Quadruple murder suspect found dead in Wayne County jail cell

Raymond Lee Bailey, 39, of Wyandotte reportedly was found dead in his cell at the Wayne County Jail on Saturday morning where he was awaiting trial for the shooting deaths of four cousins in Sumpter Township on Aug. 15, 2020.
Channel 2 Fox News reported Bailey’s death after a relative of the victims alerted them to rumors of his death. They reported it was unclear how he had died.
Bailey had been charged with four counts of premeditated murder and four counts of weapons – felony firearms for the deaths of sisters, Laura Tanner, 35, and Sarah Tanner Grupa, 38, and their cousins, brothers Forrest Sampson, 28, and Neil Sampson, 30. Laura Tanner was Bailey’s former fiancé and the murders took place at her home.
Sumpter Township police found them dead throughout her home in the 24900 block of Martinsville Road. After the murders, Bailey fled north before a friend helped him turn himself into Bay City police. He was arraigned from a hospital bed because he said he had a broken neck. His attorney told 34th District Court Judge Brian Oakley that Bailey intentionally harmed himself while in the Huron Township lock up that Sumpter Police use for its detainees, where he was taken after being brought back from Bay County.
Bailey had been held without bond in the Wayne County Jail since Aug. 19, 2020, but on Sunday he was no longer listed on the Third Circuit Court website as being incarcerated and he was no longer listed as an inmate of the Wayne County Jail.
After many forensic exams and other delays in the case Bailey was deemed competent to stand trial and his jury trial had been set for eight days beginning Jan. 4, 2023 before Circuit Court Judge Kelly Ramsey.
Bailey had been charged with domestic abuse and assault on Oct. 29, 2019, but both charges were dropped in 34th District Court. The domestic abuse charge was dropped when the victim, Laura Tanner, did not come to court to testify against him.