(DETROIT) — The search for a kidnapped Detroit nurse ended with the grim discovery of her body in her own car, and police said Monday afternoon that her ex-boyfriend has been arrested on suspicion of killing her.
Patrice Wilson, 29, a nurse at Detroit Medical Center, was abducted Saturday morning in the hospital’s parking lot after finishing her overnight shift, Detroit Police Chief James E. White said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
Wilson’s body was discovered inside her car Sunday afternoon in a suburb of Detroit, White said.
White said that after several search warrants were executed over the weekend, the suspect, Jamere Miller, 36, “feeling the pressure of this investigation,” negotiated his surrender via his lawyer. He said Wilson was arrested at the Detroit Detention Center on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a tragedy that somebody like Ms. Wilson would be taken away from this world so young and so tragically in this horrific way,” White said. “She was young and she had her whole life ahead of her. She was dedicated to serving and helping others as a nurse and putting others before herself. Ms. Wilson has been described as ‘cherished’ by her family and friends, and as well as her co-workers.”
He said Wilson was the mother of a young child.
“For her to have her life taken away from her just before Mother’s Day is absolutely heartbreaking,” White said.
Wilson was getting into her black 2020 Lincoln Nautilus SUV around 7:40 a.m. Saturday after completing her overnight shift at Detroit Medical Center when she was allegedly ambushed by the suspect, who approached her vehicle wearing a blonde or red wig to disguise himself, White said.
Miller allegedly approached Wilson’s vehicle as she was getting into the driver’s side, forced her into the passenger seat and fled with her inside, police said.
White said the abduction was initially reported to the Wayne State University Police Department, who contacted the Detroit Police Department. White said police — including his department’s organized crime unit, homicide unit and major crimes unit — were immediately activated to search for Wilson.
Police officials said Wilson’s body was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds Sunday afternoon inside her SUV at an apartment complex in Novi, about 30 miles northwest of Detroit.
West said the investigation is ongoing, and detectives were finalizing their report to turn over to the Wayne County Prosecutor to review and decide what charges to file against Miller. West said Miller has a “significant” criminal history that includes arrests for domestic violence.
West said Wilson and Miller had been in a previous dating relationship and had recently broken up.
“She appears to have done everything the right way. She got out of the relationship and unfortunately the tragic outcome was his violence and his persistence to keep her in that relationship,” West said. “Unfortunately, these types of offenders don’t take no for an answer and more needs to be done to protect our victims.”
Wilson’s mother, Roslind Livingston, told Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ that her daughter was speaking with someone on her cellphone when she was abducted.
“They were talking to Patrice on the phone and they heard her screaming,” said Livingston, adding that she was told by the person Wilson was speaking to that her daughter’s phone suddenly went dead.
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