The family of JoAnn Matouk Romain presented what they said was new evidence that contradicts the conclusion by police that the 55-year-old Grosse Pointe Woods woman committed suicide by drowning herself.
Christina Hall writes in the Free Press that at a news conference Wednesday, Michelle Romain, the victim's daughter, said she believes her mother was abducted outside St. Paul's Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, chloroformed and thrown into the water near Belle Isle, where she drowned.
Citing new evidence uncovered by a private investigator, Romain said she wants Michigan State Police to intercede and reopen the case.
The investigator, Scott Lewis, the former TV news reporter, said, “I am convinced that JoAnn Romain did not commit suicide. I think this was a murder.”
Police in Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe Woods insisted their investigation was complete, though they said they were always open to new information. They concluded Romain parked her vehicle in St. Paul's parking lot and walked into nearby Lake St. Clair to kill herself.
The state police did not agree to enter the investigation.
