Detroit Opera lights up for one night only this Thursday, October 8, as Detroit Story Fest brings journalists, comedians, filmmakers and musicians together under a theme built for unease: Villains. Among the acts taking the stage is Detroit Free Press investigative reporter John Wisely.
The event, presented by Detroit Opera and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, returns to the Detroit Opera for a single evening, according to Michigan Public. This season's theme, as the station reports, centers on stories about what we fear, what we misunderstand, and what we become.
According to the Free Press, Wisely will share a story about a Michigan State Police trooper who had more than 400 pages of internal affairs reports written about him over the years. The newspaper's report notes that attendees will also hear from the trooper's own family members about what he was really like away from the badge.
An Offshoot of a Years-Long Cold Case Investigation
The story Wisely plans to tell Thursday night is described as an offshoot of Where Secrets Go to Die, the Free Press's podcast investigation into a cold-case killing involving a man who moved to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and disappeared, the newspaper's Story Fest preview states. The podcast itself was chronicled across eight episodes, hosted by Wisely, as detailed in an earlier Free Press report on the project.
That man was Derrick Henagan, who vanished on August 4, 2008, and whose body has never been found, according to the Free Press's earlier reporting on the case. No one has ever been charged in connection with his death, the paper notes.
Internal Affairs Files and an Inconclusive Search
The trooper at the center of Wisely's reporting is David Moeggenborg, for whom the Free Press says it obtained more than 400 pages of internal affairs records. A search of properties connected to Moeggenborg turned up no human remains, and laboratory testing of an ax recovered during the investigation found no usable blood or fingerprints, the paper's earlier report states. The Free Press frames its Story Fest story as touching on grisly crimes in the area that raised questions about how the law is enforced in the Upper Peninsula.
What Else Is On Stage Thursday Night
Beyond Wisely's segment, Detroit Story Fest's 2026 lineup spans award-winning journalists and comedians alongside short film, dance, live music and performance, according to the event's own Story Fest page. The festival describes its programming as ranging from true crime to comedy, politics to poetics. Michigan Public adds that the format gives space for journalists, performing artists, writers and filmmakers from across the region to share stories within a theme, live on stage, at the Detroit Opera.
The evening is billed as equal parts true crime, comedy and unresolved mystery.
