---
title: "Lansing River Trail Murder Suspect Had Prior Shelter Assault"
url: https://www.herelansing.com/2026/10/31/river-trail-murder-suspect-prior-shelter-assault-lansing/
date: 2026-10-31T07:24:10-04:00
modified: 2026-10-31T07:24:10-04:00
author: "Dorian B. Hartman"
categories: ["Crime"]
site: "HERE Lansing"
attribution: "HERE Lansing"
---

# Lansing River Trail Murder Suspect Had Prior Shelter Assault

> LANSING, Mich. — The man charged with open murder in the Aug. 20 stabbing of Daniel Lusk near the Lansing River Trail had admitted less than a year earlier to assaulting an older man near a Lansing homeless shelter, court records from Eaton County show. Edward Joseph Smith, 23, was arraigned in September on the

*Source: [HERE Lansing](https://www.herelansing.com/2026/10/31/river-trail-murder-suspect-prior-shelter-assault-lansing/) — October 31, 2026 by Dorian B. Hartman*

LANSING, Mich. — The man charged with open murder in the Aug. 20 stabbing of Daniel Lusk near the Lansing River Trail had admitted less than a year earlier to assaulting an older man near a Lansing homeless shelter, court records from Eaton County show.

Edward Joseph Smith, 23, was arraigned in September on the open murder count as a second habitual offender, the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office announced at the time. Lusk, 22, was found stabbed multiple times beneath the E. Michigan Avenue bridge where it meets S. Grand Avenue, around 4 a.m. Officers tried to save him until Lansing Fire Department crews took over, but he died at the scene.

In 2023, Smith faced an aggravated stalking charge of his father, who held a protective order, and ended up with probation and time served. While still on probation he was accused of attacking a man, 69, outside a Lansing shelter on Oct. 13, 2025, and he admitted the violation at a Dec. 2, 2025, hearing. Prosecutors asked for 180 days in jail, with credit for 80 days already served.

Lusk’s death is one of five possibly violent deaths along the river in the past year, all of them involving people without housing. Lansing Police are handling all five as suspicious and looking at each case on its own. So far no one else has been charged in any of the deaths, and investigators have not connected Smith to the other four.