Brake's jury goes home for the night

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) - The fate of Troy Brake, who is accused of killing four people and then setting their house on fire, is now in a jury's hands.

After a speedy jury selection and a faster than expected prosecution and defense, closing arguments wrapped up just before 5 p.m. Judge Edward Post gave the jury their instructions and deliberations will begin. At around 7 p.m., the jury decided to go home for the night.

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Troy Brake's defense called one witness -- his girlfriend -- before resting its case in the quadruple murder trial, a surprise among observers.

The prosecution and defense are currently giving closing arguments before turning over the case to the 12-member jury. Brake, 31, of Grant, is accused of killing Sharm Zimmer, her sons, Tyler and Jeremy, and Jeremy's girlfriend, Katherine Brown in September 2008. He then allegedly set the victims' Wright Township home on fire.

The defense called three witnesses in all, with the others being called out of order.

While Brake didn't take the stand, jurors still got to hear from him -- through a tape-recorded conversation he had with Ottawa County detectives on Oct. 17, about three weeks after the slayings.

Brake was the first to bring up the Zimmers. "Is this about the Zimmers' house," he asked Ottawa County Detective Thomas Knapp during the interview.

Brake talked about his history with the Zimmers -- living next door to them in their Wright Township home as a boy, staying with them in the 8th grade after his parents broke up. He said Sharmaine and her husband, Robert, were better parents than his own.

He also talked about his guns, including his .40-caliber Glock and using it to shoot mice in his pole barn. Shell casings discovered in the pole barn matched those found at the Zimmer home, and they came from the gun found in his home, ballistics experts say.

Also Wednesday, Knapp said cell phone records prove that Brake's girlfriend, Tarah VanDyke, wasn't home at 11:29 p.m. the night of the murders. She had testified that Brake pulled up into their driveway in Grant at that time, and stayed home the rest of the night, not giving him a chance to commit the crimes.

VanDyke has said cell phone records prove Brake called her at 11:29 p.m. However, detectives say she couldn't have been home because her cell phone was roaming at the time. Her cell phone hits a tower on 18 Mile Road in Kent City whenever she is home, records show. She said her cell phone roams more often than not when she is at home.

VanDyke was the last witness to testify Wednesday for the defense.

You can join a live conversation with 24 Hour News 8's Ken Kolker in the courthouse and watch a live video stream of the trial.