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Dmitriy Shapiro Daily Telegram Staff Writer @lenaweeshapiro

RAISIN TWP One man is dead and another is in custody following an alleged homicide Thursday evening at Heritage Park in Raisin Township.

Matthew Benjamin Small, 22, of Adrian was killed near the Stubnitz Environmental Education Center parking lot, authorities said in a press release today, June 23. According to the Lenawee County Sheriffs Department, a jogger running the trails at the park saw the victim and a male suspect near the parking lot. After a conversation with the suspect, the jogger managed to make it to his car and call 911, the report said.

Emergency personnel were dispatched to the crime scene at approximately 6:48 p.m. and blocked off the road leading to the area. Authorities said they took the suspect, who knew the victim and was near the body, into custody without incident.

The suspects name will not be released until he has been formally charged and arraigned. Police said they still were looking for a motive behind the slaying.

An autopsy of the victim to determine exact cause of death is expected later today, but the release said the victim suffered multiple stab wounds.

The park is owned and maintained by the city of Adrian but is in Raisin Township, off M-52 south of Valley Road. It has soccer and softball fields, bicycle and walking trails, a disc golf course, and the Stubnitz Environmental Education Center. There were people using Heritage Parks ballfields, but the sheriffs department said they were not aware of anyone else who was in any immediate danger.

The crime scene investigation was led by the sheriffs department, alongside units from the Michigan State Police and an officer from the Raisin Township Police Department.

A Lenawee Community Ambulance unit arrived at 10:30 p.m. and removed the body of the victim. Police remained at the scene until approximately 11:30 p.m. Units from the Raisin Township Fire Department arrived on scene to assist in cleanup.

The release said both the victims and the suspects vehicles were parked at the scene. An SUV and sedan were towed from the scene by Neills Towing in Tecumseh.

No further information was immediately available.

Other Daily Telegram staff contributed to this story

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