In the spring of 2019, a tragic series of events unfolded in Pontiac, Michigan, leading to the death of 42-year-old Eugene Bass Jr. On May 23rd, Bass, a father of seven from Lansing, was with a friend on North Midland Street near Auburn Avenue. Around 1 p.m., he got into a silver Chevrolet Equinox where another man was waiting. Shortly after, witnesses reported hearing gunshots coming from inside the vehicle, which then sped away. This was the last time Eugene Bass Jr.
was seen alive.
The investigation into Bass's disappearance quickly gained momentum. The owner of the home where the Equinox had been parked, though not present at the time, provided police with information about the vehicle's owner. Authorities located the SUV at a residence on Palmer Drive in Pontiac, believed to be the home of Paul Anthony Hall. Inside the vehicle, investigators discovered a significant amount of blood that someone had attempted to clean. A spent shell casing was also recovered from the driveway on North Midland Street. The blood found in the Equinox was later confirmed to be a DNA match for Eugene Bass Jr.
Paul Anthony Hall, a 46-year-old Pontiac resident with a criminal history that included convictions for controlled substance delivery, fleeing and eluding, aggravated assault, and domestic violence, was identified as the suspect. He was initially taken into custody on unrelated charges while the homicide investigation continued. On July 23, 2019, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office issued formal charges against Hall in connection with Bass's death. He was charged with open murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Hall was arraigned and denied bond.
For nearly a year, the body of Eugene Bass Jr. remained missing, despite ongoing searches by law enforcement. Then, on May 18, 2020, detectives received a tip that led them to Galloway Lake Park in Pontiac. In a wooded area of the park, they discovered skeletal remains. While positive identification was pending dental records, authorities believed the remains to be those of Eugene Bass Jr. The discovery brought a somber sense of closure to a case that had started with a brazen daylight shooting and ended with a long and painful search for a missing loved one.
