FILE 658 / 20 December 2025 / 74 MIN / express

The Dark Prince Of Belmont County

Bellaire, OhioListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Bellaire, Ohio, far eastern Ohio, in Pultney County about 0:04:41

History, in brief

Town note

French trappers and explorers were the first Europeans in the area.

about 0:06:17

Town note

Its name was inspired by the Maryland town of the same name.

about 0:06:29

Town note

The discovery of natural gas deposits brought people to the area and made glass manufacturing huge.

about 0:06:39
All 8 history facts

Town note

French trappers and explorers were the first Europeans in the area.

about 0:06:17

Town note

Its name was inspired by the Maryland town of the same name.

about 0:06:29

Town note

The discovery of natural gas deposits brought people to the area and made glass manufacturing huge.

about 0:06:39

Town note

Around 15 glass companies operated there, including Belmont Glass Works and Bellaire Window Glass Company.

about 0:06:49

Town note

There were also two bottle companies in the town.

about 0:07:10

Town note

The now abandoned Bellaire bridge was used as a location in The Silence of the Lambs.

about 0:07:20

The figures, as told

Crime / national average

Crime overall
▼ about half

about 0:10:54

Money

Median home value$92,100
Median household incomeabout $39,972
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2025

Population

"3,927"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:05:40

Median household income

"about $39,972"

Comparison: "almost half the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:05:52

Median home cost

"$92,100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2025 about 0:06:01

Crime rate

"about half"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2025 about 0:10:54

The reviews

3.3 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“A former TV news anchor in a major city who hated the job and the city picked a small town on the map near family in Pittsburgh to raise small children and loves it so far.”
about 0:07:44

3 stars

“Born and raised there; the town has lost much since its days as a booming river town, but the people are caring, everyone loves high school football and there are family restaurants, with the best hot dogs at Gullah's.”
about 0:08:58

2 stars

“Known for its historical places, but the town today is run down and can be dangerous with drugs and crime.”
about 0:09:47

In Ohio

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The story

In September 1995 Bellaire, Ohio, was a small town of about 3,900 people on the Ohio River, its glassworks long gone and its high school football team, the Big Reds, unbeaten. Terry Brooks, born in 1942, had been a mail carrier for years; his wife Marilyn, born in 1943, worked as a pension clerk for the United Mine Workers of America.

A teenage babysitter introduced him to heavy metal and satanic imagery; by his teens he was reading the Satanic Bible, carrying it to school, collecting animal bones and, according to one neighbour, nailing live fish to trees to watch them die. He inhaled one or two cans of butane a day, which a defence psychologist later said had damaged his brain, and he talked about death constantly. At school he was quiet and polite but odd; one girl on his bus said his aura frightened her, and a classmate remembered him saying in 1995 that he would be famous by Saturday. His parents were told more than once that he needed counselling and never got it.

On September 30th, 1995, Ryan played in a Big Reds game, which the team won, and then went to spend the night at the trailer of his friend Eric Barrite. At 12.30 a.m. he was still awake. Ryan stayed on for another hour.

Eric drove Ryan home. I murdered two people and I'm going to turn myself in." In the first bedroom he found his mother dead in bed, stabbed and chopped; a long knife was still embedded in her side. An axe, a hammer and nails lay about. The room was decorated with occult drawings and a Jeffrey Dahmer biography, and detectives concluded it was a satanic ritual.

He surrendered and told officers he had another crime to report: he led them to Eric's trailer, where he had pinned an envelope to the wall with a knife. It said "For Ryan. If anyone else touches, I will kill you," and it contained money. He said he had big plans for the night, a list of sacrifices to Satan, and intended to finish by killing himself as an offering.

The lists were real. One was found in his school locker and another in his bedroom, with sixteen names. Ryan was first, marked "dismember, decapitate"; his mother second, marked "eviscerate, crucify, nails"; his father third, marked "decapitate". Other names included Amber, Lisa, Justin, Jason, Dave, Corey, Jill, Mike and Ashley, some with notes such as "molest some" or "skin". He told police he had been in hell since he was little, that he drank beer, killed his mother and then his father, and then took a walk to decide whether to kill more people. He said Satan talked back to him, just as God does to others.

A few days later someone set the front porch of the house on fire at 1.30 a.m. Bellaire cancelled Halloween that year. Three experts split on the question.

Ryan later changed his name and took a new social security number. The town, meanwhile, held seminars on Satanism and remained convinced that something demonic had touched Bellaire.

The case

Murder of Terry and Marilyn Brooks

Victims

Terry Brooks. mail carrier, born 1942, father of and Ryan
Marilyn Brooks. pension clerk for the United Mine Workers of America, born 1943

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 20 December 2025.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Ryan Brooks. younger brother, 16, who found the bodies and later changed his name and social security number
James Brooks. the eldest brother, married, living in Martins Ferry, Ohio
Eric Barrite. Ryan's friend, at whose trailer Ryan spent the night
Sergeant Don Samples. officer who entered the house on Margee Drive and found the victims
Ralph Sarache. retired NYPD officer and self-described demonic expert who blamed Satan

The timeline

  1. 1942 Terry Brooks is bornabout 0:11:22
  2. 1943 Marilyn Brooks is bornabout 0:11:22
  3. April 23rd, 1978 is bornabout 0:12:52
  4. 1979 Ryan Brooks is bornabout 0:12:58
  5. As a boy is an altar boy and wants to become a priestabout 0:15:10
  6. A teenage babysitter introduces to heavy metal and satanic imageryabout 0:16:07
  7. A neighbour recalls nailing live fish to trees to watch them dieabout 0:17:13
  8. inhales one or two cans of butane a day and develops an obsession with deathabout 0:18:39
  9. 1995 is a senior and Ryan a junior at the same high school; Ryan plays on the football team (Bellaire high school)about 0:13:32
  10. 1995 tells a classmate he will be famous by Saturdayabout 0:19:34
  11. the last week of September 1995 Ryan spends the weekend in Martins Ferry with his older brother James and his wife (brother's home)about 0:32:31
  12. September 30th, 1995 Ryan plays in the Big Reds football game, which the team winsabout 0:32:40
  13. September 30th, 1995 Ryan goes to spend the night at his friend Eric's trailer (Barrite trailer)about 0:32:48
  14. 12:30 a.m. Ryan is still awake at the trailer after the game (Barrite trailer)about 0:32:55
  15. about 1:30 in the morning Ryan calls home; answers and says their parents want him homeabout 0:33:22
  16. two or three in the morning knocks at the trailer looking for Ryan; Eric's mother says he is not there (Barrite trailer)about 0:34:33
  17. Eric drives Ryan home and Ryan finds a note saying murdered two people (Brooks house)about 0:34:58
  18. Ryan finds his mother stabbed to death in her bed (Brooks house)about 0:36:14
  19. Police find Terry Brooks decapitated, his head in a wash basin in room (Brooks house)about 0:36:28
  20. leads police to the trailer and the envelope marked for Ryan, which contained money (Barrite trailer)about 0:42:59
  21. tells police he killed his parents and planned more sacrifices to Satanabout 0:43:36
  22. Police find hit lists in locker and bedroom with 16 names (Bellaire high school)about 0:45:55
  23. a few days later The front porch of the murder house is set on fire at 1:30 a.m. (Brooks house)about 0:55:19
  24. The funeral of Terry and Marilyn Brooks is heldabout 0:55:39
  25. Bellaire cancels trick or treating over fears of satanic worshipabout 1:05:05
  26. July 2025 is prisoner A337726 at London Correctional Institution (London Correctional Institution)about 1:13:44

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode