Lansing man arrested in murders of mother, son whose bodies were discovered in backyard

Lansing State Journal

LANSING — A Lansing man has been charged in connection with the deaths of a Lansing mother and son, police said.

Douglas Ross Hill, 55, was arrested Friday in Monroe and arraigned Saturday in 54A District Court on murder and weapons charges, Lansing police said.

Danielle Steiner, 34, and her 5-year-old son Aubrey Hall, were found dead in the backyard of a house in the 800 block of Loa Street in Lansing on July 1. They had been missing for more than a year when their remains were found.

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Police believe Hill murdered Steiner and Aubrey in June 2018, Lansing police Chief Mike Yankowski said during a Monday press conference. Hill is charged with two counts each of murder and felony firearm possession.

Multiple autopsies to determine a cause of death for Steiner or Aubrey were inconclusive, Yankowski said.

Hill lived in the 800 block of Loa Street, Yankowski said. Public records show Hill registered to vote at 800 Loa St. in 2010.

Lansing police and Michigan State Police collaborated in the investigation. Hill was in the Monroe County Jail on unrelated charges — second-degree home invasion, failure to stop at the scene of a crash and possession of open intoxicants in a vehicle — when Lansing police arrested him, Yankowski said.

In February, Hill also was charged in Ingham County with illegally carrying a concealed weapon, a felony, but took a deal and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor being drunk and disorderly. He was sentenced to 16 days in jail.

Hill was sentenced in 2017 to 18 months probation after pleading down to driving while impaired. He originally was charged with operating with a blood alcohol content of 0.17 or more.

Aubrey's father, Anthony Hall, said he did not report the pair missing because he had a warrant out for his arrest and was scared he would end up in jail if he went to police to file the report.

As a result, police were not told Aubrey and Steiner were missing until Aug. 1. No one had heard from them since June 17, 2018.

Hall figured Steiner was scared to go to court for a custody hearing in June 2018 and had taken Aubrey and fled, he said.

Steiner and Hall were engaged, he said, but were not living together when Steiner and Aubrey went missing. Even so, he said, the three of them — but especially Steiner and Aubrey — had a special bond.

"Their bond was so strong," Hall said. "Dani was a very good mom. She'd do anything for Aubrey."

More:'Their bond was so strong,' dad says of Lansing mother and son found dead in backyard

Hall has grandkids from children he had with other women, making Aubrey an uncle to a 1- and 3-year-old. When his niece came up to visit, he was so excited, Hall said.

"He held her and kissed her," Hall said. "He couldn't wait to spend time with her when she got older."

No attorney was listed for Hill in court records. A judge denied bond for him during his arraignment hearing on Saturday.

A hearing to determine whether he should stand trial on the charges is set for Aug. 9.

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Contact reporter Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.