The brother of Michelle Min, the wife of fashion CEO Bryan Walker, claimed her deranged husband carried out a murder-suicide after a series of risky decisions led to him falling into financial ruin.
asserted
him → claim → ruin
Paul Min, 58, exclusively told The California Post that the “extremely wealthy” couple had no problems in their marriage — before Oakland police found them dead on a turf terrace attached to their home in the hills near UC Berkeley on Friday.
asserted
police → tell → Friday
But Walker, who stood to the side as his wife controlled their mutual business and women’s fashion company Bryn Walker, had suffered extensive mental anguish in the months before the couple’s death.
asserted
wife → stand → death
Paul said Walker went behind the family’s back to take out loans against their properties, gambled on risky options and leveraged positions, and fell into immense debt for no clear reason.
asserted
Walker → say → reason
He had not worked for some time, but the couple agreed he could “play” around with some of their wealth.
uncertain
he → work → wealth
But he went well out of control.
asserted
he → go → control
By the time the dust cleared in mid-September, Walker believed he had lost “well over $100 million,” Paul said.
asserted
Paul → clear → million
The loss sent him into a spiral about the possibilities of where their family could be headed.
uncertain
family → send → possibilities
Walker went into a state of mental incapacitation, and “we feared he was suicidal,” Paul recounted.
asserted
Paul → go → incapacitation
“He just curled up into a ball, and he was just sobbing like a baby for weeks on end.
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he → curl → end
He was just completely useless,” Paul said.
asserted
Paul → say → ?
Her family told The Post, she was determined to salvage the situation.
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she → tell → situation
“Imagine that happening to you?
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that → imagine → you
You would collapse.
asserted
You → collapse → ?
Your spouse lied to you and lost over $100 million and you might be out on the streets,” he said.
uncertain
he → lie → streets
“You might go from being one of the wealthiest people in the country to being homeless because your husband lied to you and wagered everything on crazy bets.”
uncertain
husband → go → bets
She cared for her husband closely, Paul said, trying to make him better.
asserted
him → care → husband
Michelle fed, coddled, and embraced Walker to bring him away from his mental edge.
asserted
Michelle → feed → edge
She hired a “hotshot” accountant in Chicago who told them their situation wasn’t as bad as they believed, Paul said, but it was too late.
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it → hire → them
Walker “had basically gone insane,” her family said.
asserted
family → go → ?
Min’s family made plans to institutionalize him after trying, futilely, to recover his mental state.
asserted
family → make → state
But on the morning he was set to be institutionalized, Friday, a friend from down the street received a text.
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friend → set → text
“Call 911,” Walker texted the friend, Paul said.
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Paul → call → friend
Fearing something was wrong, he bolted to the residence.
asserted
he → fear → residence
But the alleged fatal shots rang out before he could get there.
uncertain
he → allege → ?
Walker had already allegedly shot himself and his wife, Paul said.
uncertain
Paul → shoot → himself
Min’s family had taken the proactive step of hiding the firearms the family owned, but it appeared Paul somehow retrieved one, Michelle’s brother said.
asserted
brother → take → one
Walker hid the gun in a downstairs bedroom and loaded it there as his wife went to the turf patio to let out their small dog, Pip.
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wife → hide → dog
He then walked upstairs and shot her, Paul believed.
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Paul → walk → her
Haunting surveillance video reviewed by CBS, too horrifying for them to play on air, unveiled the mysterious circumstances of the shooting.
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them → review → shooting
The first gunshot can be heard on video around 10:43 a.m. Friday, and then a man is heard crying and screaming in a “very dramatic” scene.
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man → hear → scene
Then a second gunshot rang out a short time later, “and it was dead quiet,” CBS reported.
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CBS → ring → ?
Police found a sort of suicide note on the scene that included the passcodes to Walker’s and Michelle’s phones, Paul said.
asserted
Paul → find → phones
The note suggested Walker had premeditated the plan and left the codes so the family could arrange their affairs.
uncertain
family → suggest → affairs
Paul believes Walker shot his wife because he learned he was going to be institutionalized, and he previously resisted most mental help efforts.
asserted
he → believe → efforts
Walker and Michelle’s marriage lasted more than 30 years before the fashion CEO allegedly killed his wife, and then himself, Paul said.
uncertain
Paul → last → wife
Michelle’s family is still enduring the “complete mess” left by the horrific alleged crime.
asserted
family → endure → crime
She leaves behind her brother, Paul, and sister Alexandra, 60.
asserted
She → leave → brother
Paul said he’s going to run their fashion company, and the family is trying to reorganize Walker’s financial mess.
“My sister was utterly devoted to Brian to the very end, and he shot her,” Paul said.
asserted
Paul → say → her
“She didn’t say anything harsh to him.
asserted
She → say → him
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
