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DOWAGIAC — Two suspects connected to a Dowagiac murder have been identified and charged by the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office.

Deidra Tomlin, 39, and Jaime Loriot, 41, both of Hill Street in Dowagiac, have been charged in connection to the murder of an unidentified 43-year-old man in Dowagiac, following an investigation from the Dowagiac Police Department.

Tomlin has been charged with open murder, a felony with a penalty of up to life in prison, in addition to tampering with evidence, possession of methamphetamine, concealing the death of an induvial and felony firearm charges.

Loriot was charged was tampering with evidence, a felony charge punishable by more than 10 years in prison, accessory after the fact to a felony and concealing the death of an individual.

The charges stem from a murder that took place at the Hillcrest Apartments on Monday.

On Thursday, the Dowagiac Police Department began an investigation into a homicide that occurred at the Dowagiac apartment complex after receiving information about a potential murder. Once on the scene, officers located a male subject deceased from a gunshot wound in an apartment at the complex.

Police soon narrowed in on the victim’s girlfriend, Tomlin, as a suspect. Officers learned that Tomlin and victim argued on Monday, during which the victim was shot.

Tomlin and another roommate, Loriot, solicited help from another acquaintance of theirs to dispose of the victim’s body. Tomlin and Loriot were unable to remove the body and left him in the apartment in a trash dumpster and fled the area.

Police were able to locate the suspects at a residence in South Bend. With the help of South Bend Police and South Bend Police SWAT, Tomlin and Loriot were taken into custody.

The victim’s name is currently being withheld pending family notification.