DETROIT.
LOCAL 4 NEWS AT 5:30 STARTS NOW.
>> HE WAS A FATHER, A BROTHER, A
SON.
HIS BODY FOUND IN THE BACK YARD
OF THIS DETROIT HOME.
>> BUT IT’S WHAT HAPPENED AFTER
WILLIAM HAGGAN WAS MURDERED THAT
HAS HIS FAMILY OUTRAGED.
>> NOBODY TOLD US HE WAS
CREMATED.
THEY DIDN’T ASK US.
>> SO MANY QUESTIONS REMAIN IN
THE DEATH OF WILLIAM HAGGAN.
WHY DID IT TAKE TWO YEARS FOR
THE MORGUE TO POSITIVE I.D. HIS
BODY?
EVEN THOUGH HIS I.D. WAS ON HIM?
>> WHY WERE HIS REMAINS CREMATED
WITHOUT INFORMING THE FAMILY AND
WHO WOULD WANT THE LOCAL FATHER
DEAD?
>> WILLIAM HAGGAN WAS A DAD TO
FOUR BOYS, ASK HIS FAMILY AND
THEY’LL TELL YOU WILLIAM LOVED
BEING A FATHER.
>> HE’S A GOOD PERSON, HARD
WORKING.
>> HE ALWAYS TOOK CARE OF HIS
KIDS AND HE WAS A VERY LOVING
FATHER.
>> SOMETIME BETWEEN BECOMING A
FATHER AND THE CHILDREN GROWING
UP, WILLIAM WOULD FALL ON HARD
TIMES AND DEVELOP A DRUG HABIT,
WAS IT THE DRUG SCENE THAT MAY
HAVE LED TO HIS DEATH OR
SOMETHING ELSE?
>> IT WAS FULL OF 2019 WHEN A
BODY WAS DISCOVERED IN THE BACK
YARD OF THIS HOME ON LIVERNOIS
ON THE WEST SIDE.
SKELETAL REMAINS WRAPPED IN A
BLANKET, A BULLET WAS
DISCOVERED.
THE WAYNE COUNTY MEDICAL
EXAMINER SAID THE CAUSE OF DEATH
WAS A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD.
>> ACCORDING TO THE HOMICIDE
DETECTIVE, HE MENTIONED THERE
WAS A DRIVER’S LICENSE WITH MY
BROTHER-IN-LAW’S NAME ON IT AND
THAT’S HOW THEY FOUND US.
>> HIS SISTER-IN-LAW, OVER THE
PAST TWO YEARS SHE’S BECOME THE
DETECTIVE TRYING TO SOLVE HER
BROTHER-IN-LAW’S MURDER AND AT
THE SAME TIME FIGURE OUT WHAT’S
REALLY GOING ON INSIDE THE WAYNE
COUNTY MORGUE.
>> ONCE MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
TRISHA STARTED DIGGING AND
STARTED TALKING TO PEOPLE THAT I
WOULD HAVE NEVER EVEN CROSSED MY
MIND.
>> THE FAMILY’S FIRST
FRUSTRATION, WAITING FOR THE
WAYNE COUNTY MORGUE TO IDENTIFY
WILLIAM’S BODY, REMEMBER, FAMILY
WAS TOLD WILLIAM’S I.D. WAS
FOUND BY THE REMAINS.
>> BUT THEY SAID WE HAVE TO SEND
THE DNA OUT.
>> DNA WAS SENT AND FAMILY
WAITED AND WAITED AND KEPT
CALLING THE MORGUE.
>> I HOLD OUT HOPE IT WASN’T
HIM.
>> AFTER TWO YEARS PASSED, I
THEY CALLED THE DEFENDERS, AND
IRONICALLY AFTER I STARTED
NOSING AROUND THE CASE, THE DNA
CAME IN.
>> IT WAS A MATCH.
>> AND IN PART NE SAID--
THEY SAID THERE ARE SOME
SERVICES ONLY DONE BY OUTSIDE
AGENCIES WHICH MAY SOMETIMES
RESULT IN DELAYS.
>> IT SHOULDN’T TAKE TWO AND A
HALF YEARS TO GET THOSE ANSWERS.
>> AND THE FAMILY LEARNED WHILE
THEY WERE WAITING ON DNA
RESULTS, WILLIAM’S BODY HAD BEEN
CREMATED.
>> WHO GAVE NEM THEM THE RIGHT
TO DO THAT.
AND THIS IS AN OPEN MURDER
INVESTIGATION.
WILLIAM’S BODY WAS FOUND BACK
THERE WITH A BULLET IN HIS HEAD.
NEARBY THERE WAS A CELL PHONE.
YOU WOULD THINK THAT PEOPLE
WOULD TAKE THE PHONE AND EXTRACT
THE INFORMATION.
AND DEFENDERS DISCOVERED THEY
DIDN’T TRY.
>> WHAT THE DETECTIVES ARE DOING
NOW, ATTEMPTING TO REEXTRACT THE
DATA FROM THE PHONE ITSELF TO
SEE IF THERE’S EVIDENCE THERE.
>> WHY NOT DO THAT TWO YEARS
AGO.
>> IF IT WASN’T DONE BEFORE, I
DON’T KNOW WHY.
>> TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THE
FAMILY WAS FORCED TO WAIT MONTHS
BEFORE THEY COULD PICK UP
WILLIAMS’ REMAINS.
>> WHY DID WE HAVE TO WAIT?
WE FOUND OUT IN OCTOBER AND HAD
TO WAIT UNTIL JANUARY.
WHO DOES THAT?
THERE ARE PEOPLE, PEOPLE DESERVE
TO BE LAID TO REST.
EN,
[CRYING]
>> WE WERE THERE WITH THEM AT
OUR LADY OF HOPE IN BROWNSTOWN
TOWNSHIP TO PICK UP WILLIAMS’
ASHES, THE FAMILY IS PLANNING A
SMALL SERVICE.
AND CAN’T BELIEVE THEY HAD TO
WAIT FOR TWO YEARS SINCE HIS
BODY WAS FOUND.
WILLIAM HAGGAN, A VICTIM OF
MURDER, HIS FAMILY, A VICTIM OF
A BROKEN SYSTEM.
I’M TOLD HOMICIDE DETECTIVES ARE
ACTIVELY WORKING ON THIS CASE
AFTER WE BROUGHT THOSE DNA
RESULTS TO THEIR ATTENTION.
CRIME STOPPERS JUMPING IN ON THE
CASE AND HOLDING A PRESS
CONFERENCE ON WILLIAM HAGGAN’S
CASE MONDAY.
YOU CAN SEE ALL OF MY
INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE MORGUE,
INCLUDING A LOOK AT WHAT I’M
WORKING ON NEXT BY HEADING TO
THE DEFENDER’S PAGE OF
CLICKONDETROIT.COM.
>> Jason: JUST UNBELIEVABLE,
KARON.
BY THE WAY, WHAT’S NEXT FOR THIS
FAMILY GIVEN WHAT THEY’VE GONE
THROUGH?
IT’S BEEN TWO AND A HALF YEARS,
SUCH A LONG ROAD.
>> Karen: IT’S BEEN SO, SO HARD
FOR THEM TO TOP IT OFF, THEY
WERE UNABLE TO GET WILLIAM’S
DEATH CERTIFICATE BECAUSE THE
WAYNE COUNTY MORGUE # MESSED UP
THE PAPER WORK SO HIS CHILDREN
COULDN’T BENEFITS AND NOW THEY
CAN FILE FOR BENEFITS.
THEY’LL LAY HIM TO REST AND THEY