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Exclusive: Photos inside home of suspected Craigslist Killer

Posted at 4:19 PM, Jul 28, 2014
and last updated 2014-07-28 17:40:45-04

WYOMING, Mich. – FOX 17 News obtained photographs Monday from inside the home of Brady Oestrike, the suspected Craigslist Killer.

Detectives in Wyoming are still unraveling the details of how they say Oestrike met 18-year-old Brooke Slocum, who was eight-months pregnant and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Charles Oppenneer.

THE NEW PHOTOGRAPHS

Oestrike’s Taft Avenue home in Wyoming is now fenced off with ‘No Trespassing’ signs.  Besides the new fencing, the house looks like a typical suburban Grand Rapids home.  But inside the house, photographs obtained by FOX 17 News show Oestrike’s home was left torn to pieces.

Gray filing cabinet where Brady Oestrike would store his medieval armor.

According to sources, this is where Brady Oestrike would make his hats, gloves and armor.

You can see how detectives ripped drywall to see if they could find evidence down to the studs of the home.

You can see how the home is in disarray. A couch can be seen flipped over in the middle of the room and insulation pulled from the walls. Our source said this was done during the search for evidence.

After investigators’ four-day search for evidence, drywall from both on the walls and ceiling was left mangled, torn to pieces down to the studs after detectives combed every square inch.  Insulation can be seen strewn throughout the home with furniture tossed into the center of the room.

NEW CLUES REVEALED IN THE CASE

  • A source told FOX 17 News Oestrike, the day the suspect killed himself, he worked a 12-hour shift at his job where he was employed as a lineman for a utility company .  He was a second-shift worker.  He would start at noon each day.
  • Oestrike would sometimes go out-of-state for work to help repair lines.  We are told he assisted in New Jersey following Super Storm Sandy as well as in Florida following an ice storm.
  • Oestrike’s former roommate spoke to FOX 17 News.  She said Oestrike had thoughts about killing her.
  • Police had investigated Oestrike’s home months prior to the killings.
  • Brooke Slocum’s family said their loved one’s Internet activity was a secret part of her life.

Exterior of suspected Craigslist killer’s Taft Avenue home.

BACKGROUND ON THE CASE

Oppenneer’s body was found decapitated Wednesday, July 16th in a park off Gezon Parkway in Wyoming.   His head is still missing.  The discovery of the body eventually led authorities to question the whereabouts of Oppenneer’s pregnant girlfriend.

On Thursday July 17th, as police staked out the suspect’s Taft Avenue home while waiting for a search warrant, Oestrike drove away, leading officers on a ‘high-risk’ chase down Burton Street to U.S. 131.

The suspect killed himself on the bridge over the freeway.  Inside the trunk of the vehicle, investigators found the body of pregnant Brooke Slocum.

Investigators believe the trio met on Craigslist.  They believe Slocum and Oppenneer were exchanging sex for food and a place to stay.  One man FOX 17 News spoke with recalls his interaction with the young couple after meeting them on the Internet.