MI MI - Joann Matouk-Romain, 55, Grosse Pointe Woods, 12 Jan 2010

Grosse Pointe Farms public safety authorities are returning the Lexus that a missing Grosse Pointe Woods woman left in the driveway of a Farms church last month.

The Lexus that Joann Matouk Romain, 55, drove to St. Paul Catholic Church on Lakeshore was to be returned today to her daughter, to whom the vehicle is registered, Lt. Rich Rosati said.


He said Romain’s purse, $1,300 in the purse and other personal property belonging to Romain has not been returned because it belongs to Romain, who was last seen Jan. 12 at the church.

No one has seen or heard from her since.

Authorities in the Farms and the Woods continued today to investigate Romain’s disappearance. Divers have searched for her in Lake St. Clair across from the church, where Farms authorities found footprints near the water’s edge. No tracks led away from the water.


Contact CHRISTINA HALL: 586-826-7265 or chall@freepress.com

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DETROIT, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The family of Joann Matouk Romain says it is feared the 55-year-old Michigan mother, described as "the glue of her friends and family," may have been kidnapped.

"She was taken for an ulterior motive. We all believe that," the missing woman's eldest daughter, Michelle Romain, 29, told The Detroit News. "Everyone is wondering who could actually do something like this to my mom."

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GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich. -- The Grosse Pointe Farms police said a man who was found dead outside a home on Lakeshore Drive Monday with EKG pads still on his chest had left a hospital against doctor's advice.

A trash removal crew discovered the bloody man Monday outside of a home in a gated community.

Police said that they had no idea who the man was and where he had come from because he did not have ID on him.

After several hours, police were able to ID him, but they have not released his name until his family is notified.

The man's death is being called suspicious because he was found fully clothed, with new boots on and EKG pads still on his chest, said police.

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hoppyfrog said:

It's a small community of just under 10,000.

And wealthy: the median family/household income is over $100,000.

Hoppy

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Grosse Pointe Farms Lt. Richard Rosati is at opposite ends on his two biggest cases so far this year: a woman missing for a month and feared drowned in Lake St. Clair, and a man who died Monday of head wounds shortly after being found unconscious in a pool of blood in a Lakeshore driveway.

"I know everything about the woman who is missing, but I don't have a body," said Rosati, head of the detective unit. "In (the man's) case, I have a body and don't know anything about him."

The case of the woman, 55-year-old Joann Matouk-Romain, missing since Jan. 12, has been transferred to police in her jurisdiction of residence, Grosse Pointe Woods

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Grosse Pointe Woods man, whose sister went mysteriously missing more than a month ago, was ordered today to serve two years probation for check fraud.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Hathaway sentenced John Matouk to the supervised release for using bad checks to pay $26,000 in property taxes.

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Two family members of a missing Grosse Pointe Woods woman said Tuesday they believe other relatives know her whereabouts and that her disappearance may be linked to the relatives' dislike of the woman's brother John Matouk.

"My mom was very concerned that something bad was going to happen to John. Now she's missing. Coincidence?" Joann Matouk Romain's daughter, Michelle Romain, said Tuesday. "I don't know."

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Two fishermen found the body believed to be missing Grosse Pointe Woods resident Joann Matouk Romain today near Boblo Island in the Detroit River, according to Canadian authorities.

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GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich. (WXYZ) - Police said Monday that dental records proved a body found near Boblo Island is that of a Grosse Pointe Woods woman who has been missing since January.

Two fishermen found the body on the west side of the island on Saturday. It was dressed in clothing similar to what Joann Romain was wearing when she disappeared January 12.

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The death of JoAnn Matouk Romain in 2010 was declared a suicide, but her family calls it an "absurd conclusion."

They say she was killed after an evening church service in Grosse Pointe Farms and believe they know the identity of suspects.

The suit filed Tuesday in Detroit federal court accuses police in Grosse Pointe Farms and Grosse Pointe Woods of spoiling evidence, conspiring to cover up what happened and violating the family's civil rights. The lawsuit seeks $100 million.

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According to documents filed in federal court, attorneys representing the family of JoAnn Matouk Ramain revealed a new witness has come forward. The witness, Paul Hawk, has sworn under oath that he saw Timothy Matouk with JoAnn near the water the night she went missing...

Timothy Matouk is JoAnn's cousin. He holds a high-profile job as an investigator with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. An attorney representing JoAnn's family said he believes the information this new witness has shared could take the case in a new direction...

The witness said he went to police years ago with a description of Timothy Matouk but claimed investigators became aggressive and hostile, accusing him of giving false information to police.

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After suing two municipalities, 13 police officers, a police chief and a cousin, Romain believes she's getting closer to proving her case: That her mother was abducted from church and dumped into the water near Belle Isle over some “personal vendetta” against a relative; that some police officers knew about it, covered it up and called it a suicide to protect the killer.

“This has not been easy. It has been six years of my life,” Romain told the Free Press. “Justice will prevail.”

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"We are never closed to the possibility something happened. But nothing has been presented here to change our minds," Grosse Pointe Farms Police Lt. Rich Rosati said in 2014.

Two years later, Rosati's message remains the same.

"We firmly believe that she committed suicide," Rosati told the Free Press last week. "We believe that the evidence at the scene corroborates that, and that’s about it."

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A federal judge is expected to rule whether a lawsuit against Grosse Pointe area police over an alleged murder and cover-up will go to trial.

Police classified Matouk-Romain’s death as suicide by drowning, but her daughter, Michelle Romain, tells WWJ that police were complicit with her mother’s killers. In a $100 million lawsuit, Romain accuses them of trying to make her mother’s death look like a suicide, along with tampering with evidence and witness statements.

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hoppyfrog said:

http://www.wwj.com/Search-Continues-For-Missing-Woman/6136184

17 Jan 10

Family and friends of a missing Grosse Pointe Woods woman searched for her Sunday. Fifty-five year-old Joann Matouk-Romaine was last seen Tuesday night, her car found at St. Paul on the Lake Church. Footprints lead to the water but family members like cousin Frank Lutfi don't believe she would've hurt herself.

more at link

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