A Tragic Halloween in Michigan: The Chelsea Bruck Murder

The week before 2014 Halloween in Frenchtown Township, Michigan started out like any other: Teenagers were having Halloween parties, getting dressed up, flirting, and drinking.

But when Chelsea Bruck, a 22 year old waitress at a local restaurant disappeared, everything changed.

Who was Chelsea Bruck?

Chelsea Bruck worked as a waitress for a local restaurant called Olga’s Kitchen in Frenchtown Township, Michigan. At 22, she was the youngest of five and had planned to attend Monroe Community College to earn her culinary degree before she suddenly disappeared on October 26, 2014–just five days before Halloween.

On the left is a photo of Bruck c. 2014. On the right is the “Poison Ivy” costume she wore the night she went missing.

Witness Testimonies Of That Night

On the night of October 26th, 2014, Chelsea Bruck had been at a party hosted at Michael Williams house. Williams claimed he did not know her, nor knew she was even at the party, as he had been hosting over 600 people that night. Later witnesses did see her walking home on the side of the road later that night, although some testimonies contradict one another. Some say she had been drinking a lot while others say she hardly drank at all.

Laura Taylor, a co-worker of Bruck’s, claimed she had been picked up by Daniel Clay. Indeed, the testimony of her friend Penny Renee Watkins also confirmed that she had gotten an unknown call around 2:30am offering to give her a ride. Watkins said she had been in no condition to drive, but not because she was drunk. Instead, she claimed, the young girl had hurt her nose at the party, and Watkins had given her a few sips of vodka prior to and after the injury. She had also drank only a little wine.

Bruck had originally arrived to the party with Rebecca Brinson, a friend Bruck regularly spent time with. Brinson agreed she had arrived to the party with a wine bottle labeled “Poison”. Brinson did not say whether or not she had been drinking too much.

Bruck’s Suspected Killer: Daniel Clay

According to Daniel Clay, he pulled over on the side of the road before they had rough, consensual sex in the car: He claimed she asked him to slap her and choke her as they were having intercourse. He also said killing her was an accident.

He said he tried Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) when she stopped breathing but was unsuccessful, so he drove around for 40 minutes or so before disposing of her dead body in a wooded area.

However, Daniel Clay’s story seemed to keep changing depending on who he was speaking to. He didn’t call the authorities on that night and he didn’t drive to a hospital. Instead, he disposed of Bruck’s body in a wooded area near train tracks.

The Forensic Examination of Bruck’s Body

Bruck’s naked body was found by a construction crew in Ash Township, MI while they were updating the equipment in April 2015, almost six months and 1 million missing persons leaflets later. The “Poison Ivy” Batman costume she had been wearing and her other clothes were discovered at a vacant industrial site in Flat Rock.

Chelsea Bruck’s body was discovered near railroad tracks in Ash Township, MI, 12 miles from the Halloween party she attended.

The medical examiner confirmed Bruck died from blunt force trauma to the head and had other fractures on her face, neck, jaw, and teeth. She said she was 99.9% sure the woman did not die from being choked. She also pointed out that intense pressure has to be applied for at least 4 minutes straight to strangle someone to death. There is no evidence to suggest that Bruck died from strangulation, though the medical Dr. Hlavaty said that this is difficult to judge on a dead body that was found under a log that had probably fallen on it and had been there for months.

Many believe Clay raped and intentionally killed Bruck.

The Murder Trial of Chelsea Bruck

At first, Bruck’s death appeared to be an accident but, in the later steps of the forensic examination, the details of Bruck’s murder were not adding up.

There was blood, which was odd if she had been choked to death: Yes, witnesses had claimed she walked into a pole and injured her nose earlier that evening after drinking, but that doesn’t explain the severity of the fractures the medical examiner found.

The medical examiner, Dr. Leigh Hlavarty, did say that there’s a possibility the log the body was found under was responsible for these fractures, but she herself strongly believes Clay is the one who hurt Bruck: the woman died from blunt trauma to the head according to her findings.

A photo of Daniel Clay on trial.

The Verdict

Clay told the authorities immediately that he had killed Bruck when the body was found with his blood DNA on it. They said even if it was an accident, he was still going to be charged with involuntary manslaughter, but, after more details pertaining to the case were uncovered, Clay was convicted of first-degree murder: it didn’t seem possible that Bruck’s death was an accident between the many fractures on her face, the trauma to her head, and the blood found on her costume.

Furthermore, the day Clay was arrested, he left two voice mails to his ex-girlfriend and mother of his son, Jessica Pridyl, confessing to the murder and saying he had “fucked up big time” and “was going to be gone for a really long time.” He also left his then-girlfriend Kelli Richter a voicemail confessing he had killed Bruck.

After a lengthy trial that lasted nearly two years, Clay was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in July 2017. He apologized to Bruck’s mother, accepted a Bible from her, and has said he does not want a bond.

In 2019, his defense attorney plead that Clay did not know how the blunt force injuries were sustained, and that they could have came from something else. The jury ruled Clay committed a felony murder.

A Community Changed Forever

A twenty-two-year-old woman died before she was able to make her dreams come true at the hands of a friend she trusted to give her a ride.

Chelsea Bruck’s death was a tragedy that happened in a relatively small Michigan township. The Frenchtown Township has a population density of around 488.5/sq mi, as compared to the population density of 4,606/sq mi in Detroit. When a young adult goes missing and is found murdered, the entire community notices and is impacted by it. Chelsea is dearly missed by her loved ones and friends. She not only impacted her community but also made headlines in surrounding states and national news for the lengthy, convoluted trial.

Bruck’s tragic story reminds us to be safe this Halloween. If you’re visiting friends or going to a house party this holiday, be sure to go, stay with, and leave with a trusted friend.

If you found this article interesting or helpful, be sure to share it!

References
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2016/11/02/15-witnesses-testify-wednesday-in-chelsea-bruck-murder-case/
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/27/daniel-clay-chelsea-bruck-murder/805628001/
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2017/07/13/daniel-clay-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-2014-murder-of-chelsea-bruck/
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2019/01/09/court-of-appeals-upholds-life-sentence-for-daniel-clay-in-2014-murder-of-chelsea-bruck/
https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/who-daniel-clay-now-dateline-secrets-uncovered-revisit-chelsea-bruck-killing
https://reallifevillains.miraheze.org/wiki/Daniel_Clay

Looking for more spooky, real life tales that happened on Halloween? Take a look at the other murders that changed Halloween forever.