Witnesses testify in homicide hearing

The first probable cause hearing was held Tuesday afternoon for the man accused of four counts of homicide, including the death of MSU student Katherine A. Brown.

Five witnesses testified in the hearing at the 58th District Court in Hudsonville, examining Troy Brake, 31. Brake was arrested Oct. 16 for allegedly beating a prostitute in Grand Rapids. He became a suspect in the homicide case after a gun was found in his home that was similar to the one used in the homicides.

Agribusiness sophomore Brown, 18; her boyfriend Jeremy Zimmer, 20; Zimmer’s brother Tyler, 17; and his mother Sharmaine Zimmer, 52; were found dead in the Zimmers’ home Sept. 29. A medical examiner’s report stated Brown died of blunt force trauma while the Zimmers had been shot with .40-caliber bullets.

The witnesses who testified in Tuesday’s hearing were the family’s neighbor Heather Trout; Ottawa County sheriff’s Det. Steve McCarthy; Robert Zimmer Jr., Sharmaine Zimmer’s son,;Brake’s girlfriend Tarah VanDyke and his childhood friend Danny Butts.

Brake’s attorney, Paul McDonagh, could not be reached for comment. More witnesses are expected to be called when the hearing resumes on Dec. 4.