Crime spree suspects could be connected to three deaths in Bethalto, victims identified
Two suspects in a multi-state crime spree may be connected to the deaths of three people in Bethalto.
The Major Case Squad of Great St. Louis activated on Friday after three bodies were found inside a home on the 300 block of Mill Street in Bethalto.
The Bethalto Police Department received a request from the Hazelwood Police Department in Missouri for a welfare check at the home, according to a statement from Lt. Brian Koberna, deputy commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis.
In the home, officers found three deceased individuals inside the residence, Koberna said.
Police said the victims are Shari Yates, 59, her son Andrew Brooks, 30, and John McMillian, 32. Yates and her son lived at the residence and McMillian lived in the area.
Multiple investigators from the Major Case Squad are working the investigation and police say the investigation is in its early stages. However, KMOV reported that two individuals that had been arrested recently by the Hazelwood Police Department may be connected to the homicides in Bethalto.
Police told KMOV officers from Clarksville, Tennessee, believed two people wanted in connection to a kidnapping and aggravated assault may have been hiding in a hotel in Hazelwood and that the same pair had warrants for capital murder in Alabama and aggravated assault in Tennessee.
The two suspects are 41-year-old Brady Witcher of Alabama and 28-year-old Brittany McMillan from Tennessee.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that Koberna said it’s too early to say for sure if the pair are directly connected to the victims. The two, however, are believed to have been on a multi-state crime spree over the past months that’s included kidnapping, shoplifting and a reported case of the pair holding a married couple hostage.
Madison County Coroner Stephen Nonn said Friday his office is involved in the investigation in Bethalto but said his office could not comment on that matter.
Witcher and McMillan were two of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted suspects, according to its Twitter page.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis at 618-377-5266.
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 10:04 AM.