In the winter of 2016, former NFL player Robert Eddins, a 28-year-old male, was found dead in the basement of a Detroit home. His life, which had seen the highs of professional football, came to a violent and tragic end alongside his friend, Ricardo McFarlin, who was 32. The grim discovery was made on December 20, 2016, on Detroit's west side by Eddins's father, who had grown worried after not being able to reach his son.
Both men had been shot multiple times in what was described by authorities as an execution-style killing. The scene was further disturbed by a chilling attempt to cover up the crime; the gas stove had been left on with the pilots unlit, a deliberate act to potentially cause an explosion and destroy evidence. The house had also been ransacked.
The investigation into the double homicide revealed a connection to drug trafficking. Federal authorities stated that the murders of Eddins and McFarlin were drug-related, stemming from a dispute over a cocaine shipment that Eddins had allegedly not paid for. The case, which initially left police with no witnesses or clear motive, eventually led to a federal indictment. In February 2018, three men were charged in connection with the slayings: Michael DeAngelo Griffin of Birmingham, Alabama; Clifton Dennis Epps of Armory, Mississippi; and Mariano Lozoya Garcia of Brownsville, Texas. The indictment brought forth charges of murder, drug trafficking, and weapons offenses.
The investigation revealed that the three men had traveled from out of state with the intent to kill Eddins. Griffin was specifically accused of being the one to shoot Eddins. Shortly after the murders, Griffin and Epps were apprehended in Louisiana, where they were found in possession of over a kilogram of heroin and a loaded pistol. The legal proceedings that followed brought some measure of closure to the families of the victims. Both Michael Griffin and Mariano Garcia eventually pleaded guilty to their roles in the murders, admitting to traveling interstate with the intent to kill. Clifton Epps also reached a plea agreement in April 2023. The case underscored the violent realities often intertwined with the world of drug trafficking.
