The Torture & Murder of Vera Jo Reigle

.Born with intellectual disabilities in 1986, Vera Jo Messersmith Reigle experienced a traumatic childhood marred by sexual abuse inflicted by her father, Willard Reigle. Willard began sexually abusing 11-year-old Vera, landing him a 20-year prison sentence.   Vera lived with ADHD and according to family members, “had the mind of an 8-12 year-old.” She was a sweet, caring girl from Findlay, Ohio, who went out of her way to make others happy.

Vera, 19, met Zachary Brooks, 13, who lived a couple of blocks from her house on Center Street. Zachary lived with cognitive disabilities himself, and the pair formed a close friendship that quickly turned sexual. 

Zachary’s mother, Cheri Lynne, treated Vera kindly and invited her to move into the Brooks home. Vera eagerly agreed, unaware Cheri had an ulterior motive: she wanted Vera to carry a baby girl she would raise.

Cheri, known around Findlay as Sugar Babe, a nickname given to her by her father, sold methamphetamine. She was called manipulative and a compulsive liar and people claimed Cheri pressured people to do what she wanted. Some even referred to Cheri as the “Female Charles Manson.”

Cheri Loses Custody of Five Kids

Cheri was placed in foster care at age 3 after the state learned her father had sexually abused her. She returned to her mother's care 13 years later when her mother finally split from her father. Soon after, Cheri began a sexual relationship with her cousin,  Daniel Bixler. The family knew about the incestuous relationship and approved, calling them the “Kissing Cousins.”

In 1981, Cheri and Daniel became parents of a baby boy they named Scottie. Months later, they were accused of sexually abusing Scottie. He was removed from their care and placed in her mother’s care. 

In 1982, Cheri married Mike Maloney and delivered her second child, Joshua, a year later. The state opened a case after Scottie’s birth due to the prior allegations against them. In November 1983, Mike lost his temper with Joshua, slapped him, and tossed him onto the couch. Joshua was removed from their custody and placed into foster care.

Cheri delivered Michael Jr. in 1984 and lost custody of him within weeks after allegations of sexual abuse were reported to Children’s Services. She delivered her first daughter, Maria, in 1986, losing custody of her shortly before Easter due to allegations of sexual abuse. Maria was rushed to the ER with severe bleeding from her vagina. She was allowed to go home with Cheri, although the State removed the child from her custody when she failed to take her to the doctor the next day.

Family said Cheri was never the same after losing Maria, although she replaced her with another child, a girl she named Cheri, in 1987. Within six months, there were allegations of sexual abuse against the child, and Cheri was removed from the home and adopted.

Cheri stepped outside her marriage to Mike and delivered Kevin Jr. in 1993. She divorced Mike in 1993 and married Kevin Brooks Sr. In June 1992, Cheri delivered Zachary, Garth in 1993, and her ninth and final child, Chuckie, in 1994.

Cheri maintained custody of the children she shared with Brooks, although she remained grief-stricken over the loss of Maria. She wanted a baby girl and would do anything to have one.

Vera and Zachary Begin Dating

Vera and Zachary began dating in 2006 under Cheri’s guidance.

Cheri began treating Vera terribly after she moved into their home. She told Vera that her mother hated her and forced her to sign over her monthly Social Security disability payments to her.

When Vera fell pregnant, Cheri chose Willadean as the baby’s name and convinced Zachary to sign custody over to her. Convincing Vera would prove much more difficult.

Vera delivered Willadean six weeks early on November 4, 2009 after Cheri forced her to drink Castor Oil.

Cheri became upset when nurses handed baby Willadean to her mother and ordered them to hand the baby to her.

After Willadean came home from the hospital, Vera tried to be a good mother. She loved her baby from the depths of her soul. The problem was that Cheri would not allow it. In her mind, Willadean was her baby.  Cheri cared for Willadean, occasionally allowing Vera to see or hold her. The beatings worsened, and she threatened to kill baby Willadean if Vera disobeyed her.

Kevin Jr. Dies in Car Accident

Kevin Jr. died on August 5, 2010, after he was struck by a vehicle. He and the mother of his son, Kevin III, had been walking around Findlay looking for heroin when he was struck from behind. He died instantly. 

Kevin’s death sent Cheri into an even more chaotic state of mind. She convinced family members that Heather had pushed Kevin in front of the vehicle. 

A Frightened Vera Says "Everything is Okay"

Meanwhile, family members who witnessed the hell Vera called life reported the abuse to the Department of Children’s Services and the police. When police visited the house on domestic violence calls, Vera always assured them she was fine, that she had fallen down the stairs or run into a coffee table.

Despite pigs living inside the house and the family using buckets to go to the bathroom due to the house having no running water,  state officials did not intervene and remove Willadean or initiate any concerns about abuse over a mentally incapacitated adult.

Cheri lost interest in Willadean in early 2011; she wanted another baby girl, and Vera out of the house. She refused Vera food, allowing her to eat only leftovers from her family’s plates when they finished.

Starving, Vera grabbed a KitKat bar from the mantle, the candy bar Cheri had placed there months earlier to honor Kevin Jr. Gina, a teen girl who once lived with the Brooks family, saw Vera eat the candy and told Cheri.

Cheri Wants Vera to Die

Cheri forced Vera to sleep in a closet with the pigs, forced her to eat feces, blood, and trash out of the garbage, and decided it was time for Vera to die.  

About this time, Cheri’s cousin, Daniel Bixler Jr. -the son of the cousin she had been sexually involved with and bore a child with - was on the run from the law and moved into the Brooks home with his girlfriend, Nicole Peters. Daniel had been released from prison just three weeks earlier, but had already gotten himself in trouble and had a warrant for his arrest.

Danny and Heather took it upon themselves to beat and torture Vera. Nicole felt sexually excited when she beat Vera. She would sometimes stop beating Vera to have sex with Danny.

Cheri jokingly said they should drug Vera with sleeping pills and force her to lie down on the train tracks near the house. The train would not see her and crush her into smithereens. She then told Zachary, Danny, and Heather that it had been Vera who pushed Kevin Jr. in front of the car that horrible day, and it was up to them to avenge his death. Zachary and Danny devise a plan to kill Vera.

Three Days of Torture and a Walk to The Train Tracks

On March 24, 2011, Zachary and Danny put their plan in motion. Zachary brutally beat Vera and sexually assaulted her with a toothbrush. Left bruised, battered, and nearly unable to walk the following day, Vera endured more abuse when she was forced into the bathroom by Danny and Nicole, and stabbed in her leg. This turned Nicole on, and she stuck her finger in Vera’s wounds. The same day, Chuckie and others in the Brooks clan forced Vera to eat dog feces, and trash from the garbage. 

On March 26, Danny, Zachary, Nicole, and Chucky took turns stabbing Vera with a knife. What happens next isn’t exactly clear, as each person involved has a different version of events. In the end, the outcome is the same sad truth: Vera Joe Messersmith Reigle died a horrific death.

In Danny and Nicole’s version of events, they forced Vera to take a walk with them. Despite her reluctance to leave the house, Vera did as told, put on her shoes, and walked out the door, saying to Cheri as she shut the door, "Goodnight, Sugar Babe.”

The pair walked Vera to the train tracks near their house, where they repeatedly stabbed her until the knife became so dull it would no longer cut through her clothing. Danny and Nicole forced Vera to strip naked and continued stabbing her in various areas of the body. When Vera stopped fighting back, they forced her to lie down sideways on the track. Danny and Nicole walked off, leaving Vera on the tracks to die.

Train Conductor Finds Vera's Body

Around 2 a.m., a train headed toward Vera. The conductor thought a deer carcass lay in the middle of the tracks. He could not stop in time. When he finally stopped the train, he realized it was not a deer but the remains of Vera Jo.

The train conductor notified the police. Questioning Cheri, she told them Vera had a ‘Black boyfriend” in a nearby town who probably killed her. Vera was faithful to Zachary and did not have any other boyfriends.

Searching the house, police found Nicole’s bloody shirt, belt, and a lock of Vera’s hair. She and Danny confessed to killing Vera, claiming Cheri wanted them to do it and had given them instructions on how to commit the murder.

Brooks Family Charged With Murder

Everyone in the Brooks household, except Cheri and her husband, Kevin Brooks, Sr. were charged in Vera’s murder.

Danny was sentenced to 40 years to life for murder. Nicole was sentenced to 23 years on a conviction for conspiracy to commit murder. Zachary received four years in prison for obstruction of justice. Michael was charged with obstruction of justice and sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of probation.

The Brooks family, minus Danny and Nicole, remain in the same home in Findlay.  

Zachary Brooks met another woman in 2015 and fathered another child in 2015. He was arrested in 2020 and sent to prison on convictions for Receiving Stolen Property and Felonious Assault. He was sentenced to four years and is expected to be released in November 2024.

Cheri, Scottie, and Kevin Sr. were busted on drug trafficking charges. Cheri spent 40 months in federal prison on this charge.

Shannon and Michael changed their names to Shannon and Nick Nagle and reside in Ohio.

It is rumored that Cheri Brooks died in 2021. I cannot find additional information to confirm her death.

Willadean Today

Willadean was adopted the week after her mommy’s murder. Cheri attempted to claim she had custody of her, but this fell through with social services. Under Cheri’s instance, Zachary filed a petition for custody of Willadean. During a visit with Zachary to determine placement, Willadean screamed hysterically and refused to go to him. Zachary refused any more visits with Willadean and to take parenting classes. The State of Ohio revoked Zachary’s parental rights, and a loving family adopted Vera less than a year later.

The day after Vera’s murder, police found Vera’s clothes on the riverbank. Tucked inside her favorite purple hoodie was a note she had written to Willadean. It seems as if Vera knew she was going to die that night.

The note read:

“I love you Willadean. You are a good little baby girl to us. I am glad to be your mommy and I am glad that I had you on Nov. 4 at 4:16 a.m., six pounds, two ounces, nineteen inches long. Mommy loves you.”

After the case was resolved, detectives took the note from the evidence locker and gave it to Willadean's adoptive family. They hope the family will give it to her when she is old enough and the time is right. No matter what happened in Willadean's little life, one thing is clear: her mama loved her with all of her heart.

Sources:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2925730/

https://www.coldrencrates.com/obituaries/Kevin-Lee-Punky-Brooks-Jr?obId=26525332