Inset, left to right: Alfred Simpson, Tarra Mayes, and Rajai Keyontae Brown (Kalamazoo (Mich.) Department of Public Safety). Background: Authorities at the home where the bodies of Mayes and Simpson were discovered (WXMI).
In a chilling discovery, a 44-year-old Michigan man has been charged with the murders of a couple found concealed in a shed by a new homeowner. The unsettling find occurred after the new resident moved into the property.
This week, Rajai Keyontae Brown was arrested and charged with two counts of open murder in connection with the deaths of Tarra Mayes and Alfred Simpson, according to law enforcement officials.
Per a release from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, the decomposed bodies of Mayes and Simpson were found on August 22, 2023, in an outdoor shed at a property located in the 900 block of North Rose Street, approximately 140 miles from Detroit. The grim discovery was made by the home’s new owner, who had been renovating the property.
Investigators revealed that evidence from the scene suggested the victims had been deceased “for a significant period of time” before they were found.
Following the discovery, police learned that Mayes and Simpson were romantically involved and had previously lived at the residence with Brown, as reported by WXMI, a Fox affiliate in Grand Rapids.
Witness accounts indicated that neither Mayes nor Simpson had been heard from since March 13, 2022. This timeline was corroborated by cellphone records, which showed that the last location data from their devices was recorded on that same date.
A forensic search of Brown’s cellphone showed that he was in the same location as the victims on March 13, 2022, and did not leave the area until March 14, 2022, Grand Rapids CBS affiliate WWMT reported.
Additionally, investigators spoke to an individual who claimed that Brown confessed to killing the victims sometime during the spring or summer of 2022, WXMI reported. Brown reportedly told the witness that Mayes had attacked him with a knife, leading him to stab her during the ensuing struggle. Brown further claimed that he stabbed Simpson with the knife when he attempted to intervene on behalf of Mayes.
“This arrest is the result of tireless dedication and unwavering focus by our detectives, who never lost sight of our obligation to the victims’ families to hold the offender accountable for his actions,” Capt. Danielle Guilds of the KPD Criminal Investigations Division said in a statement following the arrest.
Brown on Wednesday appeared before Kalamazoo County District Judge Tiffany A. Ankley, who ordered him to remain in detention without bond. He is currently scheduled to make his next appearance in court for a preliminary exam on March 4.
