After Murder-Suicide, Family Friend Allegedly Set Up, Then Stole Kids' College Fund

Police are investigating allegations that a close family friend of a Farmington Hills woman who was killed by her husband last month made off with thousands of dollars raised through crowd-funding to establish a college fund for three now motherless children and offset funeral expenses.

Jamie Marie Dumas, 33, of Farmington Hills was shot to death three days before Christmas by her husband, Troy Baker, in what police have called a murder-suicide.

Now, WJBK-TV and the Observer & Eccentric are reporting that family members allege a close family friend went on a spending spree with about $5,000 raised on a GiveForward.com site.

Site administrators reportedly confirmed to the dead woman’s family that the money was released to the bank account of the family friend, who set up the fund and promised to disperse the funds according to the family’s wishes.

Her name has not been released, but she is reportedly in the custody of Livonia police on an unrelated charge, Farmington Hills Police Sgt. Police Sgt. Bonnie Unruh told the Observer & Eccentric.

“Livonia has their own interest in the individual,” Unruh said.

Tanni Dumas, the victim’s mother, told WJBK said she felt betrayed by the woman she had allowed to call her “Mom” after her mother died of cancer in 2000.

“ ... I let her call me ‘mom’ since the eighth grade,” Tanni Dumas said. “I said, ‘How could you do this to somebody who let you call you (her) Mom almost your whole entire life?’ “

Farmington Hills police have asked anyone who donated to the GiveForward campaign to call them at (248) 871-2610. They’ve heard from about a dozen people so far and think there are many more people who gave to the fund drive.

“We want to talk to everyone who donated to this – it’s important we interview everybody,” Unruh said. “The family made the allegation, and we need to look into it to see what happened.”

Unruh said the ordeal has been difficult for the three children and other family members.

“I feel really bad for this family, for all they’ve been through,” she added. “It just adds to their heartache.”

In the meantime, the family a new crowdfunding effort has been set up on GoFundMe, where $70 of a $10,000 goal had been raised by three people by 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“It’s a sad situation all the way around, to be put through this, to be put through that,” Tanni Dumas said, describing her daughter as a good mother and hard worker. “She always sat in the front of the house, waiting for the kids to get off the bus.”

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