Hopes killed with Detroit landlord
Residents mourn death as symbol of dying community
George Hunter / / The Detroit News
Detroit — For Florida Benton, the hopes of a city were embodied in her two-story apartment complex, a place she said was a "rat trap" until her landlord, Australian-born Greg McNichols, purchased the building a few months ago and began fixing it up.
"He was showing that you could invest in Detroit and make a profit, and do it the right way," Benton, 46, said Sunday.
"He got to know the people in the community. I turned him on to soul food; he loved my beans. I used to tease him about his accent all the time, because he sounded like the Crocodile Hunter. He wasn't just a landlord trying to make money off people — he was trying to make a difference."
But the building's renovation is on hold; the future of its occupants uncertain. About 6 p.m. Saturday, while children played in front of the building at 4110 Beniteau, the landlord many considered a friend was shot down as he argued with a tenant neighbors said refused to pay the rent.
In a city that has lost a quarter of its population in the past decade, while tens of thousands of properties have become vacant, neighbors said Saturday's slaying was a stark symbol of a dying community.
For instance, McNichols had planned to purchase an empty lot across the street from the apartment building and install picnic tables, Benton said. "But now, it'll probably stay empty.
"You finally get someone to come into this city and try to do something nice, and this is what you get," said Benton, who witnessed the shooting. "This man was trying to make things better, and he ends up being another murder victim."
McNichols, 45, who lived in California but maintained an apartment on the building's first floor since purchasing it in February, had spent most of the day Saturday working on the 10-unit complex.
Neighbors said McNichols was planning to fly to his native Australia sometime this week to care for his mother, who has cancer. But he told Benton that their weekly cookout was still on for Sunday, so she drove to the store to pick up ingredients for the soul food he loved so much.
"I was coming home from the market and I saw him in front of the building arguing with (a tenant) and a couple teenage girls who lived with her," she said. "He had given this woman a whole bunch of breaks, but she wouldn't pay him the rent. He was a nice man, but he didn't play around. He knew he couldn't let people take advantage of him, so he finally told this woman she had to get out."
As the argument escalated, Benton exited her car and walked toward the group "to try to defuse the situation." Then, she said, a black Chevy Avalanche pulled up.
"A man jumped out, pulled out a gun, shot him and drove away," Benton said. "The man never said a word. It went from an argument to a murder in just a few seconds."
Benton said she told police what she saw.
Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said the gunman is still at large.
"I hope they catch this guy," said Karen James, who manages the apartment building and several other Detroit properties McNichols owned. "This is beyond terrible. It's what happens in Detroit when you have ignorant people with guns."
James said she turned over McNichols' cellphone to police and identified his body. "(McNichols') wife had just left for a trip to Brazil, so I don't know if she's been told (about the slaying) yet," James said. "I imagine she's been calling his cellphone trying to get a hold of him."
Larry Brock, 56, lives in the building and helped McNichols with the renovation.
"He was a really nice guy," he said of his former boss and landlord. "We'd work all day and then sit on the porch and have a few beers. He was always joking around."
Brock said he was proud of the work he and McNichols had done to the building. "We tore out all the cabinets in this kitchen and were putting new ones in," he said while giving a tour of a vacant unit across the hall from where Benton lives. "He said he wanted to fix this place up the right way, rather than putting Band-Aids on everything and then having to keep fixing it every few weeks. We put a lot of work into this place.
"I don't know what we're going to do now," Brock said. "I don't know if (McNichols') wife will want to keep this place or sell it."
Added Benton: "She might not want it, because it will remind her of what happened. We might have to move."
James said the incident has caused her to have second thoughts about staying in Detroit. "I'm a lifelong Detroiter, and I always said I would never leave," she said. "But I think it may be time to go."
[email protected]
Residents mourn death as symbol of dying community
George Hunter / / The Detroit News
Detroit — For Florida Benton, the hopes of a city were embodied in her two-story apartment complex, a place she said was a "rat trap" until her landlord, Australian-born Greg McNichols, purchased the building a few months ago and began fixing it up.
"He was showing that you could invest in Detroit and make a profit, and do it the right way," Benton, 46, said Sunday.
"He got to know the people in the community. I turned him on to soul food; he loved my beans. I used to tease him about his accent all the time, because he sounded like the Crocodile Hunter. He wasn't just a landlord trying to make money off people — he was trying to make a difference."
But the building's renovation is on hold; the future of its occupants uncertain. About 6 p.m. Saturday, while children played in front of the building at 4110 Beniteau, the landlord many considered a friend was shot down as he argued with a tenant neighbors said refused to pay the rent.
In a city that has lost a quarter of its population in the past decade, while tens of thousands of properties have become vacant, neighbors said Saturday's slaying was a stark symbol of a dying community.
For instance, McNichols had planned to purchase an empty lot across the street from the apartment building and install picnic tables, Benton said. "But now, it'll probably stay empty.
"You finally get someone to come into this city and try to do something nice, and this is what you get," said Benton, who witnessed the shooting. "This man was trying to make things better, and he ends up being another murder victim."
McNichols, 45, who lived in California but maintained an apartment on the building's first floor since purchasing it in February, had spent most of the day Saturday working on the 10-unit complex.
Neighbors said McNichols was planning to fly to his native Australia sometime this week to care for his mother, who has cancer. But he told Benton that their weekly cookout was still on for Sunday, so she drove to the store to pick up ingredients for the soul food he loved so much.
"I was coming home from the market and I saw him in front of the building arguing with (a tenant) and a couple teenage girls who lived with her," she said. "He had given this woman a whole bunch of breaks, but she wouldn't pay him the rent. He was a nice man, but he didn't play around. He knew he couldn't let people take advantage of him, so he finally told this woman she had to get out."
As the argument escalated, Benton exited her car and walked toward the group "to try to defuse the situation." Then, she said, a black Chevy Avalanche pulled up.
"A man jumped out, pulled out a gun, shot him and drove away," Benton said. "The man never said a word. It went from an argument to a murder in just a few seconds."
Benton said she told police what she saw.
Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said the gunman is still at large.
"I hope they catch this guy," said Karen James, who manages the apartment building and several other Detroit properties McNichols owned. "This is beyond terrible. It's what happens in Detroit when you have ignorant people with guns."
James said she turned over McNichols' cellphone to police and identified his body. "(McNichols') wife had just left for a trip to Brazil, so I don't know if she's been told (about the slaying) yet," James said. "I imagine she's been calling his cellphone trying to get a hold of him."
Larry Brock, 56, lives in the building and helped McNichols with the renovation.
"He was a really nice guy," he said of his former boss and landlord. "We'd work all day and then sit on the porch and have a few beers. He was always joking around."
Brock said he was proud of the work he and McNichols had done to the building. "We tore out all the cabinets in this kitchen and were putting new ones in," he said while giving a tour of a vacant unit across the hall from where Benton lives. "He said he wanted to fix this place up the right way, rather than putting Band-Aids on everything and then having to keep fixing it every few weeks. We put a lot of work into this place.
"I don't know what we're going to do now," Brock said. "I don't know if (McNichols') wife will want to keep this place or sell it."
Added Benton: "She might not want it, because it will remind her of what happened. We might have to move."
James said the incident has caused her to have second thoughts about staying in Detroit. "I'm a lifelong Detroiter, and I always said I would never leave," she said. "But I think it may be time to go."
[email protected]
