Shelly Andre Brooks

Case record: Shelly Andre Brooks

Background

Shelly Andre Brooks was a homeless man whom authorities believed killed at least seven prostitutes between August 2001 and June 2006. Investigators said he may have killed another seven women, though no charges were filed in those deaths.

Brooks dropped out of high school by 11th grade. At the age of 14, Brooks’ mother left him with his maternal grandmother while she moved in with a boyfriend. Brooks served 60 days after he had been found carrying a concealed gun and, after his release, began living on the streets. Brooks later found jobs at restaurants and a laundromat but lost each one due to run-ins with co-workers. He remained in custody beginning July 30, in connection with a sexual assault of a prostitute.

A dispute arose at the time of the allegations: a man at Brooks’ former home on Garland Street who identified himself only as Brooks’ brother-in-law disputed the allegations and said Brooks “wasn’t like that.” He said Brooks’ mother was hospitalized in part because of the stress on the family over the accusations, and she could not be reached for comment.

The prosecutor described Brooks’ childhood as difficult and tied it to motive, saying Brooks’ mother, who no longer was alive, was a drug addict and that he was abused as a child. The remarks attributed to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy were:

“He really was killing his mother all over again,” Worthy said.

A further commentary quoted a person described as “a psychiatrist who has studied serial killers,” making points about functioning and “disorganized” patterns. The quoted statements and observations included:

“He never cried,” Carlisle said. “He never showed remorse.”
“We really do not believe that he would have stopped until he was caught,” Bully-Cummings said at a news conference.
“Two life sentences already, no parole, he's not getting out,” said Detroit Police Office Mike Carlisle, a homicide investigator who worked the serial killings. “Once again, we got a conviction against a serial killer.”
“That's one of the quickest verdicts I've ever had,” said Moran, who has been prosecuting for 13 years.
“We'll probably come back and make a decision on which other cases to try after he's been sentenced,” Moran said.
“It a relief that we got the first conviction out of the way,”
“This certainly clears the way for the rest of the trials coming up. It's a relief to the family of Pamela Greer, certainly, and we are going to continue to get that satisfaction for the rest of the families. It is a relief to have this predator of the streets.”

The offence

Authorities believed Brooks killed prostitutes in a series of attacks involving blunt-force trauma, rape, and beatings.

In June 2006, Brooks followed a routine of raping prostitutes and beating them with rocks or sticks and leaving them for dead. One victim survived the attack after slipping into a coma. She described her attacker as unusually tall and knew him as “E,” and the name was described as one of several Brooks used.

Police also said Brooks may have killed seven other prostitutes in addition to the seven deaths for which charges were filed, and those additional killings were described as “very similar.”

The victims were described as black prostitutes with a history of drug abuse; their ages ranged from 30 to 53. Their bodies were found on the city’s east side, some in buildings and others in vacant lots, and they were described as being raped and killed by blunt-force trauma. Bodies were reported to be found in abandoned buildings or vacant lots, with their clothes draped over nude bodies and their legs left in a spread-eagle position.

Brooks also faced charges connected to a woman who survived a rape and beating near Hickory and Linnhurst, where police said he sexually assaulted her and struck her with a brick. The woman described smoking crack cocaine with Brooks inside an abandoned garage before going to an abandoned house to smoke more crack, and she testified that Brooks then sexually assaulted her and struck her with a brick.

Victims named

Authorities identified the victims as:

• Sandra Davis, 53
• Pamela Greer, 33
• Marion Woods-Daniels, 36
• Rhonda Myles, 45
• Thelma Johnson, 30
• Melissa Toston, 38
• A seventh victim identified only as Jane Doe because her body was too decomposed to identify

The survival victim was the woman who survived the June 26 attack.

Investigation

Police connected Brooks to the slayings through DNA evidence and a confession, and authorities said DNA evidence connected him to many of the cases. In the June 2006 case, a surviving victim gave a description of her attacker and knew him as “E,” which led police to arrest Brooks when he entered an abandoned building in July 2006.

One statement attributed to investigators described the surviving victim’s description and police’s arrest trigger:

“Once again, we got a conviction against a serial killer.”

The investigation included information about forensic links to multiple cases and a confession that was described as including one slaying that police said they did not already know about.

Carlisle said Brooks admitted the crimes when confronted with DNA evidence that police said tied him to the slayings. Carlisle’s remarks included:

A describing quote attributed to Detective Chief Inspector Mike Carlisle also included:

Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings described the other killings as “very similar” and stated:

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran said DNA evidence and a confession gave prosecutors a strong case and that he expected additional decisions after sentencing:

“That's one of the quickest verdicts I've ever had,” Moran said.

Arrest

Brooks was arrested after police said he entered an abandoned building in July 2006, following the surviving victim’s description from June 2006 and her identification of him as “E.”

Brooks was in custody beginning July 30, being held in connection with the sexual assault of a prostitute, and he was to be arraigned later that Tuesday on the murder charges.

Brooks was held on $75,000 bond in connection with the July 26, 2006 attack from which a woman survived.

Trial

Brooks was convicted in the bludgeoning death of Rhonda Myles.

Conviction for Rhonda Myles

Wayne County jurors took only 30 minutes to convict Brooks of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of Rhonda Myles. The jury verdict was described as taking 30 minutes. Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran said DNA evidence and a confession gave prosecutors a strong case.

Rhonda Myles’ body was described as found in April 2002. Brooks’ sentencing date in that case was described as not immediately set.

Brooks testified that he had sex with several prostitutes but did not kill them. He also said in court that Detroit police officers threatened him into signing a confession that said he bludgeoned several prostitutes to death.

Brooks was convicted March 16, 2007 of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of Rhonda Myles, his second conviction in eight days, with sentencing later addressed separately.

Conviction for Pamela Greer

Brooks was convicted on March 7, 2007 of first-degree murder in the strangulation death of Pamela Greer, which was described as involving strangulation and rape. In one account, the jury deliberated for 10 hours before reaching the verdict. Another account described Brooks as convicted in the 2002 slaying of Pamela Greer, and that he faced mandatory life in prison with no chance of parole when sentenced March 22 in that case.

The record described that Pamela Greer’s body was found in April 2002. Greer was described as 33.

Carlisle stated the conviction cleared the way for other trials coming up, and that it was a relief to Pamela Greer’s family.

Brooks faced life in prison without parole for his murder convictions.

Sentencing

On March 27, 2007, Brooks was sentenced to life in prison without parole. A formality in Wayne Circuit Court was described as closing the case on Shelly Andre Brooks, a homeless man whom authorities believed killed at least seven prostitutes between August 2001 and June 2006.

The “serial killer of prostitutes” sentencing described that Brooks “gets another 25+ years” and stated that the formality closed the case, indicating the sentencing included another 25 to 50 years behind bars for raping and beating a prostitute who survived his usually deadly attacks. The surviving woman described being assaulted and struck with a brick.

A second sentencing reference described Brooks’ sentencing in the Greer case as occurring March 22, 2007, and another sentencing date as not set in the Myles case.

Appeals

No appeal outcome was described.

Outcome

Brooks was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2002 slaying of Rhonda Myles and convicted of first-degree murder in the 2002 slaying of Pamela Greer. He received life in prison without parole on March 27, 2007.

Authorities said he also faced rape and assault charges in the case of the surviving woman who was attacked in June 2006.

Aftermath

Prosecutors stated they would return to make decisions on which other cases to try after sentencing. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said authorities believed Brooks’ difficult childhood helped explain the motives in the killings, stating:

Timeline

• Aug. 31, 2001 — Sandra Davis, 53, was found at 9700 St. Paul.
• Jan. 22, 2002 — Pamela Greer, 33, was found in the same building as Davis.
• Apr. 14, 2002 — Marion Woods-Daniels, 36, was found at 4804 Crane.
• Apr. 22, 2002 — Rhonda Myles, 45, was found at 1382 Manistique.
• May 2002 — Police ticketed Brooks for entering a building without permission.
• Nov. 5, 2002 — Thelma Johnson, 30, was found at Mack and Holcomb.
• Oct. 18, 2005 — Melissa Toston, 38, was found at Chalmers and Flanders.
• June 5 — An unidentified woman’s body was found at 2646 Harding.
• June 26 — A woman survived a rape and beating near Hickory and Linnhurst.
• July 26, 2006 — A 45-year-old prostitute was attacked and left to die near Hickory and Linnhurst; she survived.
• July 30, 2006 — Brooks was in custody in connection with the sexual assault of a prostitute.
• March 7, 2007 — Brooks was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2002 strangulation death of Pamela Greer.
• March 16, 2007 — Wayne County jurors convicted Brooks of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of Rhonda Myles.
• March 27, 2007 — Brooks was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
• September 6, 2007 — Brooks was sentenced again, receiving an additional 25 to 50 years behind bars for raping and beating a prostitute who survived his attacks.

Other details

Brooks used multiple names, and the surviving victim knew him as “E.” Police said Brooks confessed to the slayings, including offering one they didn’t know about.

The case accounts described objects used for blunt-force trauma, including rocks or sticks, a brick, cement blocks, a table leg, and a garage door handle. The bodies were described as found in abandoned buildings or vacant fields and sometimes with clothes draped over nude bodies and legs left in a wide open or spread-eagle position.

Brooks was described as 38 in one account and as 37 in another. A psychiatrist was described in one narrative as commenting on serial killers’ ability to function on a more normal level than Brooks, and on Brooks’ homelessness and patterns of not creating separate scenes for contact, attack, and body disposal. This commentary stated:

“One of the hallmarks of the disorganized killer is that he does not create separate scenes for the intial contact, attack, and body disposal. In Brooks’ case, it would appear this held true, since he undoubtedly led them to the vacant buildings, killed them and left them there.”

Brooks’ alleged crimes included rape and beating of the surviving woman and first-degree murder charges in the slayings of five other prostitutes. He was described as having been charged with seven counts of premeditated murder and seven counts of felony murder, and he was described as facing mandatory life in prison without parole if convicted of any counts.

Detroit Police Office Mike Carlisle described the situation after conviction as “Two life sentences already, no parole, he's not getting out.” Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Moran described “That's one of the quickest verdicts I've ever had” in connection with the verdict timing for Myles’ case.