A Michigan judge handed down a stern 60-year prison sentence to 35-year-old Desmond Burks, a male prostitute, for the brutal 2023 murder of prominent Detroit neurosurgeon Dr Devon Hoover.
Burks pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, computer larceny of over Sh 2.6m ($20,000), and felony firearm possession in a case that shocked the medical community, according to the New York Post.
Hoover, a respected brain surgeon, was discovered naked and wrapped in a carpet inside the crawl space of his lavish mansion.
An autopsy confirmed he had been executed with two bullets to the back of the head. Authorities said the men had maintained a long-time “intimate relationship,” with Hoover paying Burks for romance.
Minutes after the slaying in April 2023, Burks began transferring the doctor’s stolen funds, using them to splurge on diamond earrings and a pendant at a nearby mall within the hour.
During sentencing, Wayne County Judge Paul Cusick dismissed Burks’ tearful pleas for leniency.
“Quite frankly, you are a murderer, sir,” the judge declared, showing no mercy for the defendant’s sob stories.
Burks also received 10-to-15 years concurrently for a separate road-rage manslaughter conviction in the death of 67-year-old Reda Saleh.
In court, Burks offered a flippant apology, calling the fatal incident “a slap” he “didn’t intentionally do” and “can’t bring it back.”
Hoover’s sisters confronted Burks in a courtroom moment, offering him a Bible as they delivered gut-wrenching impact statements. Burks smirked in response, drawing gasps from the gallery.
“It was a slap… can’t bring it back,” he said dismissively, having pleaded guilty to manslaughter.