids are doing," Bettison said. "If they're involved in gangs, look at their social media, if they're posting guns on their social media and they're flashing gang signs and they're wearing colors on their social media and with others… that's dangerous and that can result in a bad outcome."

Dowl's sister told WXYZ that she believes something may have gone wrong while he was hanging out with older individuals.

"I honestly feel like maybe the guys bribed him to do something, to go do something and then it went bad. Or maybe they was lying, telling him they was gonna go do something and was really trying to do something to him. And for what reason, I wouldn't know," she told the news station.

Police still have not given a cause of death, but said they are investigating the incident as a homicide. The chief said investigators plan to submit a warrant to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office soon.