Criminology professor shares warning to students amid possible serial killer near Michigan State University

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Fox News. (2026, October 14). Criminology professor shares warning to students amid possible serial killer near Michigan State University. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/14/us-news/criminologist-professor-at-big-ten-college-offers-warning-to-students-as-police-probe-possible-serial-killer/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-14 · by Fox News

Quick Summary

Karen Holt, a criminology professor at Michigan State University, warns students about potential dangers near campus trails where five men have been attacked over the past year, including one who was fatally stabbed. The attacks occurred between October 2025 and August 2026, with the latest victim being Daniel Lusk, whose murder remains under investigation without a confirmed motive or arrest of a suspect linked to all incidents. Holt advises caution, especially for vulnerable individuals, suggesting they avoid walking on these trails due to safety concerns.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-14, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

As of October 14, 2026, Lansing Police Department is investigating five deaths along the Lansing River Trail, which may be linked to a potential serial killer. The victims—four white men aged 22 to 70 and one whose age is not specified—are all believed to have been homeless and were found with injuries sustained in the early morning hours over the past year. Police Chief Robert Backus acknowledged that while one stabbing death led to an arrest of Edward Smith, who has not been charged in any other cases, there are still questions about a serial killer due to similarities among the deaths. Forensic expert Mary Ellen O'Toole warns that valuable evidence might have been left at outdoor crime scenes, but Karen Holt, a criminology professor at Michigan State University, advises caution while emphasizing the vulnerability of homeless individuals as targets for violent offenders. The timeline shows victims discovered between October 14, 2025, and September 2026, with Gino Chouinard being the first victim to die on October 27, 2025.

Written for “Possible Serial Killer In Michigan” on 2026-10-14, grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 79977 · logged 2026-10-14

Story

📰 Possible Serial Killer In Michigan
Crime & Law · 9 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Criminologist professor at Big Ten college offers warning to students as police probe possible serial killer same event · 100%
Fox News · 0.90 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 8% hedged 2 of 25 📰 publisher trust 70
“Both articles describe Karen Holt's warning to students and police investigation of possible serial killings in Lansing, Michigan, involving five men attacked along the Lansing River Trail over the last year.”
Potential Michigan serial killer may have left behind valuable evidence, former FBI profiler says different event · 95%
Fox News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 21% hedged 3 of 14 📰 publisher trust 70
“The articles discuss related events and similar concerns but refer to different sources and contexts (a former FBI profiler vs. a criminology professor at Michigan State University).”
Serial killer fears strike college town as school fortifies security amid popular river trail deaths different event · 85%
Fox News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 3 of 22 📰 publisher trust 70
“Article A reports on security concerns and difficulties in investigating potential serial killings near Michigan State University, while Article B focuses on a criminology professor's perspective on the incidents after more information has emerged, including specifics about five victims attacked over a year.”
Midwest police chief fears serial killer may be to blame after five bodies were found along river different event · 70%
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 21% hedged 7 of 33 📰 publisher trust 64
“While both articles discuss the possibility of a serial killer near Lansing River Trail based on similar findings, Article A is from October 9th and focuses on the police chief's statement, while Article B is from October 14th and highlights a criminology professor’s warning to students.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
9
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Fox News
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🔮 She says homicide offenders often see these victims as individuals “who lack credibility” and may assume that going after homeless victims “decreases the likelihood that they’re going to be caught.”
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Criminology professor shares warning to students amid possible serial killer near Michigan State University
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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 280 articles by Fox News →

Topics

Fox News Digital Lansing Michigan State University

Subjects

Holt PERSON · 4× Daniel Lusk PERSON · 2× Edward Joseph Smith PERSON · 2× Lusk PERSON · 2× Denis Dunnebacke PERSON · 1× Fox News Digital ORG · 1× Gino Chouinard PERSON · 1× Karen Holt PERSON · 1× Michigan State University ORG · 1× Robert Smith PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Holt says Lusk’s murder “stands out” in comparison to the other alleged killings in that the victim was stabbed – whereas the other four victims suffered some sort of head injury or possible blunt force trauma.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 She says homicide offenders often see these victims as individuals “who lack credibility” and may assume that going after homeless victims “decreases the likelihood that they’re going to be caught.”
2026-10-14 · New York Post
Criminology professor shares warning to students amid possible serial killer near Michigan State University · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 1 hedged)

“I definitely think we need to be cautious, but we also need to be rational,” Karen Holt, a criminology professor at Michigan State University, told Fox News Digital. asserted
Holt → think → Digital
Police said over the last year five men were attacked along the popular trail; one of the victims was found stabbed to death under a bridge. asserted
one → say → bridge
“As someone who studies violence, the first thing that came to mind was the victims and the vulnerability of these victims and the method of the violence,” Holt said. asserted
Holt → study → violence
“If we have a community where people can be attacked in this way, then I don’t necessarily know that we can call it a safe community,” Holt said. asserted
Holt → have → it
She continued, saying, “One of the patterns with either single or serial homicide offenders or just violent offenders is that they tend to go after individuals who are particularly vulnerable.” asserted
who → continue → individuals
She says homicide offenders often see these victims as individuals “who lack credibility” and may assume that going after homeless victims “decreases the likelihood that they’re going to be caught.” uncertain
they → say → likelihood
Timeline of killings Oct. 14, 2025 – Gino Chouinard, 54, was found unconscious along the trail. asserted
Chouinard → find → trail
He died Oct. 27, 2025 and police said his cause of death remains undetermined. asserted
cause → die → death
July 9, 2026 – Denis Dunnebacke, 70, was found unresponsive under the Kalamazoo Street bridge. asserted
Dunnebacke → find → bridge
He died July 16, 2026, with his cause of death undetermined. asserted
cause → die → death
July 13, 2026 – Robert Smith, 57, was found suffering from severe head trauma. asserted
Smith → find → trauma
He died July 17, 2026, and the medical examiner ruled it a blunt force homicide. asserted
it → die → ?
Aug. 20, 2026 – Daniel Lusk, 22, was found fatally stabbed under the East Michigan Avenue bridge. asserted
Lusk → find → bridge
Police said they arrested suspect Edward Joseph Smith, 23, on Sept. 3, in connection to the stabbing. asserted
they → say → stabbing
Aug. 30, 2026 – Louis Woodruff, 57, was found under the East Cesar Chavez Avenue bridge with severe facial trauma. asserted
Woodruff → find → trauma
He died Sept. 1, 2026, with police saying his death was ruled a blunt force homicide. asserted
death → die → ?
On September 3, Edward Joseph Smith, 23, was arrested in connection to the deadly stabbing of Daniel Lusk, 22. asserted
Smith → arrest → Lusk
“I would love to learn more about the relationship between that victim and perpetrator,” she said. asserted
she → love → victim
Police have not announced any motive in Lusk’s murder. asserted
Police → announce → murder
Smith has not been accused of any crime or wrongdoing in the four other deaths. asserted
Smith → accuse → deaths
Holt says Lusk’s murder “stands out” in comparison to the other alleged killings in that the victim was stabbed – whereas the other four victims suffered some sort of head injury or possible blunt force trauma. asserted
victims → say → injury
Police have yet to confirm any arrest of this possible serial killer. asserted
Police → have → killer
Holt maintains Lansing needs to remain vigilant. asserted
Lansing → maintain → ?
“Don’t walk the trail would be my advice. asserted
walk → walk → trail
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