Witness Claims Defendant Confessed To Stabbing Couple To Death

A Kalamazoo man is heading to trial for a 2022 double homicide on Kalamazoo's northside that went unsolved for nearly three years.

Rajai Keyontae Brown, 44, was arrested and charged with two counts of open murder for the deaths of Tarra Mayes, 46, and Alfred Simpson, 67. The victims' bodies were discovered by a new homeowner in a decomposing state in a shed on North Rose Street on August 22, 2023.

Almost three years later in February 2026, Brown was charged with the murders. Now he faces trial after being bound over by the Kalamazoo County circuit court.

Witness Testimony About The Killing

A key witness in the case is Jesse Palmer, who used to live in the home on North Rose Street with Mayes, Simpson and Brown. Palmer told investigators Brown admitted to taking a knife from Mayes during a confrontation and stabbing her, according to court records.

When Simpson attempted to intervene, Brown allegedly stabbed him as well.

"I don't know if it was the night before or the night of that Tarra had pulled a knife on him," Palmer said in court. "And I don't know what happened between that but he told me that he ended up taking the knife from her and stabbing her and then Neil (Alfred) came in and try to stop him and then he and Neil got into it and he started stabbing Neil."

Palmer said he moved out of the home in February 2022 after Brown shot at him. When Palmer returned a month later, Brown told him he had stabbed Mayes and Simpson to death, which Palmer claims was about a week after their murders.

Palmer also claimed Brown asked him to help take care of the bodies while looking in the direction of the shed on the property.

Phone Records Helped Identify Suspect

Through phone records, investigators learned Mayes' phone stopped sharing location data on March 13, 2022. Brown's phone was in the same location as Mayes and Simpson until the following day. Phone records were then used to track down Brown in February 2026, according to the court documents.

Defense Claims Witness Came Forward After News Coverage

Brown's defense attorney Caleb Grimes argued Palmer only came forward after watching news coverage about the cold case. Grimes told the court that Palmer's testimony should not be the sole basis for binding the case over to trial.

Despite the defense arguments, the judge bound Brown over for trial. The case will now proceed to a jury trial where evidence will be presented and a verdict will be reached.

Brown faces two counts of open murder, the most serious murder charge in Michigan. If convicted, he could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty depending on the circumstances found by the jury.

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