Shraman Mitra
The residents of Detroit, Michigan, witnessed a terrifying murder when 65-year-old Robert Karey was shot to death on June 26, 1987. With Karey being a well-known drug dealer, the police believed his business played a role in his slaying, and soon eyewitnesses claimed to have allegedly spotted Thomas and Raymond Highers fleeing from the crime scene. NBC’s ‘Dateline: Graduation Night’ draws a vivid picture of the gruesome death and showcases how the police focused their entire investigation on the Highers brothers.
Thomas and Raymond Highers Were Arrested Based on Witness Statements
Thomas and Raymond Highers were brothers who resided in Detroit, Michigan, at the time of Robert’s murder. Although they knew the latter pretty well, the brothers told the authorities they had purchased marijuana from him just once. However, they conceded that they did often drive many a customer to the drug dealer’s house and were seemingly on good terms with him. Besides, the show mentioned that while the duo had never previously been accused of a serious crime, they had had some minor problems with the law.
On June 26, 1987, Robert heard a knock at his door and went to answer it. Although the drug dealer’s roommate, Todd, could not see the assailants’ faces, he heard arguing before a shotgun blast rocked through the silence. Todd was fleeing upstairs when he heard a second shotgun blast go off, only for things to then go quiet. Once police arrived on the scene, they found Robert dead and determined that he died after being shot at point-blank range with the weapon.
The shotgun was apparently located inside the house, but a police officer ended up contaminating it as evidence by having touched it without gloves, per the show. Nevertheless, pretty soon, Thomas Culberson approached the police and gave them the break they needed by asserting he was present at the scene and had spotted two white men fleeing in a car just after the shots had run out. Shortly after, a man named Jamie Lawrence also came forward to mention he had overheard Thomas Highers talking about robbing and murdering Robert Karey. Jamie even claimed that the Highers brothers allegedly owed Robert money.
Based on the witness statements, the police brought in Thomas and Raymond Highers for questioning, following which Thomas Culberson even identified Raymond from a photographic lineup, claiming that he was one of the two men whom he had seen fleeing the scene right after Robert’s murder. Thus, with ample circumstantial evidence, the police arrested both the Higher brothers before charging them with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, plus possession of a firearm during a felony.
Thomas and Raymond Highers Sadly Died Not Long After Their Exoneration
Once presented in court, Thomas and Raymond pled not guilty and kept insisting on their innocence. However, the prosecution had a few key witnesses who testified against the brothers and turned the outcome of the trial. So, the brothers were convicted on all counts, and while the murder charge got them life sentences without parole, they were given additional years for the other charges. Thomas and Raymond Highers did try to get sentencing, as well as the conviction, overturned later on, but to no avail.
Most of their petitions were turned down, and the court upheld the original ruling. However, things took a turn in 2009 when attorney Kevin Zieleniewski read about the crime on Facebook. He remembered that while he was attending law school in Detroit in 1987, his roommate, John Hielscher, had claimed to be at Robert Karey’s house on the day of his murder. However, while the Highers brothers were white, John Hielscher was adamant that the guys who shot Robert were black. Hence, he and Kevin took their findings to the defense attorneys, who filed a motion for a retrial.
At the hearing for the motion, John and another person named James Gianunzio testified that they had seen a group of four black people, including two armed individuals, approach Robert’s door on the night of the murder, following which gunshots rang out into the night. Based on that testimony, the judge granted Thomas and Raymond Highers a retrial, although the prosecution dropped the case and cleared them of all charges in 2013.
Interestingly, reports claim that while Thomas and Raymond were released from prison in 2012, the former found himself back behind bars in 2018 on an unrelated charge of domestic abuse. Moreover, the brothers sued the State of Michigan for wrongful judgment and were given $1,218,767 each in 2019 as compensation. But alas, little did they know that life would soon come in between – Thomas unfortunately passed away at the age of 56 on November 14, 2021, and his brother Raymond followed less than three years later at the age of 57 on April 15, 2024. The cause of their deaths have never been made public, yet we do know they both left behind families of their own who continue to miss them to this day.
Read More: Where Are Kevin Zieleniewski and John Hielscher Now?
