Vacant Detroit becomes murder dump site

DETROIT (AP) - Abandoned and neglected parts of Detroit are quickly becoming dumping grounds for the bodies of murder victims. And authorities acknowledge there's little they can do.

At least a dozen bodies have turned up in 12 months, many of them purposely hidden or discarded in alleys, fields and vacant houses or garages. Seven of the dead are believed to have been slain outside Detroit and then dumped within the city.

It's a pattern made possible by more than four decades of urban decay and suburban flight. Many parts of the city are now a vast urban wilderness that is rarely visited by outsiders and infrequently patrolled by police.

Officer John Garner says a slaying may go unsolved because of the time it takes for the corpse to be found.