Naman Shrestha
In February 2023, a west Tulsa, Oklahoma, resident discovered skeletal remains of a 55-year-old man named Steve Wilkins in the backyard of a neighbor, kickstarting the homicide investigation. As the detectives dug deeper into the case, they connected it with a fire that took place several months earlier and several perpetrators who believed Steve had done something wrong. All the intricate details of the case and the investigation that followed are explored in ‘The First 48: Rumors Kill,’ which provided the viewers with the perspective of the officials who solved the case.
Steve Wilkins’ Remains Were Found Months After His Tragic Demise
Born around 1967 in California to a father who served in the US military, Steve Wilkins moved around a lot while growing up, spending time in Oklahoma, Georgia, and Germany. In the early 2000s, Steve permanently relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he became a reputed baker and a popular figure in the community. Steve was not only a great brother to his three siblings, including Eric, but also a doting father to his four children. Around 2019, he was living in an apartment on South 54th West Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his wife and kids. When his wife and kids moved out, he gave up the house and began living in his neighbor’s garage. Besides baking, he was also known for writing heartfelt poetry and reading books. A couple of years later, none of Steve’s family or friends could get in touch with him, but nobody reported him missing.
Months later, on February 9, 2023, a neighbor asked the homeowner of the apartment at 430 South 54th West Avenue if she could look for her cat’s collar in his backyard. While searching, she instead came across human remains amongst the burned debris in the backyard. She immediately called 911 and informed the Tulsa Police Department. As the detectives rushed to the site, they excavated burned human remains from the backyard, where a fire had broken out five months earlier, on September 14, 2022. It was determined that the remains belonged to 55-year-old Steve Wilkins. While inspecting the site, the authorities found a 9mm bullet casing near the skeletal remains and a gunshot entrance wound at the base of the skull. The autopsy revealed that Steve died of a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
Steve Wilkins’ Perpetrators Had Varying Accounts of the Crime
First things first, the authorities questioned the homeowner, in whose garage Steve Wilkins used to live and where the fire took place in September 2022. He told the detectives that he last saw Steve around 6 pm on the day of the fire, but didn’t report him missing to the police. They got a crack in the case when a witness told them about Tad Kleiner and how his girlfriend allegedly believed that Steve had drugged her. According to the witness, Tad became enraged and curb-stomped Steve before calling Michael “Mikey” Brummett Jr. for cleaning up the scene. She also accused Mikey of starting the fire in the garage. It turned out that Tad had multiple prior convictions, including drug possession, illegal firearm possession, and resisting arrest.
As for Mikey, he had convictions related to drug possession and burglary. On top of that, he was also arrested for the possession of a .38 revolver and a 9 mm handgun, for which he was serving a five-year sentence at the time. Thanks to another lead, the investigators were led to Devin Scrivner, who had no prior convictions. After two days of searching for Devin, they found him at his girlfriend’s house and took him into custody. During his interview, he admitted to going to Steve’s place with Tad and Mikey on September 14, 2022. As per his account, Tad and Mikey beat Steve before the latter shot him to death. However, when confronted with the fact that Devin had cut his hand with a knife, he admitted to stabbing Steven a couple of times.
Thus, on February 13, 2023, Devin was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the homicide of Steve Wilkins. A couple of days later, the detectives arrested Tad Kleiner for first-degree murder. When questioned about his involvement in the crime, Tad denied any involvement and maintained his innocence. Mikey, who was already in custody for an unrelated crime, was also charged with first-degree murder. Upon talking to Tad’s former girlfriend, she debunked the rumor about her blaming Steve for drugging her. Moreover, she denied knowing Steve altogether.
Devin, Mikey, and Tad Are Currently Incarcerated at Separate Oklahoma Prisons
A few months after their arrests, all three accused — Devin Scrivner, Mikey Brummett Jr., and Tad Kleiner — were brought to justice for their involvement in the killing of Steve Wilkins. Both Devin and Mikey were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Meanwhile, Tad pleaded no contest to being an accessory to murder and received an eight-year imprisonment sentence. While Devin and Tad are still in Tulsa County Jail, yet to be transferred to a prison facility, Mikey is serving his sentence at the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, Oklahoma.
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