A key court hearing is scheduled for a Detroit-area man accused of moving the bodies of four women linked to online ads for adult dating services. James Brown is to appear Wednesday in Detroit's 36th District Court for a preliminary hearing. Detroit's police chief says the 24-year-old Sterling Heights resident is the "main culprit" in an investigation into the slayings.

---Home searched in Sterling Heights in connection with murder of 4 Detroit women

IMAGES:Police search home in Sterling Heights 

The bodies of Demesha Hunt and Renisha Landers were found December in car trunks in Detroit. Six days later, the bodies of Natasha Curtis and Vernithea McCrary were found in a burning car. Three of the women had placed ads for escorts online. Authorities say they believe the women were killed outside Wayne County and dumped in Detroit. Brown was arrested May 1.

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About Backpage.com

Backpage.com, like craigslist.com, is an Internet bulletin board with listings for everything from child care to auto parts and forums on numerous topics. Craigslist.com took down its "adult services" section after several widely publicized cases, including the so-called “Craigslist Killer” case, in which Phillip Markoff was charged with the armed robbery and murder of a masseuse he had hired through the web site, and the armed robbery of two other women he also found through the site. Markoff committed suicide in jail awaiting trial.

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