A spate of shootings in southeastern Michigan in October 1978 ended with the death of Ronald Everett Hardesty, 43, of Belleville. Ronald Hardesty was shot and killed at his Martz Road residence on October 18, 1978; his body was found concealed in a freezer chest on the home’s porch. His wife, Jeanette Miron Hardesty, 41, was also shot dead at the house by their son, William Edward Billy Hardesty.

The killings were part of a wider rampage that began earlier in the month when Billy Hardesty killed two roommates, Lawrence Leon Gordon and Willie Dunn, on October 3 and 4. On the night of October 18 Billy Hardesty shot and killed Troy Curry and Timothy Schofield outside Abigail’s Bar in Ypsilanti, then went to a machine shop in Ypsilanti Township where he fatally shot Daniel Wood and wounded Tommy Lee Brown; Bobby Joe Baker was later shot and wounded after discovering the scene.

A manhunt ended October 19 when officers located Billy Hardesty at his parents’ home; after a roughly hour-long standoff during which he fired at law enforcement he was shot twice and taken into custody. He was later tried, found guilty but mentally ill, convicted on multiple counts including first-degree murder, and given multiple life sentences and long prison terms for the assaults.