Marko Davis

On Christmas Eve in 2013, a group of urban explorers made a disturbing discovery inside the abandoned Packard Plant in Detroit, Michigan. They found the body of Marko Davis, a 21-year-old Black man. The photographers had been trekking across the dark, cavernous factory when they came across him.

The discovery was made at 7:05 p.m. on December 24. Marko’s body was frozen when it was found. The sprawling, iconic ruins of the plant had become a magnet for adventurers, historians, and photographers, but on this night, it became the scene of a homicide investigation.

Detroit Police were called, and investigators noted that Marko appeared to have been murdered. According to police Sgt. Michael Woody, there was visible trauma to Marko's neck, which suggested he may have been strangled. His death was being investigated as a homicide, with the official cause of death to be determined by the Wayne County coroner.

The discovery of Marko’s body was the second homicide investigation in the immediate area in recent months; the body of a law school student had been found in a vacant lot near the plant that October. As of January 2014, police were continuing their investigation into Marko’s death. The case remains unsolved.