WYOMING, Mich. -- Sunday marks one year since a triple murder-suicide that rocked the community of Wyoming.
Police believe Brook Slocum, 18, who was 8 months pregnant, and her boyfriend, Charles Oppenneer, met suspect Brady Oestrike on Craigslist before the killings. The couple was apparently planning to meet Oestrike for sex in a park, according to investigators.
Oppenneer’s body was found decapitated Wednesday, July 16, 2014, in a park off Gezon Parkway in Wyoming. His head still has not been found. The discovery of the body eventually led authorities to question the whereabouts of Oppenneer’s girlfriend.
On July 17, 2014, as police staked out Oestrike’s home while waiting for a search warrant, the suspect drove away, leading officers on a "high-risk" chase down Burton Street to U.S. 131.
Oestrike, 31, crashed his car and then killed himself on an overpass over the freeway. Investigators later found the body of Slocum inside the car's trunk.
Police later determined that Oestrike killed Oppenneer on July 12, 2014 (one year ago Sunday) and then killed Slocum earlier in the day that he died.
FOX 17 News later obtained photographs from inside Oestrike's homeshowing the lengths investigators went to search for evidence. Restraints and other items found inside the Wyoming home seemed to indicate Slocum has been held captive for several days before being killed.
Relatives of Slocum told FOX 17 that the relationship between Brooke and Charles was 'unhealthy.'
“To think this was going to be my first granddaughter, and to have lost her is just every worst nightmare come true,” said Greg Slocum, Brooke's father. “I know that love is not manipulation; love is unconditional and that wasn’t the case... My daughter deserved better than that.”
Meanwhile, those who said they knew Oestrike described a tormented man who they expected might snap.
“Knowing what tormented him, knowing the bad dreams and bad things he saw in his dreams and the depth of pain in his poetry, I wasn't surprised that something traumatic and violent like this happened in his life,” Rachel Morris, a former roommate of Oestrike, told FOX 17 last year.
The FBI continues to investigate the case as well, to ensure Oestrike did not have any other victims.
Wyoming Police said Friday they had nothing new to report on the case.
"We are now in the process of conducting a comprehensive case review in order to make sure that we have exhausted all of our efforts to answer any questions that are outstanding in this investigation," Capt. Kim Koster said in a Friday release.
