Deaths of Dearborn Heights police officer, neighbor a mystery

On Sunday, a Dearborn Heights police officer was seen barbecuing with his close friend and neighbor. Six days later, the two men were found dead together.

But how they died remains a mystery.

Dearborn Heights police officer John Burdick, 46, and James McEwen, 45, were found on the floor of the garage at a home in the 8500 block of Lochdale, Michigan State Police First Lt. Michael Shaw said.

The men, who were known to be friends, suffered no obvious signs of trauma, there were no signs of foul play and police have ruled out carbon monoxide poisoning and a murder-suicide, Shaw said.

He said the case remains a homicide investigation, until proven otherwise.

"We're looking at all kinds of things," Shaw said.

Autopsies will be performed Saturday, Ryan Bridges, a spokesman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, said.

McEwen's girlfriend found the men, Shaw said. The 911 call came into Dearborn Heights police at about 9:15 a.m.

Burdick had been with the department 18 years, and was promoted to sergeant within the last month, said Dearborn Heights Police Chief Lee Gavin in a statement.

"I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the untimely death of Sergeant Burdick this morning," said the city's mayor Dan Paletko. "I knew Sergeant Burdick for many years, and throughout that time was always impressed by his desire to represent the community and our police department so professionally."

Neighbor Patricia Kondratowicz said that around 9 a.m. she saw two women walk out of the garage looking upset and on the phone, with hands to their lips. She left for a few hours to visit her mother and when she came back, the home next door was flooded with police. Kondratowicz said EMS technicians came to the scene with a stretcher, but she never saw it used.

For the rest of the day, the home had a look of a crime scene.

A state police canine unit led a dog around the home's perimeter, and crime scene technicians could be seen leaving the home with large brown paper bags.

The scene came as a shock to neighbors, who described the officer as a friendly watchful presence in the neighborhood. He would often drive around the area in his patrol car, chatting with residents. He could be seen playing with his children in the front yard, which sits about a block from where the men's bodies were found.

"It was good having a cop around the corner," said neighbor Sheila Olis, who lives a few blocks away.

She recalled a time when she rolled through a stop sign and the officer let her go with a warning. Olis said he told her: "I can't give you a ticket, you're my neighbor."

While on duty, he once helped look for his neighbor's dog, Titan, which another neighbor eventually found.

"It's just baffling," said the neighbor, Mark Basierbe , who lives next door to the home where the bodies were found. "I don't understand this."

Contact Gina Damron: 313-223-4526 or gdamron@freepress.com