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Couple Fatally Shot on Friday ID'd as Founders of Berkeley Fashion Brand Bryn Walker

Couple Fatally Shot on Friday ID'd as Founders of Berkeley Fashion Brand Bryn Walker
Photo Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The two people in their sixties found dead of gunshot wounds outside their Berkeley Hills home on Friday have been identified as married couple Bryan Walker and Michelle Min, best known for founding local women's fashion label Bryn Walker. Authorities continue to treat the matter as a potential murder-suicide.

As the Chronicle reports, Walker was chief executive for the Berkeley fashion company while Min's LinkedIn lists her as one of Bryan Walker's designers.

Oakland police have yet to confirm the victims' identities but numerous Bay Area media outlets — including the Berkeley Scanner and KPIX — now report the deceased as Walker and Min. [Note: Min's surname may be Walker or Walker-Min: there is currently a lack of consensus among various publications.]

The pair were found dead outside their Panoramic Way home near UC Berkeley and the Oakland border after police received a report of a shooting just before 11 am on Friday morning. SFist previously reported that the couple were discovered with a gun lying nearby and that authorities were not actively seeking a suspect.

Walker and Min founded and ran Bryn Walker, which has operated out of Berkeley since 1992. Per the Chronicle, the brand designs and produces clothing in the Bay Area and wholesales to nearly 1,000 boutiques across the country.

In remarks to the media, Oakland Assistant Police Chief Casey Johnson confirmed that investigators had yet to rule out the possibility of a murder-suicide.

KPIX's reporting includes additional harrowing details about surveillance footage that apparently captured the sounds of a gunshot, a man screaming and crying, then another gunshot. Per KPIX, the audio was "too graphic to air."

The Chronicle reports that neighbors of Walker and Min described the pair as "longtime residents who generally kept a low profile." The case currently remains under investigation by Oakland authorities.

Related: Man Killed In Shooting on Market Street Outside SF’s Warfield Theatre

Zack Ruskin

Zack Ruskin

Over a decade of experience covering arts, culture, and news in the Bay Area and beyond. Bylines include Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, SFist, WaPo, Variety, SF Chronicle, and Alta Journal.

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Couple Fatally Shot on Friday ID'd as Founders of Berkeley Fashion Brand Bryn Walker
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