Case Information
Name: Akita Ervin
Location: White Lake, MI
Age: 15
Found: June 22, 1992
15 year old Akita Ervin was murdered in White Lake Township in June of 1992. Her body was found less then a half mile away from her home.
On June 22, 1992 Akita Ervin’s body was found in a wooded area off of Ford Road in the Highland State Recreation area. Her body was so badly decomposed that the medical examiner could only determine the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the neck. It’s estimated that her body was there for a couple of weeks before being discovered. She had last been seen by her mother on June 10, 1992.
Akita Ervin was laid to rest 10 days before her 16th birthday. Her case remains unsolved. You can read more about Akita’s case on our about page.
Submitting a Tip
If you have any information on Akita Ervin’s case contact the White Lake Police Department at 248-698-4400
Updates/In The News
Who Did It? – Herald Living November 1995
Body Found in Park Identified as Missing Teenager – Detroit Free Press
Unsolved Murders in Oakland County (transcribed below) – Spinal Column 2007
Oakland County Murder Remains Unsolved
February 14, 2007 – Every morning, Akita Ervin smiles — ad infinitum, unflaggingly — at White Lake Township Police Lt. Edward Harris. Although Harris acknowledges her presence, she doesn’t say a word to the 25-year veteran of the township’s police force.
Fifteen years ago — June 22, 1992, just two months after Harris took over the township police department’s Detective Bureau — Ervin’s “pretty badly” decomposing body was discovered off Ford Road in a wooded area. At first, the 15-year-old couldn’t be identified since her body had been exposed to the elements for “a couple weeks,” according to Harris.
Ervin had previously run away from home and was reported missing by her mother, who lived in the township. Akita Ervin returned unharmed that time, so it was presumed she ran away again when she disappeared shortly after that homecoming.
The exact cause of death for the Huron Valley Lakeland High School student was never determined, Harris said, but the case still stays with him to this very day, as he keeps her wallet-sized school photograph tacked to a desktop file organizer.
A massive investigation — including many polygraph tests and interviews — in the fledgling stages of what’s considered a murder case yielded few clues. Still, Harris remains optimistic and hopeful the case will be solved.
“Nobody deserves to die that way, being left in the woods,” Harris said. “(We) put a lot of resources into (the case).”
The case remains unsolved, although township police are always culling leads and information in efforts to finally track down her killer after a decade-and-a-half. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence has turned up “nothing concrete,” and, without being able to elaborate due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, Harris said there have been leads within the past year, but none have borne significant fruit.
The investigating team has gone as far as Texas within the past couple years to interview potential suspects.
Cases like Ervin’s are not uncommon across the nation, with many unsolved murders waiting to be cracked and closed. But in the lakes area, unsolved homicides — and homicides in general — are infrequent.
However, there are several unsolved murders in west Oakland County which still puzzle police officials; and other serious unsolved crimes, such as attempted murders and robberies, which have left police investigators searching for answers.
Almost five years ago, on May 16, 2002, in a residential area near Orchard Lake and Walnut Lake roads in West Bloomfield Township, 46-year-old Mildred Siebert was violently and fatally attacked by an intruder in her home located on Autumn Ridge.
Though Siebert survived the initial attack with knife wounds to her head, throat and face, she succumbed to her injuries on March 20, 2002, four days after the assault.
Siebert arose the morning of the attack and discovered an intruder in her home. A struggle ensued, during which she was stabbed. She was able to escape her attacker initially, but was violently attacked a second time.
The attacker left after the second assault, and Siebert was able to make it through her garage and out onto the driveway, where she collapsed and was discovered by passers-by.
A Tommy Hilfiger-brand charm was discovered at the scene. It possibly was left behind after Siebert had ripped it away from the assailant. It was determined by Hilfiger officials that it likely wasn’t ever part of a pendant chain, but it may have been part of a zipper on a piece of luggage or something of the like, according to West Bloomfield Police Lt. Carl Fuhs.
As recent as a couple months ago, someone who was arrested for larceny from a building was investigated for possible involvement in the Siebert murder, Fuhs said. The individual lived in the vicinity of Siebert’s home around the time of the murder and has a record of breaking and entering violations.
However, the potential suspect was cleared.
“We are constantly looking at anything that can possibly be there,” Fuhs said, adding that there is evidence in the case but the department hasn’t been able to pin the murder on any one individual. “This is a big one. I’d like to get this solved.”
In Waterford Township, one unsolved case has generated a lot of headlines in recent months — the double homicide of township residents Pamela Barnes, 41, and Kenneth Kanehl, 39, sometime between July 2 and July 4, 2005.
The couple, who lived together in a home located in the 5400 block Brunswick Blvd., were found shot to death in their bed on July 6, 2005, when local police officers responded to a call asking authorities to check on the couple. A family member of one of the two victims had reportedly called Waterford police and said neither had shown up for a family function and or gone to work that day.
According to Waterford Township Police Sgt. Todd Hasselbach, another murder dating back several years is still unsolved. In that case, he said, an unknown suspect had apparently kicked open a door to unit at the River’s Edge apartment complex and shot a man to death with a shotgun.
Hasselbach said two more recent unsolved cases are currently being worked by township police detectives, include a stabbing at a BP gasoline station at 3700 Dixie Highway during an attempted robbery on Sept. 11, 2006.
Witnesses, as well as the gas station employee who was working behind the counter at the time of the incident, told Waterford police that a black male between the ages of 25 and 35, about 5-feet-9-inches, 200 pounds, and wearing dark jeans, a yellow shirt, and a black Chicago White Sox baseball hat entered the store, walked behind the counter, and stabbed the clerk. The suspect, who fled the store on foot, was also wearing gold frame glasses and possibly had a goatee.
No money was taken during the incident.
Another unsolved Waterford case involves a Sept. 19 robbery of the Summit Place Mall’s J.B. Robinson jewelry store, in which a suspect described as a light-skinned black male, standing about 5-feet-7-inches and having a medium build, entered the store, produced a handgun, and ordered an employee to open the cash register.
According to police, the suspect fled the store and exited through the food court area doors with cash and some rings from a display case.
Hasselbach said the police department welcomes tips from the public, even though they don’t always turn up new information.
“Tips come in fairly regularly, but sometimes they’re not accurate, and sometimes they’re the same tip we’ve received over and over again, for which someone’s already been cleared,” he said.
The Milford Police Department is still following leads in two violent crimes that occurred over decade ago, but has yet to request charges against any suspects.
According to Milford Police Lt. Tom Callahan, the department is still looking for clues in the attempted murder of Milford pastor William Peppard, who was shot in the abdomen with a 12-gauge shotgun in October 1996. The shooting occurred at Peppard’s home in the middle of the night.
“It was one of those types of injuries that most people don’t live through,” Callahan said, adding that the motive behind the attack still isn’t clear. However, the department has not ruled out mistaken identity as a possibility.
According to Callahan, there was nothing said by the perpetrator at the time of the shooting. In addition, there was no overt information and nothing in the pastor’s life which could have been a motive for the attack.
“Initially, there were a lot of people to be interviewed because of his work,” Callahan said. “He was a minister at a church and he came in contact with a large number of people. The vast majority were members of his church and friends.”
Callahan said there were well over 100 people interviewed in the attempted murder case. The department hasn’t been able to eliminate one person as possibly being involved in the attack, and he continues to remain a suspect, according to Callahan, who said he couldn’t discuss specifics about the individual.
There isn’t enough evidence to bring charges against the suspect, Callahan said. However, if there was, he said the charge would be attempted murder.
It’s difficult to determine why a person would try to murder Peppard, according to Callahan. However, the pastor counseled people during troubling times including divorces, and there are certain things that people such as clergymen and counselors do that might cause tensions between people, possibly leading to violence.
Callahan said leads have been pursued through the years but nothing has yielded definitive evidence which could lead to charges against someone.
In another unsolved case in Milford, police department personnel is still conducting interviews and reviewed evidence related to the 1981 strangulation death of Anne Doroghazi. However, authorities still have no major leads in the case.
Doroghazi was 20-years-old at the time of her death.
“Some of the evidence wasn’t as fruitful as we had hoped,” Callahan said. “We still have some evidence at the lab and we continue to investigate the case.”
Wixom police have had their hands full trying to prosecute Artan Sulstarova, then a 28-year-old man suspected in the 2004 slaying of 24-year-old Wixom resident Klevis Mullalli.
A homicide warrant was issued for Sulstarova, who witnesses named as the perpetrator in the Bristol Square Apartment complex murder. According to Wixom police, Sulstarova stabbed Mullalli repeatedly during a fight over the rules of a card game, and then fled the scene. One of the stab wounds cut an artery in Mullalli’s left leg, causing him to bleed to death within three minutes.
Sulstarova is still at large.
“We feel he’s either in Canada or Albania,” said Detective Sgt. Charles Yon. “We’re not exactly sure where’s he’s at right now. We have the U.S. Marshals involved.”
The case has appeared on America’s Most Wanted, and Wixom police have employed the help of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Team. Since it’s possible Sulstarova may be overseas, international officials have been briefed about the case.
“We also contacted INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) for Albania to let them know if he appears in Albania, we’re interested in having him extradited back here,” Yon said.
Sulstarova is a white male of Albanian descent standing at 6-feet, weighing 220 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. He’s also named in warrants for felonious assault and a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He is to be considered armed and dangerous.
The city of Walled Lake also has a cold case of the armed and dangerous nature. Back in March 1998, a Mexican male standing roughly 5-feet-10 inches and weighing 160 pounds held up the Big Boy restaurant at 800 Pontiac Trail.
The suspect reportedly came in, sat down, and ordered coffee and a slice of pie. Witness accounts indicate the man waited until the restaurant was almost empty, and exited his booth with a 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun. He ordered the manager and everyone into a confined area and tied everyone one up with plastic zip ties, and duct taped their mouths and feet together. The suspect had brought these items with him. He then took the manager to the safe and removed $10,000. Before leaving, the robber also left with his coffee cup, silverware and a few sugar packets.
“That’s an unusual robbery,” said Walled Lake Police Capt. Brent Liddy. “Take-over robberies are not very common. They are the least common type of robbery.”
The robbery had a very distinct motive pattern that has been hard to match. The case is still considered open and sometimes discussed at various meetings. However, there have been no leads or new information uncovered in quite some time.
“That was just one of those robberies that just didn’t have many leads to follow,” Liddy said. “We still keep our eye out in case something pops up that matches, but it just hasn’t happened yet. (The case) will stay open until it’s solved.”
Walled Lake police are also still investigating an armed robbery at the Citgo gas station at 750 Pontiac Trial that occurred last November.
“We are still following up on some (fresh) leads and possibilities on that one,” Liddy said.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Department Commerce Substation deputies are similarly looking for individuals responsible for a robbery which occurred two months ago.
An employee of a local McDonald’s restaurant was robbed at gunpoint shortly before midnight on Dec. 14 at a Commerce Township bank located on Union Lake Road while making a deposit for the restaurant.
According to the department, the suspects include a white male and a black male. Both suspects fled on foot after the robbery.
A resident of the area near the bank reportedly saw two suspects running through his backyard and was able to track them. The suspected robbers then entered a late model Ford Taurus, throwing one bag containing approximately $1,800 out the car window.
Another bag also containing about $1,800 was kept, according to the sheriff’s department.
The weapon used in the robbery was located by a K-9 unit. It turned out to be an Airsoft BB gun.
According to sheriff’s department Highland Substation deputies, only one major unsolved case in Highland Township remains on the books — a robbery at a township drug store.
Last year a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt entered the Rite Aid at 2880 Highland Road, approached the counter, implied he had a gun, and demanded money from the register.
The man escaped with the money, and hasn’t been identified, according to the sheriff’s department.
Sheriff’s deputies suspected a man arrested for other robberies may have been responsible, but were unsuccessful in finding any links between him and the Rite Aid case.
Other lakes area communities have had the benefit of avoiding violent cold case crimes.
“I can’t think of any cold case, no homicides or anything like that,” said Wolverine Lake Police Chief Joe George. “We don’t have anything. I’m glad to say we don’t have any of that.”
Police in the city of Orchard Lake face a similar situation, according to Police Chief Fred Rosenau.
“I’ve been here 28 years, and we have no big (cold cases) that I’m aware of,” he said.