WYOMING, Mich. – After an intensive investigation into the murders of Charles Oppenneer, Brooke Slocum and their unborn baby Audi Lynn, the home of the man police believe is responsible is now the focal point of the investigation.
Crime scene technicians spent three straight days at Brady Oestrike’s home, gathering evidence in what Chief Jim Carmody described as a “hellish environment.”
Now, FOX 17 is learning more about what was found, and that it’s not the first time police have been inside.
From the outside, Oestrike’s home appears to be a typical suburban Grand Rapids home. It’s a bit run down, but there is no sign of what police say they found inside.
Sources tell us the first floor of the home was apparently ordinary, but the basement was anything but.
They say the basement contained bondage equipment and medieval memorabilia, which appears on Oestrike’s Facebook page.
Investigators say they removed more than 400 items, including dozens of firearms, ammunition, knives and other weapons.
“(Investigators) also discovered an extensive amount of electronic equipment, including computers, cameras and monitoring devices,” Wyoming Police Chief Carmody said at a press conference Monday.
The terrifying items police believe were used by he alleged murderer in the capture and murder of Brooke Slocum and her baby, "items that include restraints that would indicate the suspect held the victim Brooke Slocum in captivity for period of time before he murdered her,” Carmody said.
But the contents of Oestrike’s basement and the numerous weapons weren’t a complete surprise to police when they arrived at the home Thursday when they suspected his connection with the murders.
“Those weapons were seen in the past, there were weapons in the home,” Carmody said.
Police had been to Oestrike’s home in May after reports he had been bragging at an Eastown bar about holding a woman captive in a suitcase. That’s when police went to his home and learned of the extreme contents of his basement.
“That person was there on her own volition and was really compliant with us, really compliant with him, but made it very clear to us that she was all part of that role-playing,” Carmody said.
Though strange, there was no crime, and Oestrike's weapons and basement remained in tact until the horrific murders of Oppenneer, Slocum and their unborn baby.
