Tips sought in woman's slaying at Highland Park hotel

Michigan State Police are seeking tips to find a possible suspect in the death of a woman last week at a Highland Park hotel.

The agency released surveillance footage that shows a man walking and running in the parking lot at the Woodward Inn on Thursday night, shortly before the 34-year-old victim's body was found in a room there.

The man was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt or jacket, black Adidas jogging pants with white stripes on the legs and a logo on the front as well as black Nike shoes featuring a white or gray emblem on the tongue, state police reported.

“While the video is from a distance and the photo is blurry we are hopeful that someone will recognize this person.” said First Lt. Mike Shaw, public information officer for the MSP Second District.

“If you believe you know this person or have any other information on this case call 855.MICH.TIP or Crime Stoppers at 800.SPEAK.UP.”

State police detectives were called around 1:30 a.m. Friday by the Highland Park Police Department to investigate what they describe as a homicide.

Highland Park officers reported they received a 911 call about a body found in a room at the hotel in the 16000 block of Woodward Avenue. The caller told police he saw the door open and a woman inside it.

Medics were called and pronounced the woman dead.

Authorities did not release her name. She was identified as Ashia Davis, a transgender woman, in a GoFundMe campaign launched Tuesday as well as Facebook posts by Julisa Abad, a victim advocate at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and director of transgender outreach and advocacy for Fair Michigan.

"Let's find her some justice," Abad wrote Tuesday.

The GoFundMe effort seeks to raise $2,500 to help with cremation services.

"A beautiful soul with a heart of gold," the organizer, Timothy Clark, wrote. "Ashia is a part of the transgender community that is often targeted. She has a family that includes an aging mother that is just completely devastated."