A wealthy California fashion executive couple found shot to death outside their Oakland Hills home may have been dealing with a devastating financial crisis in the weeks before their deaths, according to a relative.
Bryan Walker and his wife, Michelle Min, were found with fatal gunshot wounds Friday morning near their home on Panoramic Way, in the hills close to the University of California, Berkeley.
The couple had been married for more than 30 years and were associated with the California women’s clothing company Bryn Walker, which they founded in the early 1990s.
Oakland police have not officially ruled the deaths a murder-suicide and have not announced a motive.
Investigators recovered a firearm at the scene and have said they are examining the circumstances surrounding both deaths.
But Min’s brother, Paul Min, has offered a disturbing account of what he says unfolded behind closed doors.
According to Paul, the couple’s marriage had not been in trouble.
Instead, he claims Walker had become consumed by financial losses after making increasingly risky investments.
Paul said Walker had allegedly borrowed against properties without relatives knowing and placed highly leveraged financial bets that he feared had wiped out more than $100 million.
Those alleged losses have not been independently confirmed by police or financial records made public in the case.
Paul said Walker’s mental state deteriorated dramatically as he became convinced that the family’s fortune had been destroyed.
“He just curled up into a ball, and he was just sobbing like a baby for weeks on end,” Paul told reporters.
Relatives reportedly became so concerned about Walker that they feared he might hurt himself.
According to Paul, the family began making arrangements to have Walker hospitalized for psychiatric treatment after other efforts to help him failed.
He claims the deaths occurred on the morning Walker was expected to be admitted.
Shortly before the shooting, Walker allegedly sent a message to a nearby friend that read, “Call 911!”
The friend reportedly rushed toward the couple’s home but did not arrive before gunshots were heard.
Surveillance footage obtained by local media captured audio from the terrifying final moments.
One gunshot could reportedly be heard at about 10:43 a.m., followed by the sounds of a man crying and screaming.
A second gunshot was heard a short time later.
After that, the area went silent.
Police later found Walker and Min suffering from fatal gunshot wounds outside the home.
Paul believes Walker shot his wife before turning the gun on himself, but police have not confirmed that account.
He also claims Walker had prepared a firearm inside the house before the shooting.
Family members had reportedly hidden firearms because of concerns over Walker’s condition, but Paul believes he was able to locate one anyway.
The relative also said investigators found what he described as a form of suicide note inside the home.
Rather than containing a lengthy message, the document allegedly included passcodes to Walker’s and Min’s phones.
Paul believes they were left behind so relatives could access the devices and begin sorting through the couple’s personal and financial affairs.
Again, police have not publicly confirmed those details.
The financial problems allegedly came as Min continued trying to hold the family together.
Paul said his sister remained devoted to Walker and spent weeks feeding him, comforting him and trying to convince him that their financial problems could be repaired.
She reportedly hired a highly regarded accountant from Chicago to untangle the couple’s finances.
According to Paul, that accountant eventually determined their situation was not nearly as catastrophic as Walker had feared.
By then, however, Paul said his brother-in-law had fallen into a severe emotional crisis.
“Imagine that happening to you?” Paul said. “You would collapse.”
He claimed Walker believed the family could go from being extraordinarily wealthy to losing nearly everything.
Paul said Min never abandoned her husband, even after learning about the alleged investments and borrowing.
“My sister was utterly devoted to Bryan to the very end,” he said.
He also expressed anguish over why she died alongside him.
“Why take our beautiful sister?” Paul asked.
Paul acknowledged that even the family does not know precisely what happened inside the home or what ultimately triggered the deaths.
He believes the planned hospitalization may have played a role but said that remains speculation.
The couple’s deaths have stunned people connected to Bryn Walker.
The fashion company, founded in 1992, built a national following for loose-fitting women’s clothing and supplied boutiques across the country.
Min was deeply involved in the creative and business side of the company, while Paul said Walker had not been actively working for some time.
Paul now plans to help take over the family business as relatives try to sort through what he described as a complicated financial aftermath.
Oakland police continue to investigate the deaths.
At this stage, authorities have not publicly identified a suspect, announced a definitive motive or formally classified the case as a murder-suicide.
What is known is that a longtime married couple was found dead outside their home, a gun was recovered, and relatives say the family had been dealing with an extraordinary financial and emotional crisis in the weeks beforehand.