Man pleads guilty in murder of Detroit neurosurgeon Devon Hoover, manslaughter in another case
A man charged in the April 2023 murder of prominent Detroit neurosurgeon Dr. Devon Hoover pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder.
Desmond Burks, 35, of Detroit, also pleaded guilty to larceny of $20,000 or more, using a computer to commit a crime, felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm in the case. Burks agreed to 35 to 60 years in prison and a five-year consecutive sentence for the weapons charge.
Additionally, Burks pleaded guilty in an unrelated case to manslaughter in connection with the death of a Dearborn man on April 17, 2024. Burks is accused of punching 67-year-old Reda Saleh and leaving him in the roadway in a road rage incident. Saleh was hospitalized and later died from his injuries on May 11, 2024.
Burks is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20.
Burks was identified as a person of interest early in Hoover's murder investigation and was initially charged in August 2024 with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, larceny of over $20,000, using a computer to commit a crime, possession of a firearm by a felon and three counts of felony firearm, second offense.
Hoover was found shot in the head and wrapped in a blanket in the attic of his Boston-Edison neighborhood home on April 23, 2023, after police conducted a welfare check.
An autopsy revealed Hoover was shot twice in the back of the head.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has said the investigation was complicated because many witnesses were reluctant to come forward with sensitive and personal information.
After Hoover's murder, prosecutors claim fraudulent transactions were reportedly made using Hoover's various bank accounts, and more than $30,000 was stolen from his accounts, as well as a Range Rover and two watches valued at $13,500.
Prosecutors say Burks was seen on surveillance footage driving Hoover's Range Rover in the days following the doctor's murder.
Authorities allege that text messages between Burks and Hoover established that the two were in an intimate relationship.
The above video originally aired on July 3, 2025.
