It was 14 years ago today that JoAnn Matouk Romain disappeared after attending an evening prayer service at the Lake Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Farms. Her body was found on the Canadian side of the Detroit River, 30 miles from the church, 70 days later.
Her death was ruled a suicide, a determination her family has always questioned. The family is offering a $200,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
I didn’t know much at all about this case until I watched an Unsolved Mysteries show, “Lady in the Lake,” which aired in October 2020. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12924500/. There has been a lot written about JoAnn’s case, and a lot of media coverage. To get a relatively full picture of the basis for suspecting foul play in this case, check the links in the clickondetroit write up. Especially the link to this TikTok video. https://www.tiktok.com/@justiceforjoann/video/7187882554496699691 .
I didn’t know a witness, Paul Hawk, had come forward, gave a statement under oath and that police ignored him. https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2014/07/17/new-witness-drops-bombshell-in-joann-matouk-romain-death-investigation/ . It is alleged that this man was then harassed by local police for 12 years. I immediately thought of “Sebastian,” who was seriously harassed by Berkley police officers after he came forward as a kid about what he saw at the 7-11 the afternoon Kristine Mihelich was abducted in January 1976. This harassment continued for decades. His story is told in J. Reuben Appelman’s book The Kill Jar: Obsession, Descent, and a Hunt for Detroit’s Most Notorious Serial Killer.
I’ve always believed Sebastian’s story, so don’t even try to tell me police don’t harass witnesses, especially when a cop might be involved. Oh yeah, and Paul Hawk? Unexpectedly passed away at age 55, on December 8, 2021. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/grosse-pointe-woods-mi/paul-hawk-10481236 .
I know, I know–just a coincidence.
If you have information you are withholding in this case you’ve lived 14 years without doing the right thing, so I doubt even $200,000 would motivate you. But good on the family for trying to get answers. A very sad and frustrating case.