The newlyweds’ murder that shocked Holland | Forensic Files

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notes for this episode on your app or on our website for newlyweds gail and rick brink
finding a dream home where they could settle down and start a family was at the top of their agenda the
couple met at work in 1984 when gail was 19 years old and rick was 25. with her long
wavy dark hair and athletic figure gail immediately caught rick's attention he knew right away that gail was the one
and told his mother later that day i just met the woman i'm going to marry before long the pair were an item and
were planning their wedding on april 25 1986 the day after gale's 21st birthday they were married in a simple
church service in front of their closest friends and family gail wore an elegant white dress with a
flared skirt and spaghetti straps while rick wore a bright blue suit jacket and matching bow tie
the reception took place at a lakefront country club where guests danced all night long after it was over
the bride and groom departed for their honeymoon a romantic cruise where they would be able to spend lots of time on
the beach soaking up sunshine after gail and rick returned to their hometown of holland michigan
they turned to their attention to buying a house one eventually caught their eye located
on the outskirts of town it was a small weatherboard ranch house that sat on 20 acres of land there was no doubt
the property had seen better days inside cabinets were falling off their hinges paint was peeling and the rooms were in
desperate need of an upgrade but it had great potential and rick was confident he could turn it into their
dream home his job involved training carpenters at a furniture company and he was a
talented handyman with some help from his father rick negotiated a deal and was able to buy the house and land
for a steal after moving into the property in october 1987 the newlyweds set about transforming it
they went through the house room by room scrubbing them from floor to ceiling making repairs and repainting the walls
rick documented their progress with the camcorder he chatted about the house as he filmed
each room and checked in on gail who paused her work to smile and wave at him by november
the couple had been married for a year and a half and were ready to start renovating one room of their house in
particular a nursery in preparation for the baby they hoped to have soon everything seemed to be going perfectly
[Music] gail brink had an office job at an auto parts company where she was well regarded as a
diligent and hard-working employee so when she didn't show up for work on the morning of monday november 23
her absence was immediately noticed there was no sign of rick at his workplace either
knowing how responsible rick was his employer decided to check in with his family garrett and ida brink were
surprised to receive a call informing them that their son hadn't been seen that day
rick and gail had attended a friend's wedding over the weekend but they'd had no plans that would have
kept them from work garrett and dyder decided to drive over to their house to check
that everything was alright when they arrived at the sprawling property north of holland
garrett and ida noticed something rick's suv a chevrolet blazer was parked in the driveway that meant he
must be at home they went over to inspect the vehicle and saw something shocking
rick was inside slumped across the driver's seat with his head pressed against the passenger door
blood was visible from at least one head wound he was dead when officers from the ottawa county
sheriff's department arrived they secured the scene before walking into the home
upon entering they headed down the long hallway that led to the master bedroom the room was tidy aside from some
clothing that was strewn across the floor lying in the couple's water bed was 22
year old gail brink she looked as though she could be asleep except for one thing a blood-stained
pillow had been placed over her head when police lifted it gail's lifeless and bloody face was exposed
she had been shot in the head three times initially officers wondered if they were
dealing with a murder-suicide perhaps rickard killed his wife while she lay sleeping
then gone out into his chevy blazer to take his own life but when investigators moved rick's body
there was no gun lying beneath him nor was there one anywhere else in the car rick couldn't have been the killer
like a gale he'd been shot by someone else execution style with two bullet wounds
in his head judging from the position of his body he'd been sitting in the driver's seat
when he was shot from the left side then he fell to the right his head coming to rest on the passenger seat
the driver's side window was wound slightly down a bullet hole through the passenger
window had shattered the glass the killer had likely stood by the driver's door and aimed at the gun
through the open window aside from the two victims and the few items of clothing lying on their bedroom
floor nothing in the house was out of place there was no sign of forced entry all of
the furniture was upright and the drawers were closed cash was found throughout the home gail's purse had
been left on the kitchen counter as had rick's wallet both had all their contents
including credit cards and the driver's licenses gail and rick were still wearing their
wedding rings and other jewelry and two watches were also found in the home clearly robbery hadn't been the killer's
motive the entire crime scene was unsettlingly clean and there was little physical evidence
to go on gail and rick had both been shot with a 22-gauge revolver but there was no sign of the murder
weapon anywhere in the house nor were there any bullet casings detectives didn't recover any suspicious
clothing or any strands of hair only six usable prints were recovered from the crime scene
four fingerprints belonged to the two victims another print was found on a toilet and
there was also one on the telephone but these didn't match anyone in the police database
faced with this dearth of physical evidence detectives knew they would need to dig
into the victims lives the last time anyone had seen gail and rick alive was on the night of saturday november 21
when they attended the wedding of one of rick's high school friends it seemed as though they had a good
night rick had a few drinks and the gale became rather tipsy before they left at around 11 pm
the following day gail's brother ryan weingarten tried to call her at home but there was
no answer ryan had thought nothing of this at the time but investigators speculated that the couple
had been killed in the early hours of sunday morning after arriving home from the wedding
the couple's family and friends were left in shock over the brutal slaying with ryan weingarten telling local
newspaper the holland sentinel they were the nicest people in the world i've never seen a couple get along
better than they did gail had been one of eight children her family was close but they struggled financially which led
to gail dreaming of the day when she could finally be self-sufficient she used to tell her big sister cheryl
how she planned to work as hard as she needed to so she would always have enough money to
buy herself whatever she wanted her first job was waitressing at a restaurant where she earned
excellent money despite the low wages gail was so funny friendly and charming that her customers always tipped
generously and when she met rick it seemed as though everything was falling into place
not only were the young couple head over heels in love but they were compatible too both were
ambitious and didn't mind hard work their dream was a simple one they wanted to raise a family and create
a home where they could live for the rest of their lives rick swept the gale of her feet spoiling
her and giving her whatever she wanted the young couple loved to travel and during the summer
months they would visit rick's parents house on the shores of lake michigan rick kept a boat out there and
introduced the gail to waterskiing his friend bill whedon later told the television program
a wedding and a murder that gale was like liquid sunshine to rick she was the kind of person who
could light up a room just by entering it but despite the idyllic life the pair had together
the beginning of their relationship hadn't exactly been smooth sailing prior to meeting rick gale had another
serious boyfriend named lars she'd moved in with him when she was 18 years old and they built a house together they'd
been living together for about a year when gail met rick at work she quickly ended her
relationship so she could be with rick but lars didn't take the news well as she was packing her belongings to
move out he slammed a draw closed on her hand he also hit gail giving her a black eye
after hearing about the assault gail's protective big brother ryan came to her rescue
he punched lars breaking his nose then warned him don't you touch my sister again
when police started looking for a suspect ryan suggested they speak with gail's ex-boyfriend
he believed lars was still in love with gail and was furious that she'd married someone else
investigators quickly tracked lars down he admitted to a salting gail but strongly denied having anything to do
with the double homicide when detectives asked if he would be willing to sit a polygraph test
lars agreed he passed the test he also provided an alibi for the time of the murders
had checked out and lars was dismissed as a suspect investigators went back to the drawing
board gail and rick brink were farewelled in a joint funeral and are laid to rest in a shared plot
the detectives working the case spoke extensively with the couple's friends and family
but nobody raised any red flags they even tracked down every person who'd been a guest at the wedding the
couple attended on their last night alive they couldn't find anyone who held a grudge against the young newlyweds
they had no criminal histories or connections whatsoever by all accounts they were well-liked
upstanding citizens who'd had no bad blood with anybody in fact there was only one thing in
their lives that seemed it could be the source of some tension their newly acquired home
the ranch house sat on the eerily named ransom street and before the couple had bought it it
belonged to a bikey who went by the nickname shotgun sid sid was a somewhat notorious figure
throughout michigan's criminal circles he trafficked illicit drugs from the city of detroit to the western part of
the state for a bikey gang named the highwayman but cida grew disturbed after he saw
dealers selling drugs to teenagers at local high schools he began a double life as an informant
providing federal agents with the names of individuals who were selling to children
[Music] when word got out that sid was working with the authorities his life was threatened he was shot at
on multiple occasions one time three people turned up with a shotgun at his ransom street address
sid pulled out a firearm of his own and convinced the intruders to drop their weapon
it later turned out that these individuals had been looking for a car that sid was holding as collateral for a
drug death in addition to enduring physical threats shotgun sid was struggling financially
and failed to make the repayments on his house eventually the bank foreclosed on his
mortgage and sid was forced to vacate the property this was the reason gail and rick brink
had been able to buy it for such a bargain investigators began to wonder if the couple hadn't been the killer's
targets at all perhaps the person who murdered them hadn't realised that shotgun sid no longer lived there
maybe it was a case of mistaken identity detectives looked into the detroit bikey
gangs that sid was connected to despite all their digging they couldn't find anything that tied the double
homicide to a gang crime sid tried to help as well by placing some phone calls asking for information he couldn't find
any evidence that anyone had actually been trying to kill him the seemingly promising lead reached a
dead end [Music] early on the morning of december 24 just over a month after gail and rick were murdered a man named
rock wilson was making his way home rock worked at sintered metal products in the michigan city of zealand
and had gone straight from a shift to his work christmas party before going to the party he'd called
his wife 30 year old deborah wilson but she was planning to stay at home it was around 5 a.m when rock arrived at
their residence which sat three miles north of holland the house was ablaze with lights
when rock walked inside he found every single light switch had been turned on there was no
sign of deborah as rock made his way to the sliding door that led to their enormous backyard
he realised it was open rock peered outside the large field-like space that sat behind the
house had a swimming pool a garage a trailer and a vegetable garden but rock couldn't see anyone out there
worried about his wife rock called his father and asked him to come over his father agreed and soon the two men
were searching together for deborah finally rock's father spotted her she was lying fully clothed outside near
the vegetable garden her throat had been slashed police were summoned and it didn't take
long for comparisons to be made to the brink case the couple's houses were approximately
half a mile from each other and could be reached on foot within five minutes if you cut across the fields
between them like the brink murders there was no sign of forced entry nothing had been stolen from the
property and deborah hadn't been sexually assaulted the wilsons were regarded as upstanding
hard-working citizens just as the brinks had been debra had attended the same high school
as rick and the couple's shared mutual acquaintances it wasn't long before the victims
neighbours began to fear there was a serial killer amongst them terrified locals began petitioning the
ottawa county sheriff's department for a stronger police presence on their streets
brutal murders like these weren't common for the peaceful holland area they no longer felt safe in their homes
in the wake of two violent crimes taking place so close together in such a short space of time
detectives considered whether the cases could be related in addition to these two crimes which
occurred within a month of each other there was also an older homicide that remained unsolved
ten years earlier in 1977 twenty-year-old deborah polinski had been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death
she'd lived less than half a mile north of the brink residence given how quiet and safe ottawa county
tended to be having three brutal homicides take place within a stone's throw of each other
seemed more than a little suspicious however investigators found nothing tying the brink murders to those of
debra wilson or deborah polinski the execution-style slaying of the newlyweds convinced
detectives that they'd been deliberately targeted yet without a motive discovering why
they'd been killed was near impossible the case remained front-page news throughout west michigan for months
tips came in from the public steadily averaging around four or five a day but none ever led
anywhere one of gail's colleagues reported that although she'd always been a happy-go-lucky person
her demeanor suddenly changed about two weeks before her death she suddenly seemed reserved as though
she had a lot on her mind behavioral experts from the fbi and michigan state police were consulted
but no breakthroughs followed months turned into years and eventually the case went cold
gail and rick's loved ones began grappling with the upsetting notion that their case might never be solved
on november 29 1997 a decade after gail and rick were murdered local newspaper the marshall chronicle
published an article reminding readers about the unsolved crime the county's undersheriff who'd been
lead investigator on the case described the double homicide as cold and lacking emotion
rick's mother ida also gave an interview stating you're thinking all the time is that person around here does he look
us in the face and know that he killed our son it took more than another decade before
there was further development in the case in 2007 the ottawa county sheriff's department launched a new
cult case unit a team of investigators who would dedicate 100 of their time to solving old crimes
detectives dave blakely and a venus rapper would lead the unit the two detectives first started working
on the deborah wilson case which also remained unsolved they honed in on a prime suspect but
when he died before an arrest could be made they turned their attention to the brink
murders when news broke that the case was being reopened gail's mother dorothea told reporters
how she kept hoping the person responsible would be found i would try my best if they had a trial
to be there detectives blakely and repper threw themselves into the case some of the paperwork from the previous
investigations had deteriorated over time so they taped them back together and handled each document with care
as they examined them they began conducting hundreds of interviews with individuals
connected to the brinks occasionally traveling interstate to speak with people they
scoured every statement keeping an eye out for anything that seemed suspicious at the very beginning of the
investigation detectives had made sure to speak with those closest to the victims
checking for alibis and motives no one had seemed suspicious at the time two decades later as detectives blakely
and rapper examined the old case notes they started to notice a pattern some of gail's family members mentioned
that after the couple's murder one individual who was close to gail had said some strange things
in one instance the family had been gathered together just three days after the murders
in the middle of a conversation about the tragedy one of gail's relatives told another how
he could picture someone walking down the hallway of the couple's home [Music] the person saw gail lying in bed and
turning over on her left side then told her i'll be right back he described the chilling scene as
though he'd seen it himself and then he also remarked you know sometimes i wonder if i could
have done this the person who made these comments was ryan weingarten gail's older brother
investigators had no idea why gail's own brother would say such things according to the case notes ryan
weingarten said that on the night of the murders he and his then-girlfriend named pam had been doing laundry
ryan had been living in an apartment at the time and typically did his washing at a laundromat but he and
pam didn't have enough change on that particular day so they'd gone to a friend's house to
use her washing machine and also helped out by babysitting her kids pam had confirmed this alibi
but as detectives blakely and repper went through their documents they suddenly noticed the discrepancy
pam's statement supported ryan's version of events but during the course of the investigation she'd also agreed to sit
for a polygraph test when asked by the polygraph examiner if she had been with ryan on
the night of the murders pam had answered no the two detectives decided they should pay
ryan and pam a visit back in november 1987 the couple had only been dating for a
few months at the time pam was a single mother to a six-month-old son pam and ryan married in 1989
and later went on to have three children together by the time detectives blakely and
repper went to speak with them they'd been married for 23 years the detectives pulled up at the trailer
where the couple resided they were met by ryan who explained that pam wasn't home
the three of them chatted for a little while but ryan seemed to have difficulty recalling much detail about
the time of his sister's murder detectives blakely and repper explained that they also wished to speak with pam
so they arranged for her to attend the sheriff's department for an interview ryan escorted her there he also
insisted that he be allowed to sit in on the interview the detectives refused to permit this
explaining that they needed to speak to pam alone once they were seated in an interrogation room
pam repeated the same story she'd originally told investigators she and ryan had been together on the
night of november 21 1987 doing laundry at a friend's house but the investigators didn't believe her
feeling as though they were finally on track to cracking the case detectives blakely and repper began
digging into ryan and pam weingarten's backgrounds they discovered that in november 1987
ryan's life had been somewhat difficult he'd been making money by dealing drugs but was struggling financially
he'd also been juggling multiple relationships having started dating pam while he was
still involved with a long-term ex-girlfriend named crystal [Music] crystal and ryan weingarten had known
each other for years and remained friends even after splitting up for a few months
she and pam were seeing ryan at the same time though crystal's relationship was waning
while pam's was just beginning investigators realised that crystal might be able to shed some light on
ryan's situation at the time of his sister's murder they called her in for an interview
crystal was happy to speak with the police but didn't provide them with anything of much interest
she said she had remained good friends with ryan over the years nothing new came up detectives blakely
and repper were disappointed they'd hoped they were finally making some progress
now it looked as though they were stalled yet again the pair of them began wrapping up the
interview and prepared to call it a day as detective repper later told the television program
a wedding and a murder they thanked crystal for her time and was starting to rise from their
seats when crystal blurted out well there is this one other thing the two detectives exchanged a glance
then sat back down what crystal said next set the investigation on an entirely new trajectory
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were murdered ryan weingarten paid a visit to his ex-girlfriend crystal he invited crystal to get in his
car suggesting that they'd go for a drive he explained that he wanted to go by the
house where his sister had been killed to take a look at it this scared crystal she didn't want to see the place where
two people had been brutally murdered just a few days earlier and refused to go ryan offered a
compromise saying they could drive somewhere else instead they wound up heading to the northern
side of holland and pulled over at a park then ryan spoke he said he had something terrible to share
he hesitated to speak further it took another five minutes before he finally proceeded
ryan told crystal that he'd had sex with his sister gail it had started as sexual curiosity when he was 12 years
old and gail was nine initially there had just been some touching but during their adolescence it progressed
to intercourse he was adamant that it had been consensual though he became tearful when describing
the last time he'd been intimate with gail she had been sitting on a bench behind
the garage at their family home when ryan walked up behind her he tried initiating sexual contact and
gail refused ryan wouldn't take no for an answer in crystal's words he pretty much forced her to do it
ryan had also shown crystal a photograph of him and gale that was taken while they were out
on a boat with gail's husband rick gail was wearing a bikini and ryan remarked look how hot she is
crystal was taken aback by this comment ryan continued speaking while they'd been on the boat he had
been so captivated by gail's appearance that he openly stared at her in what he described as a lustful way
at one point he tore his eyes away from his sister only to realise that he's ogling hadn't
gone unnoticed rick was watching him this was the breakthrough investigators had been looking for
finally they suspected they had a motive for the double homicide despite ryan telling crystal that his
encounters with gail had been consensual detectives were certain they hadn't been
if ryan had raped his sister during their childhood and adolescence then perhaps he resented her marriage to
another man moreover he may have been fearful that as gale grew increasingly comfortable
with her new life and her husband she would confide in wreck telling him the truth
about the abuse she'd endured the fact that rick hadn't noticed the way ryan looked at gail suggested he may
have already had some idea but crystal's story wasn't enough detectives blakely and rapper knew that
if they were ever going to solve this case then they needed testimony from someone
even closer to ryan his wife pam [Music] further appointments were made to interview pam and ryan
the two arrived at the sheriff's department together though they'd driven in separate cars
while his wife came across as mild-mannered and somewhat meek ryan seemed abrasive and controlling
convincing him to wait outside while his wife spoke with detectives was a difficult
task pam seemed reluctant to open up the minutes dragged on turning into hours finally she made an admission
the alibi she'd provided for her husband for the night of the murders had been false they had gone to a
laundromat together on saturday november 21 leaving between five and six pm but they were home no later
than eight at that point ryan went out by himself for a few hours pam didn't ask where he
was headed he returned later on and the two smoked cannabis then had sex ryan soon left again
and pam didn't see him until the following morning of sunday november 22 he'd insisted that she provide him with
an alibi over the years before they'd gone to their interviews that day he reminded her yet again of where they
had supposedly been on the night in question though pam conceded that the alibi had
been false she remained silent on other matters she said nothing about an incestuous
relationship her husband might have had with his sister nor did she say that she suspected him
of committing murder detectives had been questioning pam for close to three hours
by this stage ryan who thought the interview was only supposed to take 30 minutes
was enraged he banged on the glass window of the interrogation room demanding that pam be let go
[Music] it was ryan's turn to speak with the detectives next now that they knew his alibi was false
they were eager to interrogate him as detailed in the television show a wedding and a murder
detective blakely was the one who raised the subject of ryan's feelings towards his sister
gail when he asked ryan about the sibling's relationship ryan gazed back at him with a hostile
expression on his face what do you mean he asked blakely stared back at ryan without
saying a word for several long moments then he replied you know exactly what i mean sexually
a long silence followed [Music] detective rapper estimated that 40 seconds went by
with no one speaking then finally ryan said well it was just kids play he claimed that as children the two of
them had merely explored each other's bodies comparing the encounters to a game of
doctors and nurses neither detective blakely nor detective rapper believed ryan they were certain he had assaulted his
sister and was now attempting to downplay the abuse the interview concluded and orion went
home over the next few days he started placing numerous phone calls to detective blakely
[Music] most of the time these calls went to voicemail so ryan would leave a message he spoke of his
gratitude that blakely was working on his sister's case while also expressing feelings of hatred
towards him and his policing partner on one occasion he greeted the detective by stating
this is ryan weingarten i don't know why i'm calling you again i guess because i hate you and
appreciate you at the same time [Music] ryan described the detectives as sons of
[ __ ] while conceding simultaneously that they were a necessary evil other messages were
more direct in one he demanded you go find my sister's killer you're barking up the
wrong tree here i know nothing about it he suggested that motorcycle gangs were responsible
for the slayings another time he warned digging up dirt from our family history childhood indiscretions that's not gonna
shed any more light on it ryan accused both detectives of harassing his wife and called them [ __ ] for what they'd
put her through as the calls and messages continued to stream in detectives blakely and rapper realised
that ryan was unstable and unpredictable they needed to act soon pam weingarten had already shown signs
of opening up at her prior interview the detectives knew that if they could convince her to speak
again she might be the one to blow the case wide open but now their efforts to reach out to
pam were being blocked by ryan to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamic at play
blakely and repper consulted a psychologist who was familiar with domestic abuse and
coercive control finally in january 2013 they decided to approach pam while she was at work
as detective repper later told the television program a wedding and a murder they explained to
pam that they were a cold case unit who worked exclusively on old unsolved crimes that meant
that they wouldn't be going away the only thing they wanted was the truth a human resources representative had
escorted pam to the meeting but she asked that they not sit in on it so she could speak to the detectives in
private pam was finally ready to speak when gail and rick had died pam had only been dating ryan for a few months
she was a new mother and ryan was supportive even though he wasn't the baby's father
reiterated how she and ryan visited the laundromat in the late afternoon or early evening
of november 21 1987. afterwards they returned to her place when at about eight o'clock
ryan went out alone he returned briefly before going out again pam maintained that she didn't see him again
until nine the next morning there was a louder knocking at the door when pam answered it ryan was standing
there crying and holding his head what's wrong pam asked ryan replied that he'd just shot and killed his
sister and her husband shocked and unable to believe what she was hearing pym asked ryan to repeat what he just
said he did pam asked if he'd told the police ryan said no ryan claimed he'd gone over to the
brink's house to discuss some family matter and it had resulted in a heated argument
rick had asked him to leave and ryan initially did so but then he walked back to the house
complaining of car trouble rick went out to his own truck so he could get something to help
and that's when ryan shot him then he went inside and killed gail while she was lying in bed
he told pam that he'd done it because the couple thought they were too good upset and confused by ryan's statement
pam asked him to leave he did but he called her later that day and asked if he could come over pam
reluctantly agreed ryan pulled up at pam's and said he wanted to take her back to his apartment
she got in the car with her six-month-old son but ryan didn't drive to his home instead he took them to the street where
gail and rick lived ryan pulled over a short distance from their house then instructed pam to get out
pam walked with ryan towards the brink residence rick's truck was parked in the driveway
ryan led pam over to the vehicle and she looked inside rick's dead body was crumpled across the
front seats then ryan grabbed pam's wrist and marched her over to the house they walked inside and he led her up the
hallway to the couple's bedroom by this stage pam was crying she saw gail lying in bed
gail looked as though she could be asleep then ryan lifted the blood-stained pillow that covered her head
and asked isn't she beautiful then he added if you go to the police or tell anybody what i did here
this could happen to you pam ran from the house in fear she was too terrified to call for help
or make a sound but she couldn't stand to be in the brink home a moment longer ryan took her back to his place and she
stayed there that night pam woke early the following morning at around 6. she got up to fix a bottle
for her son and noticed that one of ryan's friends a man named jimbo meacham was over
this wasn't unusual jimbo often stopped by before work for a coffee pam overheard ryan tell his friend that
his sister and her husband had just been killed the rest of his family wouldn't learn
about the slayings until later that day after rick's employer alerted his parents to his uncharacteristic absence
from work when investigators laid a query to jimbo about this encounter he said he remembered it but couldn't
recall if it had happened on monday morning or tuesday after jimbo left to go to work pam asked ryan if he
could take her home she needed to get ready for her own job ryan agreed but before they departed
he pulled something out to show her it was a 22 revolver the gun he'd used to shoot gail and rick
[Music] ryan also showed pam a bag filled with clothing which he explained was what he'd been
wearing when he committed the murders he stashed the clothes and gun in the back of his car
before getting in to drive pam home as they headed towards pam's residence ryan again warned pam not to breathe a
word of what he'd told her to anyone else if she did then what happened to gail would happen
to her ryan instructed pam to tell the police that they'd been together on saturday
night at a friend's house doing laundry and babysitting terrified pam agreed at one point she'd asked ryan why he'd
murdered his own sister he admitted that he'd had a sexual relationship with gail
and didn't want rick to find out about it ryan also said he'd been jealous of the
couple the rest of ryan's family soon learned of the murders as pam went through the mourning process
alongside them she felt as though she had swept everything she knew under the rug she attended gail and
rick's funeral with their grieving relatives keeping ryan secret the entire time
in december 1987 investigators questioned pam regarding her and ryan's whereabouts on the day of the murders
she repeated the story ryan had told her to tell and he was ruled out as a possible
suspect occasionally ryan would remind pam of the alibi they'd agreed on and his threat to harm
her if she ever told anyone the truth pair married ryan in 1989 and he became a stepfather to pm's young son
the couple went on to have three children together pam was the family breadwinner working
to support the six of them while ryan homeschooled their children pam wasn't happy with her children being
educated at home but ryan was a controlling husband and she had a little say in the matter
[Music] the more time that passed the less pam felt able to tell the truth she did love ryan despite what he'd done
she was also terrified that if she revealed what had happened after years and then decades of lying
she could lose her children or wind up in prison so she stayed married to ryan for 24
years [Music] finally though the pressure became too much to bear when the cold case unit started looking
into the brink homicides pam started to feel that she couldn't hold everything she knew
inside anymore it was like a heavy burden on her shoulders weighing them down after her first interview with the cold
case detectives in october 2012 when she revealed that the alibi ryan had given was false
ryan was angry with her he called her after his own interview and yelled i can't believe you threw me under the bus
then he started ranting that the detectives must have bullied her pam didn't agree with this accusation
her distress was obvious to detectives blakely and repper she cried constantly while describing
how ryan had taken her to see gail and rick's bodies what was also obvious was the fact
that ryan was desperately trying to contact her throughout the entire interview gail's
phone had been pinging with calls and messages from her husband who was frantically attempting to reach
her it was decided that ryan should be arrested as soon as possible detectives didn't
want to give him any opportunity to flee or dispose of potential evidence officers were dispatched to ryan's place
of employment and took him into custody that same day ryan insisted he was innocent
yet during an interview with police he finally conceded one thing he said there had been an instance of
quote penetration between him and gail he insisted it was entirely consensual investigators didn't believe this at all
without gail alive to tell her side of the story they could never know the full truth
but it seemed clear that she had been a victim of her older brother in more ways than one
the news that someone had been arrested for murdering gail and rick brink was what their families had long been hoping
to hear for the wine gardens the relief felled upon hearing that the killer had been
apprehended was marred by the fact that he was one of their own ryan and gail's mother refused to
believe that her son could have killed her daughter but other members of the family accepted
the news gail had been particularly close to her older sister cheryl when she was alive the two were
best friends in their last conversation together gail had complained about the fact that
cheryl lived so far away from her cheryl received a call from the police alerting her to ryan's arrest
they also informed her that ryan had sexually assaulted gail throughout their childhood
on the tv show a wedding and a murder cheryl described how she felt literally sick to her stomach
upon learning this the thought that gail had kept the abuse to herself and suffered in silence for all those
years was devastating cheryl believed that gail must not have told her because she'd known cheryl would have
confronted ryan strange things that ryan had said and done in the past slowly began to make sense
in one conversation he mentioned how he'd gone through gail's personal papers after her death he'd found some letters
from men that he didn't want their parents to see so he destroyed them shortly before gail and rick's funeral
ryan gave his own chilling rendition of the crime to cheryl wherein the killer walked down the
hallway of the brink home before coming across gail in bed it ended with the remark you know
sometimes i wonder if i could have done this ryan had said something very similar to
his aunt nava at gail's funeral he asked her do you think i could have killed them
nava had received phone calls from both ryan and gail the day before the murders
gail had complained that ryan owed her money ryan was angry because gail was refusing
to let their parents park their camper van in her driveway they'd recently sold their home and were
temporarily living in the camper they'd initially parked it at ryan's apartment building
but was soon instructed to move it as they were violating local ordinances ryan wanted them to go to gale's house
but she didn't like the idea ryan told his aunt that gale thought she was too good for their family
a little while later after gail's death ryan told another that gail and rick would
probably still be alive if they'd let her parents stay on the property on another occasion he told his other
sister lin that he wished he could apologize to gail because he felt as though he'd raped her
he said something almost identical to one of his nieces he'd even discussed his sexual
feelings for gail with his stepson ryan had described their relationship as touchy feely
but said it was normal adolescent exploration ryan told his stepson that sometimes
gale would say no so he would force her about 13 years after the murders cheryl had been chatting with ryan on the phone
he mentioned how there had been a rodent in his yard so quote i pulled out my 22
and shot it cheryl hadn't been aware that her brother owned a 22-gauge firearm so she queried this statement
ryan quickly corrected himself and said he'd used a different kind of gun not a 22
[Music] in 2006 cheryl and ryan had a falling out their father had passed away and the
fight related to veterans benefits for their mother dorothea who was now an elderly woman
[Music] they barely spoke in the years that followed then all of a sudden in october 2012
ryan called cheryl he wanted to tell her that he'd forgiven her what cheryl didn't know was that ryan
and his wife pam had just been interviewed by the cold case unit at the ottawa county sheriff's
department investigators finally had him in their sights following ryan's arrest detectives
searched his home and found a caliber rifle but they never found the 22 revolver that had been used to
kill gail and rick brink pam told them she'd seen her husband place the same style of revolver in his
car the day after the couple were murdered investigators concluded that ryan had
disposed of it somewhere along with the clothing he'd been wearing that night [Music]
investigators also compared ryan's fingerprints to the ones recovered from a telephone and a toilet in the brink
home neither were a match but despite the lack of physical evidence tying ryan to the crime
they were certain they finally had their killer ryan weingarten was charged with two
counts of first-degree murder his trial began in march 2014 at the ottawa county circuit court in
grand haven michigan the prosecution was arguing that ryan had murdered his sister
and her husband because he was scared gail would reveal his incestuous abuse of her
the killings were also motivated by jealousy he resented gail and rick's success
the prosecution had no physical evidence but they did have 60 witnesses who were willing to testify
chief among them was ryan's wife pam she looked scared as she took the stand but spoke
clearly and firmly about the things ryan had said and done pam denied ever feeling pressured to
turn state's witness against her husband instead she said any pressure she experienced was due entirely to her own
conscience it was difficult for her to testify especially when ryan began shouting
abuse at her from his seat at the defendant's table at one point he called her a
black-hearted evil woman and added i can't believe you're saying all these lies about me pam
the judge had him removed from the courtroom as well as detailing how ryan had taken
her to look at gail and rick's bodies pam described what life had been like with him
ryan had been controlling and abusive he hadn't allowed her to have friends of her own
pam's father had also been emotionally abusive and she thought that must be why ryan
was able to so successfully manipulate her after his arrest he started sending pam
a barrage of letters [Music] sometimes he begged her to go back on her statement
other times he threatened her with god's wrath for going against him in total he sent 29 of these letters while he was
on remand a fellow inmate claimed that while ryan was in custody awaiting trial he'd boasted about committing the double
homicide according to this individual ryan also ranted about one of his other sisters
cheryl he was furious at her because over the past 20 years she'd constantly campaigned for
law enforcement to solve gail and rick's murder ryan supposedly said to the other inmate
if i'd known she was going to cause me trouble like this i would have killed that [ __ ] a long
time ago then he mimed choking a person with his hands [Music] the inmate testified at ryan's trial in
exchange for three years being taken off his own sentence ryan's defense team argued that the
prisoner had a history of turning snitch when it benefited him ryan was pleading
not guilty in an attempt to argue for his innocence the defense pointed at other
possible suspects they suggested gail and rick had been murdered by a bikey gang
who mistook rick for shotgun sid the drug-dealing former owner of their property
they also theorized that gail had been targeted by a colleague after she started investigating possible
financial irregularities at work they claimed there had been a file from gail's work at the crime scene
but it was removed before it could be looked into an official from the company where gail
was employed said he had gone to the house after learning of gail's murder but denied taking or asking police for
any documents the prosecution dismissed the suggestion that gail was executed by a workmate
as little green men from mars stuff ryan weingarden testified in his own defense
his testimony was rambling and often irrelevant as he went off on strange tangents
several times the judge had to remind ryan and his attorney to stay on track under cross-examination ryan was grilled
about his relationship with gail despite earlier admitting to police that he'd once had sex with his sister
ryan now claimed he'd only said that unto duress he was adamant that there had only been
three incidents with gail that could be perceived as sexual these incidents involved comparing their
bodies after bathing and touching and groping while clothed as prosecutors continued to pursue this
line of questioning ryan became increasingly upset stating you guys are making it into a mockery
and you need a motive and there is no motive he began to cry and questioned why his
sister cheryl and wife pam had both testified against him he accused investigators of convincing
pam to lie and compared footage of her police interviews to a wolf pack chewing on an innocent
lamb then he suddenly said out of nowhere i feel like i deserved to sue the county
oh absolutely ryan also denied being jealous of gail and rick's success he loved his sister she helped him out
by co-signing a car loan for him and making one of his payments he also said he had a good relationship
with his brother-in-law ryan liked to rick's a dry sense of humor and found him to be a super nice person
ryan maintained that on the night of the murders he and pam had done laundry and babysat
for a friend he denied ever going out by himself in fact he said that pam had gone out
for drinks with a friend and returned home at about 2am ryan said that on the afternoon of
sunday november 22 he was running low on petrol and cigarettes so he stopped at a service station he
used the opportunity to try to call gail from a pay phone he had been planning to discuss
the issue of their parents campervan with her ryan was angry that gail wouldn't let
them parkered at her property but denied wanting to kill her over the matter ryan dialed gail's number no one
answered the phone he decided to go over to pam's house instead he claimed that he first learned of gail
and rick's murders at 5 pm on monday november 23 after he went over to his brother's house
later that evening ryan headed over to pam's house she was watching the news and a story
came on about the double murder [Music] that was my sister and rick ryan told her
then he lay down on pam's bed while sobbing they killed my sister on march 28 2014
the jury delivered their verdict they found ryan weingarten now 51 years old guilty of murdering gail and rick brink
ryan kept his head down as the verdict was read aloud as he was escorted from the courtroom he
said i didn't do this [Music] most members of the victims families welcomed to the verdict
outside court gail's sister cheryl told reporters we're done we finally got him he created this situation and now
he has to pay for it cheryl explained that although she still loved her brother she hated who he had become and what he
did the pain of losing her sister had tormented her for almost 30 years rick's brother bud brink told news
outlet m live we are extremely pleased to have the justice my brother deserves at least this gives
us some closure as to how it happened and why it happened although he said he wished pam had come
forward with the truth decades earlier he appreciated her strength in finally doing so
adding it took a lot for her to come forward ryan's sentencing took place almost a
month later when he was given the opportunity to speak he ranted and raved for an hour at times he stared
cheerfully up at the ceiling and addressed the god directly saying lord why are you doing this to me i'm a
good man why why is this happening [Music] when it was time for his sentence to be
delivered ryan constantly interrupted the judge finally the judge lost his patience and
asked do i need to bind you and gag you sir we'll have the deputies go and duct tape
you if that's what's necessary but you're going to listen he described the murders as a brutal
execution and said ryan was a brutal cold-blooded murderer before sentencing him to two life
sentences with no possibility of parole most were pleased with this conclusion with the exception of gail and ryan's
mother dorothea she didn't believe her son was guilty she was overheard telling one investigator
i don't care what you say you're wrong [Music] ryan weingarten subsequently appealed
his conviction at three different courts including michigan's supreme court he lost all three appeals and remains
incarcerated pam has divorced him in december 2016 a former ottawa county sheriff
declared the murder of deborah wilson solved [Music] debra had been murdered in december 1987
and investigators had initially wondered whether her killing could be connected to the brink case
prior to reopening the brink investigation cold case detectives had been looking at
deborah's case they honed in on an acquaintance of deborah's who was connected to the
murder via some suspicious photographs unfortunately he died before he could be arrested and charged
but detectives remained certain he was responsible debra's family received a detailed
briefing about the suspect and the case is now closed the 1977 murder of deborah polinski
which was also looked at during the original brink investigation remains open detectives from the cold
case unit at the ottawa county sheriff's department continue to investigate the case
those who knew gail and rick brink have spoken of their sorrow at losing two wonderful people
in the television program a wedding and a murder a friend of rex described the double
homicide as a loss to their community and the future he was saddened that they never got the chance to be parents
saying i can't imagine anything but rick being the best dad in the world and i can't imagine gail being anyone
but the most fun mum in the world [Music] gail's sister cheryl says she thinks about
gail just about every day quote she'll flicker through my mind it's not always sad because she was
actually a very funny person and we had a great time together but you don't forget that's how you
keep their memory alive [Music] you

Case 175: Gail & Rick Brink

When newlyweds Gail and Rick Brink failed to show up to their respective jobs on the morning of November 23 1987, the alarm was immediately raised...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-175-gail-rick-brink

Brief Summary

Gail and Rick Brink were murdered in 1987; brother Ryan Weingarten was later convicted for the crime after a long investigation.

Key points

The Brink Murders. Gail and Rick Brink's idyllic life takes a dark turn when they are found dead.
The Investigation Begins. Police uncover a gruesome scene in the Brink home, raising questions about a double homicide.
A Community in Fear. The brutal murders leave the Holland community terrified and seeking answers.
Detectives Reopen the Case. In 2007, a new cult case unit is formed to investigate old crimes, including the Brink murders.
Ryan Weingarten's Confession. Ryan reveals a disturbing history with his sister Gail, claiming their relationship was consensual.
Pam's Alibi Unravels. Pam admits her alibi for Ryan on the night of the murders was false, raising suspicions.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

They were the nicest people in the world.

12:10WatchMay 15, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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