GUILTY NE - Michael Brinkman, 50, murdered in his Omaha home, 23 Dec 2016

[annamolly]

If indeed that is what happened, the audacity is stunning. It would seem so obvious, any rational person would have to think they'd get caught. I wonder if LE is checking out his son's connections?

I am curious about the son also. What kind of relationship did they have? In my years of following crimes I have unfortunately read way too many where a teen child thinks they can outsmart the police and get away with something like this. I certainly hope that was not the case this time. I really would like to believe this was not set up by anyone he loved and trusted, but my gut tells me otherwise.

 

[annamolly]

Local news stated tonight police have narrowed down the vehicle model even further. They also stressed that police do not believe the public needs to be scared of more attacks, but police were asking for help and tips to find the killers.
I was thinking about this today and wondering if it could have been an intended intrusion gone wrong. I found a picture of him w who I presume was his girlfriend and child, and it made me quite sad. I want to believe they are innocent. I wondered if a local criminal caught wind he was well off/had xyz and thought they could rob him. Perhaps they thought no one was home and panicked. Perhaps he answered and then someone else came up behind him seeing who was at the door and the killers panicked and shot. I guess I am grasping at straws maybe. I just was trying to think of other possibilities that didn't frame his loved ones negatively.
It sounds like he was pretty active in the community and pretty social. A lot of people could have known he was selling that business and someone could have unintentionally passed that info onto the wrong ears. I know a few people in nicer areas of town that have said criminals knock on doors checking for someone home to commit burglaries. A year or 2 back a man killed an intruder doing that very thing. While this one rings of it being a hit, I am trying to think of all possibilities. Regardless, I listen everyday hoping to hear an arrest was made.

 

[SeesSeas]

Not much new news, but found these articles:

http://www.wowt.com/content/news/Police-hunting-suspects-in-metro-homicide-408626325.html
Updated: Wed 2:53 PM, Jan 04, 2017
The suspects' vehicle has been identified as a newer model Dodge Durango. . .

http://kfab.iheart.com/articles/111...omaha-police-seeking-help-in-recent-15438180/
Detective Ryan Davis says they have very few leads and is hoping someone who may have information will come forward. Surveillance photos show a white, newer model Dodge Durango they believe was used by the suspects.
"We're looking into whether this was random or if it was targeted," detective Ryan Davis says.

 

[SeesSeas]

http://www.kmtv.com/news/local-news/police-closer-to-murder-suspect-suv-need-tips
Police closer to murder suspect SUV, need tips
5:34 PM, Jan 4, 2017
Omaha, NE (KMTV) -- - Police need your help identifying the suspects involved in a murder the night before Christmas Eve.
Detectives say they're waiting for evidence testing to be finished, and are closing in on the suspect's vehicle. […]
Surveillance photos show the SUV the suspects reportedly fled in. Police have narrowed it down to a 2015-16 White Dodge Durango SXT with the Rally Package.

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/oma...cle_3895b196-d2d4-11e6-ab02-1f06302573ed.html
Omaha police hope tips, lab tests will help them solve Millard homicide
January 5, 2017
[…]Detective Larry Cahill said Wednesday that the homicide unit has not determined whether the robbery was a targeted one. […]
Cahill said the Durango is from 2015 or early 2016 with a Rally package that gives the SUV a sport look. […]
Cahill said police have sent evidence from the scene to labs for forensic, DNA and ballistics testing.
“I’m fairly confident that we’ll be able to get some decent information out of those results,” Cahill said. “We’ve got plenty of information that we’re following up and working on.” […]

 

[Elainera]

[…]Detective Larry Cahill said Wednesday that the homicide unit has not determined whether the robbery was a targeted one. […]

snipped and bbm

Was that a typo or did the take something as well? I did not hear they stole anything, just shot MB and ran.

 

[SeesSeas]

snipped and bbm

Was that a typo or did the take something as well? I did not hear they stole anything, just shot MB and ran.

Here is the news reporting about a ‘robbery’:
http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/oma...cle_3895b196-d2d4-11e6-ab02-1f06302573ed.html
Michael Brinkman, 50, was fatally shot on Dec. 23 in his Millard home during what police say was an attempted robbery.
Detective Larry Cahill said Wednesday that the homicide unit has not determined whether the robbery was a targeted one. He said he can’t yet confirm whether the two men who were at the house at the time took anything before they fled.

 

[Elainera]

Ah thank you! I totally missed that they called it an attempted robbery. Or is this new information?

 

[AmandaSkis]

His wife/gf said that the assailants put a gun to her head and took her phone. That right there is enough to call it a robbery (for now).

http://www.ketv.com/article/prayer-walk-held-monday-for-homicide-victim/8536759

 

[lmadler]

I agree about how the photos of the car should have been made available much sooner. I feel like a better lead would have been generated.

I searched local marriage licenses and there was no match for him w anyone named Kim. So that has me thinking maybe she was referred to as his wife, but legally was not. Curious if he had a will. I would have to think so if he was looking at that much money. This is so sad for him. I hope justice is swift.

Kimberly Michelle?

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[lmadler]

Crime can happen like that in Omaha. Had a friend taxi driver shot at 4pm in heavy slow moving traffic right in front of everyone. Lot of gang activity.

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[annamolly]

Kimberly Michelle?

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His first wife was Michelle. She has been quoted in news articles. His current gf was Kimberly and according to what the news has now stated in above mentioned articles she was not his wife, but a long-time girlfriend and mother of their 16 year old son.

Starting to think this was not a hit set up by family. Curious why the police seem so confident no one else should be fearful of a repeat though. Hope we get some good news in the next week. He deserves justice.

 

[Audrey Horne]

Thanks for sorting that out but I think most of us are still confused. Local media has done little to clarify. The female present at the time is still being referred to as his 'girlfriend' by some local media. Whomever she is, she is a person of interest.

Not a coincidence that this happened right after he sold his business and presumably before any proceeds were dispersed.

IMO he was betrayed by someone close to him for the money. All the comments about him focus on how nice he was- perhaps too much for his own good. He probably never saw this coming.

RSBBM

I can't find this information anywhere. Is this a fact?

Really terrifying story. Poor man.

 

[Snick1946]

RSBBM

I can't find this information anywhere. Is this a fact?

Really terrifying story. Poor man.

Is what a fact? That she is a 'person of interest'?

If we are looking at this to mean for the purposes of discussion, then yes I would think she would be. That does not mean nor did I mean to suggest there was any hard evidence being looked at to implicate her.

FWIW I am starting to lean away from this as a hit to get his money; it may well have been what it appeared at first to have been- a robbery. But.. why him specifically?

 

[annamolly]

I am trying to determine if it was random or if someone hadn't caught wind he sold his business for so much money and figured he must have plenty of things they could steal/rob him of if he was able to sell for so much. I am thinking now it was intended to be a theft and someone panicked or got pissed at him during and shot him.

News said he was found in a bedroom and the son nor gf witnessed him being shot. So they didn't shoot him in the doorway like previously rumored. Makes me think the killers thought he had something and singled him out to go get xyz and maybe he insisted he didn't have what they wanted so they killed him and took off. All speculation, but trying to run different scenarios of what could have happened. He sounded so kind. It really digs at me to think people could be so cruel, even though I know they can.

 

[lmadler]

I am trying to determine if it was random or if someone hadn't caught wind he sold his business for so much money and figured he must have plenty of things they could steal/rob him of if he was able to sell for so much. I am thinking now it was intended to be a theft and someone panicked or got pissed at him during and shot him.

News said he was found in a bedroom and the son nor gf witnessed him being shot. So they didn't shoot him in the doorway like previously rumored. Makes me think the killers thought he had something and singled him out to go get xyz and maybe he insisted he didn't have what they wanted so they killed him and took off. All speculation, but trying to run different scenarios of what could have happened. He sounded so kind. It really digs at me to think people could be so cruel, even though I know they can.

Drug related?

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[SeesSeas]

Where is the Dodge Durango?

Surveillance photos of the SUV the suspects reportedly fled in. Police have narrowed it down to a 2015-16 White Dodge Durango SXT with the Rally Package.
http://www.kmtv.com/news/local-news/police-closer-to-murder-suspect-suv-need-tips

License plate is visible in one photo, but is maybe not legible.
Dodge Durango sales in U.S. are approximately 64,000 in 2015 and 63,000 in 2016.
How many are white?
How many are the “Rallye” package?
How many are registered in Nebraska and in nearby states of Iowa, Kansas and Missouri?
Surely, LE would have narrowed this down to a thousand or so vehicles.
If they can read the license plate on that surveillance image, they know the vehicle.
If not, they should be reviewing all databases for 2015/16 white Dodge Durangos with the Rallye package registered in Nebraska and states adjacent to Omaha.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Durango#Total_American_sales
Total American sales
Dodge Durango sales
Calendar Year US Sales
2015 64,186
2016 62,895

 

[annamolly]

Drugs were not my first thought. Doesn't seem very probable w what everyone has said about him. I know anything is possible, but that seems low to me. I still think the business sale is possible motivation. Maybe someone caught wind and figured he was likely to have something worth stealing. I have even wondered if he had a safe w money.

The durango seems a moot point to me. I bet it was either stolen or had stolen plates.

Was an approximate age ever given for them? I know they wore masks, but I thought maybe a witness could tell if we were dealing w say teens vs older men. I know the police say the public doesn't need to be worried about further attacks, so that has me thinking they have some evidence he was targeted.

 

[SeesSeas]

LE doesn’t think the Dodge Durango is a moot point. They’ve released photos of the Durango and have requested assistance from the public.
If the vehicle was stolen, it would likely have been reported stolen. This would provide LE with something to follow up on whereby they could look for surveillance video in the vicinity of where the vehicle was stolen which could lead to a perp description.

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/oma...cle_3895b196-d2d4-11e6-ab02-1f06302573ed.html
Omaha police hope tips, lab tests will help them solve Millard homicide
Jan 5, 2017
[…]
People with information that leads to an arrest could receive a reward of up to $25,000.
“We’re hoping someone can give us a jump on things and provide us with the information leading to these suspects,” he said.
Anyone with information about the crime should call the homicide unit at 402-444-5656 or Crime Stoppers at 402-444-7867.

 

[annamolly]

I know LE is focused on the durango but if these guys drove up in their own car to commit a burglary/robbery/murder (whatever their intention) they are a special kind of stupid. I hope that leads them to someone, but I am just worried LE could be putting too many eggs in that basket as the key. The vehicle could very well be from out of state too, and not just a surrounding state. 64,000 approx. durangos is a lot of sifting. This could take awhile unfortunately.

I have no doubt someone knows who and what went down, but it may be a bit before that person gets him/herself in a fix and wants to talk. I will keep thinking of his loved ones and hoping they get the peace they deserve soon.

 

[Babbakins]

I am curious about the son also. What kind of relationship did they have? In my years of following crimes I have unfortunately read way too many where a teen child thinks they can outsmart the police and get away with something like this. I certainly hope that was not the case this time. I really would like to believe this was not set up by anyone he loved and trusted, but my gut tells me otherwise.

This is the same thing I thought...sounds like the family want their inheritance early [emoji35]

RIP Michael [emoji257]


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