Michigan Man’s Alleged Insurance Arson Leads to Murder Charge

A Detroit man faces first-degree murder and arson charges in the 2004 deaths of two men he had hired to burn down a building he owned in south central Michigan.

Attorney General Mike Cox says 57-year-old Musaid Ahmed Saeed hired Hanie Ali Abdallah and Ismael M. Saleh to torch the building in Coldwater so he could collect on the insurance policy.

Abdallah and Saleh died Sept. 16, 2004 of injuries suffered in the fire in the unoccupied commercial building.

Cox says in a statement that Saeed faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of conspiracy to commit arson and arson to real property. Cox spokesman Matt Frendeway says Saeed faces arraignment Thursday afternoon in Coldwater. He didn’t know if Saeed had an attorney.