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Arrest made in Chocolay Township homicide investigation: Suspect appeared in federal court Monday

MARQUETTE — A Marquette man has been arrested in relation to a homicide that took place in Chocolay Township Friday night.

Hunter Allen Loos of Marquette, born in 1996, has been accused of killing a woman who was born in 1970, according to federal court documents.

Officials have filed a federal criminal complaint seeking to charge Loos with first-degree murder, court documents show.

Loos had his first appearance in the case on Monday afternoon in the United States District Court Western District of Michigan Northern Division, according to the court.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Loos faces a maximum penalty of death or imprisonment for life and/or a $250,000 fine.

His next court appearance is a detention hearing, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, officers from the Michigan State Police Negaunee Post, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Marquette office and several other law enforcement agencies responded to what was believed to be human remains on fire on Friday night.

The incident occurred on the exterior boundaries of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation behind the Ojibwa Casino, and the victim’s body was discovered on a snow-covered, two-track road south of the reservation, the criminal complaint states.

Using casino surveillance, KBIC Tribal Police identified two vehicles entering Acorn Trail from the two-track road, including a white van.

The white van was seen on surveillance footage exiting the two-track and turning south on Acorn Trail toward a residence along Ojibwa Trail at 7:45 p.m., the complaint states.

FBI special agents identified the white van in the driveway of a residence along Ojibwa Trail.

When a special agents contacted the residence, Loos answered the door and the agent noticed “what appeared to be blood on both of Loos’ bare feet, as well as what appeared to be blood on Loos’ shirt and the ground outside of the residence,” as well as a “what appeared to be a fresh cut on Loos’ left index finger,” the complaint states.

During an interview, Loos advised FBI agents that he stabbed the victim in the back and “that she then hit him with a coffee pot, and that he stabbed her several more times,” the complaint states.

The victim “then stumbled onto the couch and died after approximately an hour to an hour and half,” according to the complaint.

Loos further advised investigators that he covered the victim’s body with a blanket, “drove her body to the two-track in the white van, doused her body with gas and ‘cremated’ her,” the complaint states.

The victim is a member of the KBIC Ojibwa Tribe. Loos is not, but is considered a KBIC descendant.

Responding to the scene with the Michigan State Police Negaunee Post, FBI and KBIC Tribal Police were the Michigan State Police Crime Lab, the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, Chocolay Township Police and Chocolay Township Fire-Rescue.

Ryan Spitza can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. His email address is rspitza@miningjournal.net.

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