A 45-year-old man has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of a Stark County couple, and investigators say the same man is a suspect in the slayings of a mother and her two daughters found dead over the weekend in the Cleveland suburb of North Royalton.
So far, investigators have found no connection between the two families killed other than the suspect — George C. Brinkman Jr., whose permanent address was not immediately available.
Brinkman was taken into custody early Tuesday after investigators followed clues in three Northeast Ohio counties — Cuyahoga, Stark and Medina — that ultimately led them to a house in Brunswick where Brinkman was reportedly holed up with a bottle of booze and a handgun.
The spree of violence appears to have started sometime over the weekend in North Royalton, where a real estate appraiser, Suzanne Taylor, 45, and her two daughters Taylor Pifer, 21, and Kylie Pifer, 18, were found dead in a rental house where they lived. A boyfriend of one of the daughters discovered their bodies.
It’s unclear why, but North Royalton investigators quickly zeroed in on Brinkman, who had remained friends with Taylor since grade school, a friend of Taylor’s said. North Royalton police reached out to the Stark County Sheriff’s Department sometime Sunday or Monday trying to find Brinkman at two addresses, Sheriff George T. Maier said.
Brinkman sometimes stayed in the North Canton area, but deputies didn’t find him or any trail leading to him until they received a 911 call just after 4 p.m. Monday.
The son of Rogell Eugene John II, 71, found his father and Rogell’s wife, Roberta Ray John, 64, dead at their split-level home in a quiet development in Lake Township just outside of North Canton.
Brinkman had been house-sitting the couple’s home in the 1300 block of Mount Pleasant Road while they were on vacation. He had known the family for years, the sheriff said, and dated Rogell John’s daughter in years past.
The Johns were scheduled to arrive home Sunday night and his son, Jason John, who lives in Mount Vernon, couldn’t reach them at home or at work Monday. Rogell John, who went by “Gene,” managed a warehouse for his son and Brinkman worked there, too, the sheriff said.
After he got off work Monday, Jason John went to the Johns’ house to make sure they were OK. Inside, Jason John found the family dog, apparently unharmed and barking. He noticed the dog had defecated in the house, which was unusual, the sheriff said, and Jason John started looking through rooms of the house.
When he reached the master bedroom, Jason John noticed the door handle was missing or broken off, the sheriff said.
Jason John pushed open the door and found Roberta John in bed, her body covered by sheets, except for one of her legs, which was hanging off the bed. Rogell John was on the floor.
Both were shot dead.
Investigators Tuesday were waiting for an autopsy report before stating a cause of death for the Johns, but said the couple were killed sometime Sunday evening or Monday.
Hours after Jason John called 911, the hunt for Brinkman ended.
Investigators found him in Brunswick, armed with a handgun, in a house in the 3300 block of Valley Forge Drive about 9 p.m. A woman who lived at the home was able to escape as Brinkman barricaded himself inside during an overnight negotiation with police.
Officers finally took Brinkman into custody about 6 a.m. after stunning him with a Taser.
Sheriff Maier said Brinkman was being held Tuesday afternoon by North Royalton police.
Authorities have not released a motive for the killing spree.
Brinkman served prison time for multiple convictions for forgery, receiving stolen property and other crimes in the 1990s, according to Cuyahoga County court records.
But he was never charged with any crime involving violence in Stark or Cuyahoga counties, court records show.
Correspondent George Davis contributed to this story. Amanda Garrett can be reached at 330-996-3725 or agarrett@thebeaconjournal.com