In the late summer of 2021, the community of Alpena, Michigan, was shaken by the disappearance of 17-year-old Brynn Bills. The young female was last seen in the early days of August, a time that should have been filled with the excitement of her impending 18th birthday. Instead, a grim silence followed her last known moments, sparking a desperate search that would unravel a dark and tragic story.
The search came to a devastating end on September 28, 2021, when police, acting on a tip, unearthed her remains buried in the backyard of a home in Alpena Township. An autopsy would later reveal that she had been strangled to death.
The investigation into Brynn's death soon revealed a wider and more sinister plot, leading authorities to two local men, Brad Srebnik and Joshua Wirgau. The property where Brynn's body was discovered belonged to Wirgau. As investigators delved deeper, they uncovered a second murder, that of 31-year-old Abby Hill, who was the last person, other than the suspects, to have seen Brynn alive. Prosecutors alleged that Srebnik murdered Brynn in early August 2021. With the assistance of Wirgau and Hill, her body was then buried in Wirgau's yard. Fearing that Hill would expose his crime, Srebnik took her to a remote wooded area on September 25, 2021, and fatally shot her in the head. Her body was discovered on October 15, 2021, after Wirgau led police to the location.
The ensuing legal proceedings brought the horrific details of the case to light. Brad Srebnik, then 36, was charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder for the deaths of both Brynn Bills and Abby Hill, along with charges of disinterment and mutilation of a body and weapons offenses. Joshua Wirgau, 35 at the time, faced charges including premeditated murder in Hill's death, disinterment and mutilation of a body, and being an accessory after the fact. In a pivotal turn of events, Wirgau entered into a plea agreement, pleading guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his testimony against Srebnik. Wirgau's testimony was crucial in the prosecution's case, as he detailed Srebnik's confession to strangling Brynn and described witnessing him shoot Abby Hill.
In February 2024, a jury found Brad Srebnik guilty on all counts, including two counts of first-degree premeditated homicide. The conviction carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the sentencing, the court heard emotional impact statements from the families of the victims, who spoke of their profound loss and the senseless violence that had stolen their loved ones. Joshua Wirgau, as part of his plea deal, faced a sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison for his role in the crimes. The case left a lasting scar on the Alpena community, a tragic story of two young women whose lives were brutally cut short.
