By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE – A 33-year-old man faces life in prison if convicted of murdering the woman he lived with and her 10-year-old son.
Antoine Terrail Beck was charged yesterday before 28th District Court Judge James Kandrevas with two counts of first degree murder, and was held without bond.
Southgate Public Safety Director Thomas Coombs said police responded to a call from a family member of the victims about 8:50 p.m. Sunday. The bodies of Courtney Marie Durr, 28, and 10-year-old Sumari Keon Das were found in the woman’s apartment in the 14500 block of North Line Road.
Coombs said Beck recently had moved in with Durr and had been seen in the La Collonade apartments for the past three months.
“He’d helped her move in and they were in a dating relationship,” Coombs said. “He had recently agreed to stay there more often.”
Coombs said it was unknown when Beck allegedly killed the woman and her son – they may have gone undiscovered since Friday – but it was believed he had left the area in her vehicle after stealing money and personal property.
Initial reports indicated that Durr and Das were killed in a violent manner; the woman’s throat had been slit and her hands had been bound, and the boy strangled. Coombs said he was waiting for a report from the medical examiner’s office to confirm further details.
Investigators located Beck in Dearborn early Monday, and Coombs said he was taken into custody without incident. Beck reportedly confessed to the murders when questioned by investigators, which Coombs said included Southgate police and members of the Downriver Violent Crimes Task Force.
Beck had previously served 10 years in prison for an armed robbery conviction and was charged as a habitual offender. According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Beck was discharged in August 2014 and had been sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in 2004.
Beck was arraigned Monday on two counts of first degree murder, larceny in a building and unlawful driving away of an automobile. A probably cause hearing has been scheduled for Friday, and a preliminary examination for June 27.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].)