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Male prostitute who murdered doctor gives shocking response to courtroom as he's hit with huge sentence
A male prostitute who killed a prominent Detroit neurosurgeon gave a shocking response in the courtroom as he was handed a lengthy prison sentence.
Desmond Burks, 35, pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Dr. Devon Hoover, along with manslaughter in a separate fatal road rage case.
Hoover, 53, was found dead in April 2023 inside his Boston-Edison neighborhood mansion after relatives requested a welfare check when he failed to return to Indiana to visit his dying mother, Law & Crime reported.
Police discovered the neurosurgeon “face-down” in an attic crawl space, naked apart from one black sock and wrapped in a blood-soaked carpet.
The medical examiner determined he had been shot twice in the head.
According to court proceedings, Hoover and Burks had been in a longtime “intimate relationship,” exchanging roughly 4,000 text messages. Prosecutors said Burks sometimes charged Hoover for sexual services.
Authorities said Burks began transferring money from the doctor within minutes of the murder, ultimately stealing at least $95,000, per Detroit Free Press.
He allegedly went on shopping sprees shortly afterward, purchasing diamond earrings and a pendant and referring to himself as “Big Money Des".
Investigators also located Hoover’s Range Rover abandoned several miles away with blood inside, and items including expensive watches, a phone, and a wallet were reported stolen.
Courtroom Behavior Sparks Outrage
During sentencing, Burks displayed behavior that left many observers stunned.
He smirked, smiled, waved, picked his cuticles, and threw peace signs while Hoover’s family described the heartbreaking impact of the crime.
“One of the heaviest burdens is knowing the devastating blow it was to our 85-year-old father to lose his only son in such a violent, senseless way,” Hoover’s sister, Lila Graber, told the court, per The New York Post.
At one point, Burks rolled his eyes when Graber said her brother’s murder “turned everything upside down.”
Addressing the court himself, he said: "My name is Desmond Burks... I'd like to say I'm not a murderer. I'm not a killer... I’m not gay, like the prosecutor wants me to be.
"I'm just a regular person just like everyone in this room… I'm not a gang member. I love sports. I'm a people person… Just because I took the plea don't mean I did it," he added. “I’m tired of people saying that I’m some gay killer or a gay person and a gang member in the same breath."
Family members had offered him a Bible during the hearing, but witnesses said he smirked as they spoke.
Second Killing Adds To Sentence
In addition to Hoover’s murder, Burks, a convicted arsonist released from prison in 2022, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 67-year-old Reda Saleh.
Police said that about a year after Hoover’s killing, Burks became involved in a road rage confrontation on April 17, 2024.
After Saleh’s car bumped his, Burks punched him during an argument and left the scene. Saleh later died from his injuries on May 11, 2024.
While addressing the court, Burks offered a brief apology: “It was a slap… can’t bring it back,” he said dismissively, adding that he “didn’t intentionally do it.”
Saleh’s stepdaughter told the court that “the man who meant everything to us” should have lived to see his grandchildren grow up.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Paul Cusick showed little sympathy for Burks’ claims. “Quite frankly, you are a murderer, sir,” the judge said.
Burks was sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison for Hoover’s murder and an additional 10 to 15 years for the manslaughter case, with the sentences to run concurrently, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said.
As part of the plea agreement, a first-degree murder charge was dropped.