She Deserved Better: A Shocking True Crime Story of a Craigslist Killer: A Shocking True Crime Story

By Rod Kackley

Brooke was willing to do anything to keep her family together, even if it meant selling herself online. That's why she hooked up with a john on Craigslist. That's what killed her family.

Her boyfriend Charles and their unborn baby, Audi Lynn, meant everything to Brooke. She was the kind of person who talked friends out of committing suicide. Brooke stood by them when no one else seemed to care. She was also willing to do whatever Charles wanted her to do and whatever it took to raise the money needed to keep her little family together.

All she asked for was $50. "Hard Mike" offered $120. How could Brooke turn that down? Besides, Charles would be there for protection. What could go wrong?

She Deserved Better: A Craigslist Killer is a Shocking True Crime Story that is a tragic, heartbreaking, gripping story of an eighteen-year-old woman, eight months pregnant, who was ready to sacrifice everything for her family. It's also the story of a thirty-one-year-old man who lived alone after being dumped by his fiancee. He had nothing but his computer and his fantasies.

She Deserved Better: A Craigslist Killer is also a Shocking True Crime Story that should serve as a wakeup call to anyone meeting strangers online for casual sex. The moral of this story is you never know what you're going to get online. STDs might be the least of your worries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rod Kackley
• Release date: Sep 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386660842

Rod Kackley

Rod Kackley is a journalist and author who writes most of his books armed with a MacBook, a blueberry muffin, and a Grande cup of Starbucks coffee at the Barnes & Noble store in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Special thanks to everyone at B&N who keeps the Starbucks hot and the muffins warm!

Book preview

One

JULY 16, 2014

The only thing unusual about a house in Wyoming, Michigan this warm summer evening was the two police detectives who were sitting in a car parked outside. In addition to their police-issued weapons, they were carrying an arrest warrant for the man they thought was inside the house.

Police found a headless body a few hours before. It was the lifeless remains of Charles Gerard Oppenneer. The corpse had been discovered in a wooded area off Gezon Park on the southwest side of the Grand Rapids suburb.

What also made this one-story, brick ranch house, circa 1960, different as far as the Wyoming Police Department and Kent County, Michigan prosecutors were concerned was the man inside, Brady Oestrike. Detectives gathered enough evidence to charge Oestrike with the Oppenneer murder. Investigators also want to talk to Oestrike about the disappearance of Oppenneer's girlfriend, an eighteen-year-old, who was eight months pregnant, Brooke Ann Slocum. Her family reported her missing five days before officers showed up to knock on Oestrike's home armed with a warrant and high-powered weapons.

Cops being cops, the detectives outside Oestrike's house are prepared for the worst. Let's face it. Anyone who chops off the head of a twenty-five-year-old man and leaves the corpse behind isn't going to worry about opening fire on law enforcement officers. Since Brooke had last been seen with her boyfriend, Charles, it was a safe bet that Brady knew something about her whereabouts. Given all of that, why wouldn't Brady be willing to fight? What's he got to lose? Why would he even think about surrendering?

Here’s a surprise. Just as the Wyoming police detectives are ready to move; Brady walks out of the house. He'd seen them and decided to move first. Brady sneaks furtive glances at the police and marches to his compact car parked in the driveway. He slides behind the steering wheel, and as smoothly as possible, considering Brady's incredibly high state of anxiety, he puts the key in