Ryan Wyngarden is a Michigan man serving life without parole for the 1987 shooting deaths of his younger sister, Gail Brink, and her husband, Rick Brink, in Park Township. The double homicide went unsolved for more than a quarter century until a cold case team reopened the file, and Wyngarden’s wife told detectives in January 2013 that he had confessed to her the day after the killings. An Ottawa County jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in March 2014.
The 1987 Murders
Rick Brink, 28, and Gail Brink, 22, had been married roughly 18 months when they were killed on the night of November 21, 1987. Their bodies were found two days later at their home at 14947 Ransom Avenue, about 35 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.1Holland Sentinel. Ryan Mark Wyngarden Set For
Rick was inside his Chevy Blazer in the driveway, shot twice in the left side of the head. A forensic pathologist later testified that blood patterns on the steering wheel indicated the body had been repositioned after the shooting.2MLive. Rick Brink’s Body Likely Moved Gail was on the couple’s waterbed inside the house, shot three times in the head. Investigators recovered no shell casings, no bullets, and no weapon. More than $500 in cash was left in plain view in the bedroom and kitchen, which led prosecutors to rule out robbery.
Why the Case Went Cold
The original investigation stalled quickly. There were no fingerprints tying a suspect to the scene and no witnesses. Ryan Wyngarden, Gail’s older brother, was questioned in 1987, and his then-girlfriend Pam Maracchini gave him an alibi, telling investigators the couple had been doing laundry at a friend’s house that night. Detectives accepted the account and the file went dormant.3Holland Sentinel. The Confession That Brought Down
A crucial detail sat in the paperwork unnoticed: in a 1988 follow-up interview, Pam had recanted the alibi. The recantation was never properly pursued, and the records went into storage.4FOX 17. Justice for Newlywed Couple Shot to Death in ’87 — How Detectives Cracked the Case
The Cold Case Reopens
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office formed a cold case team in 2009, and in 2011 assigned Detectives Venus Repper and David Blakely to work the Brink murders full time.5MLive. Cold-Case Effort Focuses on 1987 Murders Over two years they digitized aging paper files, reassembled torn documents, and conducted more than 200 interviews across several states. Repper found the overlooked 1988 recantation by Pam, who was by then Ryan’s wife and the mother of their three children.
Family members who had stayed quiet for years began to talk. Relatives told detectives that Ryan had made unsettling remarks after the killings, including asking at the funeral whether people thought he could have done it and later telling a sister, “Sometimes I wonder if I could’ve done this.”6Justia. People v. Wyngarden, No. 321736
In September 2012 detectives interviewed Ryan and Pam Wyngarden separately, and their accounts diverged. During a three-hour interview on October 1, 2012, Pam admitted the 1987 alibi was false but did not implicate her husband, saying she feared getting in trouble for having stayed silent.7GovInfo. Wyngarden v. Chapman, Case No. 2:18-cv-13390 Detectives spoke with her again on January 15, 2013. She still held back.
Three days later, on January 18, 2013, she told them the rest. She said Ryan had confessed to her on November 22, 1987, the day before the bodies were officially found, and had taken her to the scene, shown her the victims, and threatened her: “If you go to the police or tell anybody what I did here, this could happen to you.”8Holland Sentinel. Ryan Wyngarden Trial: Wife Says She told detectives it was “time for me to lift the burden off my shoulders.” Ryan Wyngarden was arrested that same day.
The Prosecution’s Motive Theory
Ottawa County Prosecuting Attorney Lee Fisher argued Wyngarden killed the couple out of jealousy and to keep a secret buried. Prosecutors alleged he had molested Gail when they were teenagers and feared she would tell Rick.9Holland Sentinel. Prosecution Says Molestation Was Motive Fisher called the sexual contact molestation rather than mutual experimentation, noting Wyngarden had told police the encounters involved penetration. Prosecutors also cited statements Wyngarden allegedly made to another sister about wanting to apologize to Gail because “he felt like he raped her.”10MLive. Ryan Wyngarden Grilled by Prosecutors A secondary motive involved a dispute over a camper on the Brinks’ property and broader resentment of the couple’s happiness.
The Trial
Wyngarden’s trial ran 12 days in March 2014 in Ottawa County Circuit Court before Judge Jon Hulsing.11Holland Sentinel. Finally, There’s Justice
Key Prosecution Witnesses
Pam Wyngarden was the central witness. She walked jurors through her husband’s 1987 confession, described being brought to the crime scene, and admitted the alibi she had given for 26 years was a lie. Fisher told the jury she “had a chance to right a wrong and she did it, at the risk of great cost to her.”12MLive. Crux of the Case Is Pam Wyngarden
Family members filled in around her account. Wyngarden’s aunt Narva Champlin testified that he expressed anger toward Gail over family living arrangements. His sister Cheryl told jurors he had said, “You know, sometimes I wonder if I couldn’t have done this.” A former girlfriend, Crystal Beelen, testified he had previously admitted the sexual relationship with Gail. His stepson Nathan Maracchini said Wyngarden showed up at his home intoxicated after the cold case reopened, acknowledged the sexual history with Gail, and said he wished detectives would find the real killers.13FOX 17. Inmate, Stepson Testify in Double Murder Cold Case Trial A friend, Jim Meacham, testified that Wyngarden mentioned Gail was dead about five hours before the bodies were officially found.
Prosecutors also called Daryl Cain, a jailhouse informant who said Wyngarden confessed to the murders while both were in the Ottawa County Jail. Cain testified that Wyngarden wrote “I did kill them” on his palm and mimicked shooting motions. Cain was facing three counts of criminal sexual conduct at the time, one carrying a mandatory 25-year minimum. In exchange for his testimony, prosecutors dismissed two counts, eliminating the mandatory minimum, and gave him a three-year reduction on his remaining sentence.14Holland Sentinel. Jailhouse Inmate Says Wyngarden Admitted Cain acknowledged having worked as an informant three or four times before.
The Defense
Wyngarden testified in his own defense. He denied the killings and offered alternative theories: that a motorcycle gang had intended to target the previous owner of the Ransom Avenue home, or that Gail’s employer was involved because she had discovered financial irregularities at work.7GovInfo. Wyngarden v. Chapman, Case No. 2:18-cv-13390
He acknowledged three sexual encounters with Gail as teenagers but called them consensual “teenager stuff” and claimed he had not initiated some of them. Pressed by prosecutors on why he had been evasive about the subject earlier, he conceded he “did not want the sex episodes known,” and added, “I wouldn’t have killed my sister over this.”10MLive. Ryan Wyngarden Grilled by Prosecutors
Defense attorney David Hall argued Pam Wyngarden’s testimony was the product of coercive interrogation and had been fabricated. He attacked Cain’s credibility by pointing to inconsistencies: Cain claimed Wyngarden described using a bolt-action rifle, while investigators believed the weapon was a revolver, and Cain’s account of the number of shots did not match the forensic evidence.14Holland Sentinel. Jailhouse Inmate Says Wyngarden Admitted The defense also called Dr. Deborah Davis, a psychologist, to testify about memory and how suggestive questioning can distort recollection. The trial court limited her testimony, barring her from discussing the specific techniques used on Pam Wyngarden or referring to the interrogation videotapes.6Justia. People v. Wyngarden, No. 321736
Verdict
On March 28, 2014, after roughly four and a half hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Wyngarden on both counts of first-degree premeditated murder.11Holland Sentinel. Finally, There’s Justice
Sentencing
On April 21, 2014, Judge Hulsing imposed the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Michigan: two concurrent terms of life without parole. Wyngarden used the hearing to deliver an hour-long statement asserting his innocence, accusing investigators of having “mentally raped” his wife into testifying, and calling the judge “unjust” and a “liar.” At one point he told Hulsing, “You’re lying now, you are flat out lying.”15CBS News. Report: Murder Convict Calls Judge a Liar at Sentencing
Hulsing threatened to have deputies duct tape Wyngarden’s mouth shut if he kept interrupting. When the judge finally spoke, he told him: “This was a brutal homicide. You are a brutal, cold-blooded murderer. There is only one sentence that is appropriate for a cold-blooded murderer who kills two people.”16HuffPost. Ryan Wyngarden Bound, Gagged at Sentencing Pam Wyngarden filed for divorce that April, shortly after testifying.17MLive. After Implicating Husband in 1987 Murders
Appeals
Wyngarden’s appeals have been denied at every level. On August 11, 2015, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions in an unpublished opinion, upholding the trial judge’s limits on Dr. Davis’s expert testimony on the ground that the precedent allowing expert testimony on false confessions did not apply because Pam Wyngarden had made an accusation against her husband rather than a confession against herself.18CBS News Detroit. Convictions Stand for Man in 1987 Murders of Sister, Her Husband The appellate court also upheld the admission of evidence about the sibling sexual relationship and the exclusion of Wyngarden’s own interview tapes.6Justia. People v. Wyngarden, No. 321736
The Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2016. Wyngarden then filed a motion for relief from judgment in Ottawa County Circuit Court, which was denied on May 2, 2017. Both the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal that ruling, the state high court in 2018.19MLive. Supreme Court Rejects Appeal
He then sought federal habeas review in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, raising eight claims that included prosecutorial misconduct, denial of his right to confront witnesses, improper admission of motive evidence, ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel, cumulative error, exclusion of expert testimony, and insufficiency of the evidence. On April 2, 2019, U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow denied the petition with prejudice, finding the state courts’ rulings were neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of established federal law. Tarnow granted a certificate of appealability, allowing Wyngarden to seek review by the Sixth Circuit.7GovInfo. Wyngarden v. Chapman, Case No. 2:18-cv-13390 He remains incarcerated in the Michigan prison system.