Brother says fashion CEO collapsed after losing $100 million before couple found dead

The brother of Michelle Min, the wife of fashion CEO Bryan Walker, has claimed her disturbed husband committed a murder-suicide after a series of risky decisions led him to financial 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 Friday on a grass patio attached to their home in the hills near UC Berkeley.

But Walker, who stood aside while his wife controlled their joint business and women’s fashion company Bryn Walker, had suffered great mental anguish in the months before the couple’s deaths.

Paul said Walker took out loans on their properties behind the family’s back, bet on risky options and leveraged positions and fell into huge debt for no clear reason. He hadn’t worked for some time, but the couple agreed he could “play” with some of their wealth.

But he got out of control.

By the time the dust settled in mid-September, Walker thought he had lost “well over $100 million,” Paul said.

This loss sent him into a spiral regarding the possibilities of leadership of their family. Walker became mentally incapacitated and “we were concerned he might be suicidal,” Paul said.

“He just curled up in a ball and sobbed like a baby for weeks. He was just completely useless,” Paul said.

His family told the Post they were determined to save the day.

“Imagine this happening to you? You would collapse. Your spouse lied to you and lost over $100 million and you could end up on the streets,” he said. “You could go from being one of the richest people in the country to homeless because your husband lied to you and bet everything on crazy bets. »

She took care of her husband closely, Paul said, trying to make him better. Michelle fed, pampered and kissed Walker to keep him from his mental edge.

She hired a “talented” accountant in Chicago who told them their situation wasn’t as bad as they thought, Paul said, but that it was too late. Walker “had gone absolutely crazy,” her family said.

Min’s family planned to place him in an institution after unsuccessfully trying to restore his mental state. But on the morning he was to be committed, Friday, a friend down the street received a text message.

“Call 911,” Walker texted the friend, Paul said.

Fearing something was wrong, he rushed to the residence. But the alleged fatal shots rang out before he could get there. Walker may have already killed himself and his wife, Paul said.

Min’s family had made a proactive decision to hide the guns they owned, but it appeared Paul had gotten hold of one, Michelle’s brother said. Walker hid the gun in a downstairs bedroom and loaded it there while his wife went to the grass patio to let their little dog, Pip, out.

He then went upstairs and shot her, Paul believed.

Haunting surveillance video reviewed by CBS, too gruesome to air on air, revealed the mysterious circumstances of the shooting. The first gunshot can be heard on video around 10:43 a.m. Friday, then a man is heard crying and screaming in a “very dramatic” scene.

Then a second shot rang out shortly after, “and it was dead silent,” CBS reported.

Police found some sort of suicide note at the scene containing the passcodes to Walker and Michelle’s phones, Paul said. The note suggested Walker premeditated the plan and left the codes so the family could organize their affairs.

Paul believes Walker shot his wife because he had learned he was going to be committed and had previously resisted most efforts at mental help.

Walker and Michelle’s marriage lasted more than 30 years before the fashion CEO killed his wife and then himself, Paul said.

Michelle’s family is still dealing with the “total mess” left by the alleged horrific crime. She leaves behind her brother Paul and her sister Alexandra, 60 years old.

Paul said he was going to run their fashion business and the family is trying to reorganize Walker’s financial mess.

“My sister was totally devoted to Brian until the end, and he shot her,” Paul said. “She didn’t say anything harsh to him. She just said, ‘Brian, you’re sick. It’s my fault, I should have known that. I should have known you were having a seizure.'”

“She blamed herself. That’s the type of person she was.”

No one knows exactly, including Paul, why Walker would have decided to shoot his wife and then himself.

“I think he was just too weak to go alone,” Paul said. “I thought of him as a strong person, but I never saw him tested. When he lost his money, I tried to tell him, ‘It’s just money.’

“Why take our sister-in-law?” he asked. “Why don’t you kill yourself?”

Oakland police are investigating the shooting and have not ruled out a murder-suicide.

Police recovered a firearm from the couple’s home.

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