WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Charles Whitman is one of two suspects in the murder of his girlfriend, 55-year-old Linda Breen.
Breen was stabbed to death in the Wyandotte apartment she shared with Whitman, her boyfriend of about two years.
The other suspect is Whitman's nephew, a man in his twenties who was at the couple's apartment Friday, February 1 2019. The three were part of a small group of relatives partying to celebrate Whitman's birthday.
Whitman's nephew was supposed to spend the night.
Whitman claims he passed out after mixing a number of prescription pills with alcohol.
That night, a woman who was dating Whitman's nephew sent Whitman's mother a text in which she wrote, "Hey is there any way u can call your son (nephew's name) is acting stupid saying he's gonna kill himself."
Whitman believes that points to something that must have been deeply troubling to his nephew that night.
Whitman said when he woke up, he found Linda's injured body and called 911. Once he sobered up, he said he realized his nephew was gone.
Initially, Whitman admits to telling an officer that he must have done something to Linda. But he claims he was just confused and not sober.
Whitman was arrested and he said it wasn't until a day or two later that he learned Linda was dead.
Whitman's nephew is currently behind bars in the Wayne County Jail on unrelated charges, according to police who also call the nephew a suspect in Linda's murder.
Neither man has been charged in the murder.
But Whitman believes his nephew is responsible, suggesting Linda caught him doing something wrong that night.
"I believe she tried to stop him and she wasn't going to be quiet and it escalated from there," he said.
Until last week, Whitman had been serving 90 days in jail for a retail fraud case out of Southgate.
Wyandotte Police arrested Whitman on Friday and he was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence for an alleged assault on Linda about two weeks before she was killed.
"There's no domestic violence. We put that behind us," Whitman said.
Wyandotte Police said they were "very disappointed" that Judge Dalton Roberson allowed Whitman to be released after posting just $250 (10% of $2,500).
As for his girlfriend's murder, "I'm not running," Whitman said. "But you got my nephew avoiding, not providing evidence, not coming true to what he's done."
