Adopted Russian teen, 18, who ‘murdered his American Airlines pilot father and mother, before a long standoff with Texas SWAT was subjected to brutal discipline at home, according to his teachers
Carl Edward Brewer is accused of murdering his adoptive parents; pilot Troy Gene Brewer, 60, and his wife Mary Brewer, 64, both US Air Force vets, at their Crowley, Texas home, Nov 27 – 28
Teachers who know the teen say he was brutally disciplined, forced to sleep on concrete floor, and starved to such an extent he once fainted at school – several teachers had reported the abuse to Child Protective Services
Another teacher witnessed the teen being forced to stand in the front yard, holding two buckets as his arms shook, his father warned him not to drop them
One teacher described the suspect’s parents as ‘very military’ and ‘not very loving’
Authorities were alerted to murders after a friend of the suspect’s said Carl Brewers confessed to killing his parents while they were smoking marijuana together
Investigators found Troy Brewer’s body in the master bedroom, while Mary Brewer’s body was stuffed in a ‘trash receptacle’ in the living room
Responding officers found Brewer home alone, he barricaded himself in a room until SWAT fired in tear gas after a 12 hour standoff, and was arrested
Carl Edward and his two older brothers were adopted by the Brewers from Russia at a young age
The brothers lived out of state, the suspect alone, was living at home with his parents at the time – he has been charged with two counts of murder and held on $200,000 bond
18-year-old Carl Edward Brewer [photo], on trial for the of murder of his parents was brutally disciplined, forced to sleep on concrete floor, starved and tortured, according to court documents
Carl Edward Brewer, 18, is accused of murdering American Airlines pilot Troy Gene Brewer, 60, and his wife Mary Brewer, 64, in their house in Crowley, Texas, in November.
But the teen’s lawyer Jack Strickland insists there are ‘two sides’ to the story, and that Brewers adoptive parents were brutal disciplinarians, the Star Telegram reports.
Teacher from Deer Creek Elementary School in Crowley, where the teen went to school, told investigators that the defendant was punished at home by being forced to sleep on the concrete floor in the garage.
One educator said the boy’s parents would also starve him as punishment, which once resulted in Brewer fainting a school. Another saw the 18-year-old being forced to stand in the front yard, holding two buckets as his arms shook and his father warned him not to drop them. They said they saw the cruel test on several occasions.
Another said Brewer was so ‘starved for attention’ that when she gave him a hug he ‘just melted,’ court documents state.
American Airlines pilot Troy Gene Brewer, [left] and his nurse wife Mary Brewer, [right], were found dead in their own Crowley Texas home in November, 2017. Their youngest son, Carl Edward Brewer, admitted to a friend that he killed them
Crowley police were alerted to the slayings when they received an anonymous call Nov. 29, 2016, from a friend of Carl Brewer’s who had been smoking marijuana with him when the teen told him what had happened.
Day-shift Crowley officers went to the two-story home to investigate, but found no reason to take action. The department’s night shift officers decided to take another look and detected “the faint smell of death,” police Lt Robert Gray said.
Police found the bodies but backed out and called SWAT when they heard footsteps upstairs.
Crime scene: Gene Brewer, was found in the master bedroom of their home in Crowley, Texas [photo], while his wife Mary, was found in a trash can in the living room
Gene Brewer, 60, was found in the master bedroom of their Crowley home while his wife Mary, 64, was found in a trash can in the living room
Several teachers, one of whom described his parents as ‘very military’ and ‘not very loving,’ said they reported the abuse to Child Protective Services.
But a CPS spokesperson confirmed they were not involved ‘in the investigation into the parents.’
Many of the teachers described the teen as ‘very intelligent’ and someone who gave them ‘very little trouble,’ according to the court documents.
Police were alerted to the double homicide on November 28, when one of Brewer’s friends called them saying that the teen had admitted to killing his parents while they were smoking weed together.
Officers arrived at the home that day to check and didn’t see anything amiss – but noted they couldn’t make contact with the Brewers. The case was passed on to the night shift, but when officers followed up, they smelled the ‘odor of death’ coming from the house, Lt Robert Gray said.
Responding officers found a white sheet covering the glass of the front door, pulled it down, and noticed signs of a struggle, including dirt and a fallen plant, according to a search warrant. The officers then police went into the home and found the bodies of Troy and Mary Brewer.
Troy’s body was in the master bedroom, while Mary’s body was found in the living room area inside a trash receptacle, police said.
The medical examiner ruled that both victims had been shot multiple times. Police are looking for two guns inside the home that had previously been reported stolen.
Since 2010, Crowley police had been called to the home 16 times. He had been arrested earlier this year after leading police on a chase, Crowley police said
Troy Brewer was a Marine pilot while his wife Mary was a nurse was also a U.S. Air Force Reserve flight nurse. The son’s teachers say Mary and Troy [photo L-R] were ‘very military’ and ‘not very loving’
Brewer, 18, was arrested after his police fired tear gas into the home
SWAT were called in and found Brewer, who was adopted from Russia by the couple – barricaded into an upstairs room and unwilling to talk.
Mary’s body was stuffed into a trash receptacle, WFAA said.
A search warrant said that the couple were believed to have been killed sometime between 6:30pm November 27 and 4:35pm November 28.
If that’s the case, Brewer spent hours in the house with the couple’s bodies.
Troy switched to civil aviation after retirement from the U.S. Marines. Troy worked as a pilot with American Airlines.
He was not ‘combative,’ police chief Luis Soler told the Star-Telegram. ‘He was very calm.’
Johnny Griffin, who lives next door, said the evacuation ‘scared my girls to death,’ and added that he’d ‘seen the police over here several times.’
‘You kind of figure anything can happen over there.’ he said Griffin. ‘[The police] were over there quite a bit.’
Brewer and his parents were the only ones living in the house. His two older brothers live out of state.
Mary Brewer a nurse, joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a flight nurse
‘They did have outbursts from time to time from what the boys experienced before adoption in Russia,’ said CB Glidden, who had been forced to expel Brewer and one of his brothers from the Nazarene Christian Academy for bad behavior.
‘That seemed to really impact the choices they made here. This just wasn’t the right place for them.’
Teachers say Brewer was starved of food as punishment and once even fainted at school.
Troy spend many years as a U.S. Marine fighter pilot. he switched to civil aviation after he retired, and worked as a pilot with American Airlines. His wife Mary was a nurse and joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a flight nurse.
They are survived by adopted sons, Christopher Shawn, Celyn Connor and the suspect, Carl Edward.
Carl Edward Brewer has been charged with two counts of murder and is being held on $200,000 bond.
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