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Joe Hill
Status: HOMICIDE
City: Detroit
State: Michigan
County: Wayne County
Date of birth: August 22, 1952
Date of death: September 5, 1981
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Race: African American/Black
Cause of death: Unknown
Anniversary month: September
LEA: Detroit Police Department, Detroit, Michigan
Case Spotlight: View case spotlight
Case Spotlight
December 12, 2022 | By Megan Agugliaro This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and a University of North Florida Journalism class. Joe Hill always taught his kids that they were strong. Leisa, Joe’s daughter, shared one of her favorite memories of her father. “I remember one time when I fell off my bike and scraped my knee,” she said. “My dad brought me into the house and poked at each of my muscles. He said ‘Feel how strong you are’. I was still crying, he laid back and had my head in his arms. He was flexing his muscles, and my head was bouncing up and down. He said ‘you feel how strong that is? You’re my daughter, you’re this strong.’ His grandchildren and even his great-grandchildren know his signature pose of flexing his arms to show off his strength. In 1981, Joe Hill had three young children who adored him. At the end of August 1981, Joe took his kids to... Read More
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