Murder case sent to circuit court in Hazel Park stabbing during argument over barbecuing chicken
Cleo Lawson, 62, of Detroit, is charged with second-degree murder in the Sept. 7 death of Kenneth Erwin Thomas, 60. A judge bound the case over Tuesday; circuit court arraignment is Oct. 27.
By OCJ Staff
A Detroit man charged with fatally stabbing his sister's boyfriend in Hazel Park during an argument about barbecuing chicken has had his case sent to Oakland County Circuit Court for possible trial, The Oakland Press reported.
Cleo Lawson, 62, is charged with second-degree murder in the Sept. 7 death of Kenneth Erwin Thomas, 60, at the home Thomas shared with Lawson's sister.
A 43rd District Court judge bound the case over to circuit court at the end of a preliminary exam on Tuesday, Oct. 20, finding probable cause had been established, according to The Oakland Press.
Hazel Park police said officers were sent to the home on a report of a stabbing, and Thomas died during an attempt to treat his injuries.
Lawson is being held in the Oakland County Jail after being denied bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned in circuit court on Oct. 27 before Judge Jacob Cunningham. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Thomas' obituary, as quoted by The Oakland Press, remembers him as a hardworking man who could always find a reason to laugh or make someone else laugh. "To know Kenny was to know laughter," it states.
Sources: The Oakland Press, "Case advances against man accused of killing sister's boyfriend during argument over cooking chicken" (Oct. 21, 2026), citing the Hazel Park Police Department, court proceedings and Thomas' obituary.