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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).
A Michigan man, aged 44, faces charges in the murder of a couple whose remains were discovered in a shed by a new homeowner.
This week, authorities arrested Rajai Keyontae Brown, charging him with two counts of open murder for the deaths of Tarra Mayes and Alfred Simpson in 2023.
A news release from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety stated that the bodies were found on August 22, 2023. The discovery was made in a shed at a property located on the 900 block of North Rose Street, roughly 140 miles west of Detroit. The new homeowner, who was renovating the house, stumbled upon the bodies, which were significantly decomposed.
Police reported that evidence from the scene suggested the victims had been deceased for an extended time before being discovered.
Following the discovery, investigators revealed that Mayes and Simpson had been in a romantic relationship and had previously shared the home with Brown, as reported by Grand Rapids Fox affiliate WXMI.
Witnesses reportedly told investigators they had not heard from either Mayes or Simpson since March 13, 2022. This matched cellphone data showing that the last time the victims” devices shared location data was the 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.