Police ‘confident’ they have a suspect in slaying of Detroit surgeon Devon Hoover

Detroit authorities are “confident” they have a suspect in the mysterious slaying of a beloved neurosurgeon who was found dead in his upscale home earlier this year – and they should be prepared to show the smoking gun evidence “before snow hits the ground.”

Detroit Police gave an update this week on the ongoing probe into the shooting death of Dr. Devon Hoover, whose body was discovered naked and wrapped in a plastic sheet in the attic of his Boston-Edison District mansion on April 23, WXYZ reported. 

“We are very confident we are going to bring this family justice. We are confident that we are aware of the circumstances. We are confident in our suspect,” Detroit Police Chief James White said Thursday

“We just need a little bit more time to work with the prosecutor’s office and we have a to-do list, and we’re prepared to make an announcement before snow hits the ground. We just have a lot of work to do,” added White, who addressed the community’s concerns about the unsolved case at a meeting of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners.

The Detroit Police Department did not immediately return The Post’s request for clarification on White’s comments.

Despite White’s confidence, those who knew and loved the late physician remained skeptical.

“Before the snow flies, do I believe that? Eh, I hope for that. I don’t know if I totally believe it yet,” Hoover’s friend and patient Janet Rohloff told the outlet.

Rohloff, who knew Hoover for 14 years, attended Thursday’s meeting alongside the doctor’s neighbor, Jeff Cowin, to ask for an update on the case and to demand the FBI get involved.

“This man is non-confrontational. He wouldn’t even evict a tenant who hadn’t paid in a year. This man had no enemies,” Cowin said of Hoover, who was a spinal specialist at St. John Ascension.

“It’s concerning not knowing where the suspect is, how many suspects there are. My concern is for the community’s safety,” he added.

Rohloff said the last several months have been very difficult: In addition to grieving for Hoover, she has been distressed over not knowing the progress of the investigation.

“I wish I knew what kind of information [the police] have that they won’t share,” she lamented. “I understand why, but it’s hard for all of us sitting out here — it really is.”

Hoover, 53, was found naked and wrapped in a plastic sheet in his attic when police performed a welfare check at his $1.2 million home.

His car was found on Detroit’s west side a couple of days later.

Hoover died from two gunshot wounds to the back of the head, an autopsy found.

The respected surgeon was reportedly single and lived alone at the time of his death, though authorities initially said they believed the killing was tied to a “domestic incident.”

A person of interest who was arrested in connection with the case was held for only a few days before being released.

In the months after his death, family and friends remembered Hoover as a talented physician and generous host who worked hard to lovingly restore the house and gardens of his palatial home in the city’s tony historic district.

He was planning to hold a fundraiser at his house just a week after he died, according to his obituary.

Born in Indiana, Hoover is survived by his father and six sisters.

His mother, Lauretta Hoover, died just four days after her son’s murder.