An Oil City man accused of killing his girlfriend in March at their Mineral Street home and then putting her body in a barrel was held for court Thursday.
Brandon Wells, 45, was bound over for further court proceedings following a three-hour preliminary hearing in Venango County Central Court. He is facing a homicide charge and several other charges in connection with the death of Brierlie Walters, 39.
Wells, who was dressed in orange prison clothes, sat very still next to his lawyers and showed little emotion during the hearing.
Several witnesses were called by District Attorney Shawn White to testify in the hearing before district judge Andrew Fish. Each witness was then cross examined by public defender Jeffrey Misko, sometimes at length.
White’s case focused on what he called the suspicious circumstances surrounding Walters’ death March 5 at their 12 Mineral St. residence.
County coroner Christina Rugh testified that an autopsy report she received in late April from Erie forensic pathologist Eric Vey determined the cause of death to be combined drug toxicity.
But White said the circumstances of Walters’ death were far more consistent with criminal activity than a drug overdose.
A number of substances, including psilocybin, kratom and alprazolam, among others, some of which were drugs that required a prescription, were found in Walters’ system according to the autopsy report, Rugh said.
Rugh testified that she had obtained medical records for Walters and none of the drugs found to be in her system when she died were on the list of medications she was taking.
Rugh said she examined Walters’ body a little after 9 p.m. on March 5 and concluded she had been dead approximately less than 12 hours. Rugh said “establishing an approximate time of death is not an exact science.”
Nector Vasquez, 60 of Oil City, who had known Wells for three or four years and worked under the table at his heating, air conditioning and plumbing business off and on during that time, testified about his interactions with Wells leading up to Walters’ death and Wells’ conduct the day Walters died.
Vasquez said in the months leading up to Walters’ death, Wells said to him on several occasions that he “needed to get rid of her” and that he wanted Walters “gone” and “dead” but he didn’t say why.
Vasquez said he knew Walters and Wells were together, but not married, and that they had two very young children, a boy “going on two” and a girl “going on one.”
“He (Wells) said he knew how to make mushroom tea and get really high. He wanted to overdose her. He said he would give her a lot of tea and mix some stuff in it,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez further testified that at some point Wells had talked to him about getting rid of a body using a barrel and acid.
“I knew something was up with the kids but I didn’t know what was really going on,” Vasquez said. “He told me Friday (March 4) he wanted to get rid of her. I said it’s not right to take a mother from her kids.”
At about 9 a.m. on March 5, Vasquez said, Wells tried to call him but he didn’t answer because he was sleepy and then Wells banged on the window of his home at 1132 East Second St., so he let him in.
As Wells entered the house, Vasquez said Wells said to him “Bree is done.”
Wells told him the kids were in the car and then asked him to help him bury Walters’ body, Vasquez testified. Vasquez said he refused.
Later in the day, around 3:30 or 4 p.m., Vasquez said Wells asked him to watch the kids for about an hour and he agreed.
When Wells brought the kids, Vasquez said Wells told him he was going to call the police and say there was a body in his house. After the children had been with him for more than two hours, Children and Youth Services came to pick them up, Vasquez said.
White noted that in the months leading up to Walters’ death, Wells had taken legal action against her trying to get primary custody of their two children and had tried unsuccessfully to evict Walters from their home in September 2021.
Wells also took the children with him to Idaho for a few weeks before being ordered to return to 12 Mineral at the end of January 2022 as part of the conciliation with the custody action, White said.
On Feb. 1, court documents show that the parties had been reconciled in the custody case, White said. Walters was dead about a month later, White noted.
Tom Schwab and Cory Ruditis, both officers with the Oil City Police Department, were called to testify. Schwab was the first officer on the scene at about 3:45 p.m. March 5, and Ruditis was the investigating officer in the case.
Schwab described the house, his brief interactions with Wells and finding Walters dead, head down, in a blue 55-gallon drum in the master bedroom in great detail. Ruditis testified in detail about the variety of drugs and drug paraphernalia found in the house.
Bret Bailor, a forensic scientist working at the state police drug identification lab, was also called to testify. He was part of the state police clandestine lab unit called to dismantle a suspected mushroom lab at the home early on March 6.
Bailor testified that more than two pounds of marijuana were found in the house along with many items indicating a mushroom growing operation. A large number of THC products labeled for sale and some hemp, which is legal, were also found, Bailor and Ruditis testified.
Though Bailor said he didn’t find any psychedelic mushrooms growing at 12 Mineral, he found many items and chemicals used to grow mushrooms as well as petri dishes, some with no labels and some labeled with various strains of psychedelic mushroom.
He said he also found numerous books about how to grow psychedelic mushrooms and some on how to grow marijuana.
Bailor testified, in response to questions from Misko, that it is his belief based on the labels on the petri dishes and the books that the type of mushrooms that were in the process of being grown were psychedelic mushrooms and not the legal, garden variety mushrooms people grow as a hobby.
Wells had also rented a room in Vasquez’s house, which had a lock on it that only Wells had the key to, Vasquez said. After Walters died, Vasquez said he opened the room and found dirt, a laptop and a small locked refrigerator, so he got rid of the dirt and called the police who came and collected the evidence.
Misko questioned much of the testimony from the witnesses, but Fish ruled the prosecution presented enough evidence to carry all the charges forward.
Wells has been charged with felony counts of criminal homicide and manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children, and misdemeanor counts of abuse of a corpse, possession of controlled substances and use/possession of drug paraphernalia.
White asked on Thursday that another count of attempt to manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver be added in connection to the mushroom growing operation found in the house.
After the hearing had been adjourned, Fish said to Walters’ family and friends in the courtroom, “I am sure this was a hard day for you. I appreciate that there were no outbursts. I wish each of you the best, my heart is with you.”
