Prosecutors say the message, surveillance footage and witness testimony tie a 16-year-old to the fatal robbery of Thomas Stewart.

MUSKEGON, Mich. — A 16-year-old charged as an adult in the fatal shooting of a 73-year-old Muskegon man sent a text saying “the old man is dead” and described watching him “gasp his last breath,” prosecutors said during a court hearing in the case.

The case matters now because prosecutors are using that reported message, along with witness testimony, surveillance footage and statements to police, to build a murder and armed robbery case against Kemaree Davis in the Dec. 1 killing of Thomas Stewart. The hearing also widened the case around him. A 17-year-old tied to the investigation was arrested on a perjury allegation after testifying, adding another turn to a homicide that has shaken a neighborhood and drawn attention because the main defendant is 16.

Police have said officers were called to Stewart’s home in the 1400 block of Jiroch Street at about 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2025, after a report of a shooting. They found Stewart inside with a gunshot wound to his upper body, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators later said his wallet was found near his body and that his pockets had been turned out, details that pushed the inquiry quickly toward robbery. A week later, police announced that a 16-year-old suspect had been arrested and would be charged as an adult. Public Safety Director Tim Kozal said at the time that detectives believed Stewart knew the person who entered the home and that the meeting ended in violence during a robbery. By the time the case reached a preliminary examination in March, prosecutors had shifted from broad allegations to a tighter story built around the defendant’s movements, phone activity and words sent after the shooting.

The strongest public account of that evidence came from testimony about messages allegedly sent soon after Stewart was killed. A detective told the court that about an hour after the shooting, Davis sent a friend a message saying, “The old man is dead. Bro, I watched him gasp his last breath.” Prosecutors said that friend was the 17-year-old who also faces a weapons charge linked to the case. Investigators said they also obtained surveillance footage that showed Davis and the older teen meeting outside Muskegon High School on the morning of the shooting and then walking in the direction of Stewart’s home. In a police interview after his arrest, Davis allegedly admitted he was inside the house, said Stewart saw him and gave him $20, and claimed the gun went off during the robbery. Investigators said Davis also admitted taking another $20 from Stewart’s wallet after the shooting. Defense arguments were not described in the same detail in open reporting, and key questions, including where the gun is now and whether anyone else helped plan the robbery, remain unresolved in public records.

What has made the case stand out in Muskegon is not only the age of the defendant but also the picture neighbors and relatives gave of Stewart after his death. Family members and friends described him as a kind, familiar presence in the neighborhood, someone who was known for helping people and who was widely recognized on his block. Kozal echoed that view when he said Stewart knew many people in the area and was friendly with many of them. That background has sharpened the public focus on how the suspect may have gained entry to the house. Police have said they believe Stewart likely knew the person who came inside, which suggests there was no forced confrontation at the door and that the violence unfolded after Stewart had already allowed the encounter to begin. The killing also stirred broader concern about youth violence and about how vulnerable older residents can be when they open their homes to people they trust or at least recognize.

The legal path ahead is still defined by early-stage proceedings, but the shape of the case is clearer than it was when police first announced an arrest. Davis has been charged as an adult with open murder and armed robbery. In Michigan, an open murder charge allows a case to proceed without fixing the degree of homicide at the charging stage, leaving prosecutors room to argue the evidence supports murder at a later point in the process. The 17-year-old associated with the investigation was separately charged with possession of a weapon, and after testifying at the preliminary examination, he was reportedly arrested on a perjury allegation. Public case records and published reports did not fully answer whether either teen had entered a plea by the time the latest stories appeared, and open reporting did not identify all scheduled future court dates with certainty. The next major milestone is the continued movement of the homicide case through the Michigan trial court system, where a judge must decide whether the prosecution has presented enough evidence to move the murder and robbery charges forward.

Even as the court file grows, the story remains rooted in one house on Jiroch Street and the people who knew the man who lived there. Neighbors said after Stewart’s death that there was no reason for such violence and that he had a reputation for generosity. His son, speaking publicly after the killing, said his father’s defining trait was love. That portrait has given the case a layer of grief that runs alongside the legal record. The reported text message drew attention because of its cold wording, but the reaction in Muskegon has also centered on the loss of an older man described as helpful, social and woven into daily life in the neighborhood. In that sense, the courtroom testimony has done two things at once: it has sketched the prosecution’s theory of how Stewart died, and it has renewed public memory of who Stewart was before his name became part of a homicide case.

For now, Davis remains the central defendant in a case that has moved from an unsolved neighborhood killing to a prosecution built around texts, video and alleged admissions. The next key step is further court action in Muskegon County as judges sort out whether the charges will proceed toward trial.

Author note: Last updated April 7, 2026.