'Who Would Murder a Teacher, and One That is So Well Liked?'

As students returned to West Maple Elementary School for regular classes this morning, the shock and grief over the loss of a beloved teacher Harry Berkowitz is starting to set in.

Birmingham Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad confirmed that Berkowitz, 72, died Tuesday, and that grief counselors would be available to students and staff at the school where he taught for nearly two decades. Police are investigating his death as a homicide, and said the suspect, Thomas Ian Matthews, 33, ended his own life during a standoff with police in a Royal Oak home Tuesday afternoon. The two were reportedly long-time roommates, authorities said.

The Franklin-Bingham Farms Police Department is coordinating the investigation with the help of the Oakland County Sheriff's Department, and Chief Daniel Roberts was not immediately available to comment Wednesday morning.

Birmingham Public Schools Public Schools administrators and an officer with the Bloomfield Township Police Department were parked on either side of the school's parking lot Wednesday morning, in an effort to ensure the students got in the building without distraction.

Funeral arrangements for Berkowitz, who taught in the district for nearly 47 years, are pending.

The Impact

The tragedy won't just affect the current students. Several of Berkowitz's former students turned to social media and Internet chat rooms to spread the word and comfort each other. Bloomfield Hills native Emma Brown was among them. Brown said she had Berkowitz in the third grade, and again for science in the fourth grade.

She said she vividly remembers, and appreciates, his positive attitude and friendly approach to teaching. She still keeps in touch with a few friends from elementary school and heard about Berkowitz's death through the tight-knit group on Facebook late Tuesday afternoon.

"He just seemed like he loved his job, and he too the time to make sure students got the help they needed," the 20-year-old recalled Tuesday night by telephone from her apartment in Virginia, where she attends James Madison University.

Berkowitz also had a way of pushing students to try with incentives and rewarded them with fun 'prizes.'

"He also make everything really fun," she said. "He was probably the best teacher I had at West Maple."

Initially, Brown said she assumed Berkowitz died of natural causes and was shocked when details of Tuesday's events started to emerge.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard the circumstances," Brown said. "Who would murder a teacher, and one that was so well liked?"