Bend man makes first court appearance on murder, abuse of corpse charges in killing of 2 Bend teens

(Update: Brady in court, adding video; arraignment on expected indictment set in a week)

Judge orders suspect held without bail, no contact with mothers of alleged victims, homeowner

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 41-year-old Bend man arrested in the killing of two Bend 18-year-olds made his first court appearance Friday afternoon on the three felony charges against him, including two counts of first-degree murder and one count of abuse of a corpse.

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Randy Miller ordered Wesley Abel Brady to continue to be held without bail at the county jail on Deputy District Attorney Mary Anderson’s initial charging document, filed late Friday morning, of two counts of first-degree murder involving multiple victims and a first-degree charge of abuse of a corpse.

Brady initially was arrested by police on seven charges, also including sodomy, sex abuse, strangulation and tampering with evidence.

Deputy DA Brandi Shroyer also requested, and the judge granted an order that Brady have no contact – direct, third-party of electronically – with the mothers of both alleged victims Angela Pastorino and Alfredo Hernandez, nor with the owner of the Mount Faith Place home where the teens’ bodies were discovered in the garage.

Brady, who appeared by video from the county jail, made no comments, other than to acknowledge receipt of the charging document. Shroyer did not review the allegations in court.

Miller set arraignment for next Friday afternoon, after a grand jury reviews the evidence and returns a formal indictment.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Anderson’s initial charging document, filed late Friday morning, of two counts of first-degree murder involving multiple victims and a first-degree charge of abuse of a corpse.

Brady initially was arrested by police late Wednesday on seven charges, also including sodomy, sex abuse, strangulation and tampering with evidence.

Police were called around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday to a home in the 20000 block of Mount Faith Place where a homeowner reported having found a person’s body in the garage, Communications Manager Sheila Miller said. Police arrived, confirmed the discovery and secured the scene until the arrival of detectives, who found the second body.

An initial investigation found that on Tuesday, Wesley Abel Brady, 41, and alleged victims Angela Alexus Pastorino and Alfredo P. Hernandez were doing work around the home for the homeowner, Miller said, adding that Brady also lived at the home at times.

Later that evening, Miller said, Brady, the teens and the homeowner were drinking alcohol at the home when Brady and Hernandez got into a physical fight, “and Brady murdered both Pastorino and Hernandez.”

Brady allegedly put both teens’ bodies in the home’s garage before eventually traveling to a property he owns in Christmas Valley.

While police were at the home, Brady returned and arrived in the area and was detained. He was arrested and taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where he was held without bail on seven charges: one count each of aggravated murder, murder, strangulation first-degree sodomy, first-degree sex abuse, first-degree abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Pastorino and Hernandez had been reported missing earlier Wednesday by a concerned family member, Miller said.

Police sought and received search warrants for the home, two vehicles and Brady’s property in Christmas Valley. The Central Oregon Major Incident Team was activated.

The police spokeswoman said the cause of death for both teens is still being investigated, with autopsies planned.

Miller said everyone involved knew each other, and she did not know if Brady and the alleged victims were being paid for their work at the home.

“My understanding is that everyone at the home was drinking alcohol,” Miller told NewsChannel 21. “My understanding is the homeowner was there at the time.”

She said she could not release details regarding the homeowner at this time, calling it a “complex crime,” with the two locations being processed for evidence.

 A Facebook posting by Pastorino's mother, Jennifer Grigg, when the pair were missing included a photo of them together and asked people to help find them. She wrote that her daughter said they had been walking home off Mount Faith Place but “never made it. Her phone was found in a bush and her dog was found in the road, circling around.”

Grigg said her daughter attended Bend and Marshall high schools and got her GED in June from the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council.

"Alfredo was one test away from getting his GED," she told NewsChannel 21.

Erin Kevin, Pastorino's "big" from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, has created a GoFundMe page to assist the two families with memorial expenses.

"Angela and Alfredo were inseparable," Kevin wrote. "They were bright, loving teens, with family and friends who adored them. Angela loved people almost as much as she loved dogs. Alfredo was known as a sweet, soft-spoken young man who was the first to volunteer to help with any task. They are both survived by their families, struggling to make sense of this tragic loss."

Crime scene tape blocked off the quiet southwest Bend neighborhood street as police processed the scene Thursday morning.

A few residents said they did not know who lived at the home. One said he saw eight police cars on the street and a man being brought to one of them. Another neighbor said the home's residents keep to themselves.

 Another nearby resident said: "This is the 'Faith, Hope and Charity' streets. These things shouldn’t be happening. What is going on in this neighborhood?"

In 2018, Brady was arrested on first-degree arson and burglary charges, accused of breaking into and setting several fires in the basement of the historic Thomas McCann home in downtown Bend and taking several items from the home.

He later pleaded no contest to first-degree arson and first-degree burglary, receiving the maximum five years’ probation, with other conditions, including continuing mental health treatment and not owning animals while on probation.