Steven Cal had a black belt in karate, but that didn’t stop a cold blooded killer from gunning him down.
It’s a shooting that happened seven years ago and now the case has gone cold. That’s why detectives are hoping you can help them solve this murder mystery.
“To feel that somebody’s out there that could do this and just go on with their life. I just can’t understand why it happened,” said Rick Lang. Lang desperately wants to know who killed his little brother.
Steven was the youngest of 12 siblings. He grew up to work as an electrician for General Motors. Steven was married, he adored his 2-year-old daughter, and his life was going well.
Rick says Steven had no debts, he didn’t do drugs, and he did not have a criminal record. So why did someone gun him down by firing 12 shots at him?
“The amount of ammunition that was used on him, it sounds like somebody was angry,” said Rick.
Police say the killer – or killers – struck on March 8, 2009 after Steven returned to his home in Commerce Township. It was around 3 in the morning, but the 39-year-old never made it past his garage.
“Someone had opened fire on him at close range, and struck him 8 times out of 12 shots. He died as a result of those gunshot wounds,” Capt. Joe Quisenberry told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.
Capt. Quisenberry leads the Investigative Division of the Oakland County Sheriff’s office, where detectives have interviewed dozens of people and chased down hundreds of leads during the last seven years.
“We have covered a lot of ground and so far have not been able to develop a suspect at this point,” said Quisenberry.
“How frustrating is that for you,” asked Catallo.
“For us it’s very frustrating. We put a lot of effort into these investigations and you’d like to see the outcome to be positive, and someone brought to justice over this,” said Quisenberry.
So what happened in those final hours before a neighbor noticed Steven lying dead in his garage? And where was his wife?
Rick says Steven and his wife were living apart at the time, but they were trying to get back together.
“They were out that night on a date,” said Rick.
Steven and his wife went to the Flight Club strip bar in Inkster. The wife told police that while they were there another patron had been disrespectful to her so they decided to leave. And according to her, Steven was worried.
“He said let’s get out of here I don’t want to get shot tonight,” said Rick.
Steven dropped his wife off at her apartment before heading home. So did the murderer follow him all 26 miles on his way back from Inkster?
Or did someone else want him dead?
Now that time has passed, detectives are hoping that the killer may have confided in someone – someone who can now come forward with the missing piece of this puzzle.
“We believe somebody knows who did this. At this point, one piece of evidence would probably change the investigation to the focal point of one person. And that’s what we’re looking for,” said Quisenberry.
If you know anything about this case, Sheriff’s investigators want to hear from you. You can call 1-800-TURN-1-IN.
