DETROIT (WWJ) - Three people were charged in connection to the homicide of a 35-year-old Detroit woman whose charred body was found wrapped in carpet and with a bag over her head in the trunk of a burning vehicle on May 15.
Wayne Count Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the charges on Friday against James Harper, 27, Ciera Lecha Mcgilmer, 28, and Calvin Lewis Mcgilmer, 46 in connection with the homicide of Syraya Lee.
The three suspects and the victim are all from Detroit. The charges are as follows:
James Harper - one count of First-Degree Murder, one count of Fourth-Degree Arson, one count of Tampering with Evidence, and one count of Third-Degree Fleeing and Eluding.
Ciera Mcgilmer - one count of Tampering with Evidence and one count of Accessory After the Fact.
Calvin Mcgilmer - one count of Second-Degree Murder, and one count of Tampering with Evidence.
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According to the Detroit Police Department, authorities responded to the scene of a vehicle fire at a residence in the 5400 block of Lakepoint Street in Detroit just before 4 p.m. on May 15.
The Detroit Fire Department was working on extinguishing a vehicle fire when police pulled up. When the flames were out, officers found Lee's badly burnt body wrapped in carpet with a bag covering her head in the trunk of the vehicle.
The victim was pronounced dead on the scene.
"It is alleged that on May 15, 2022, at a residence in the 19440 block of Moenart Street in Detroit, Defendant Harper strangled the victim, fatally injuring her," Worthy said in a press release regarding the incident. "It is further alleged that the defendants moved the victim’s body and her vehicle to a home in the 5420 block of Lakepoint Street before setting the victim’s car on fire with her inside."
Detroit police arrested Harper and Ciera Mcgilmer on May 17 and took Calvin Mcgilmer into custody the next day on May 18.
The trio was arraigned on Friday afternoon in the 36th District Court. Harper and Calvin Mcgilmer were ordered to jail until their trail while Ciera Mcgilmer was given a $50,000 personal bond and placed under house arrest with a GPS tracking device.
The Probable Cause Conference is scheduled for June 3 at 8:30 a.m., and the Preliminary Examination is scheduled for June 10 at 1:45 p.m.
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