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. The couple’s bodies were discovered at the ranch house they had only just purchased. Both had been shot multiple times in the head, execution-style. The slayings shocked the quiet community of Holland, Michigan, and everyone had a theory as to what might have happened.
Did it have something to do with the home they’d bought for an unexpectedly low price? Was it a case of mistaken identity? Or was there a serial killer on the prowl? It would take more than two decades for the shocking truth to emerge.
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research & writing – Erin Munro
Creative direction – Milly Raso
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Music – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
RESOURCES
DOCUMENTS
People of the State of Michigan v. Ryan Mark Wyngarden
NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES
Clues sought in double slaying – Lansing State Journal
Few clues in slaying of Holland pair – The Herald-Palladium
Police have no suspects in Holland-area slaying – Grand Rapids Press
Holland-area double murder gets new look after 24 years – The Herald-Palladium
Brother charged with couple’s murder in 1987 – The Herald-Palladium
ARTICLES
Detroit motorcycle gang behind murder of Gail and Rick Brink? – MLive
Justice for newlywed couple shot to death in ’87 – Fox 17
Ryan Wyngarden’s trial begins in cold case killing of his sister, brother-in-law – MLive
Ryan Wyngarden grilled by prosecutor over sex episodes with sister – MLive
Man murders sister, her husband, to cover up incestuous relationship – Oxygen
Witnesses describe Gail and Rick Brink’s last day alive – The Holland Sentinel
File from victim’s workplace focus of testimony – The Holland Sentinel
Sister: Ryan Wyngarden said, ‘I wonder if I could have done this’ about murders – The Holland Sentinel
Defense highlights discrepancies in Pam Wyngarden’s accounts to police – The Holland Sentinel
Defendant take stand, has trouble directly answering questions – The Holland Sentinel
Wyngarden murder trial: Defense tries to discredit key witness – The Holland Sentinel
Wyngarden defense open with talk of motorcycle gangs, drugs, violence – The Holland Sentinel
Ryan Wyngarden talked about having sex with his sister – MLive
Defendant’s wife called back to stand as defense questions her testimony – The Holland Sentinel
Ryan Wyngarden tears up on stand as he denies killing sister, brother-in-law in 1987 – MLive
Michigan man on trial for murder of sister and her husband – New York Daily News
‘Finally there’s justice’: Wyngarden convicted of 1987 killings – The Holland Sentinel
The confession that brought down a killer – The Holland Sentinel
Man, 52… weeps as he is dealt two life sentences – The Daily Mail
‘A brutal execution’: Ryan Wyngarden sentenced in 1987 killings of sister, brother-in-law – MLive
Jealousy, incest alleged motives for Brinks’ murders – The Holland Sentinel
DOCUMENTARIES
A Wedding and a Murder, Season 1 Episode 3
WEBSITES
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