Katharina Buczek
Esther also claimed to be a European chess champion and ultimately ran up credit card debt, obtained passports, and took out more than $100,000 in student loans under all of her stolen identities.
After Esther fled, she continued to run from authorities for two and a half years. Then, in February 2008, she was arrested in Chicago, Illinois, and charged with possession of false identity documentation, mail and wire fraud, and identity theft.
In August of that year, Esther pleaded guilty to the identity theft and federal fraud charges. So, by February 2009, she was ultimately sentenced to four years in prison.
Esther has since stated that she did not intend to harm anyone through her crimes and claimed to have only taken Brooke’s identity in order to escape a tough past.
Authorities do also believe that Esther was simply taking advantage of Brooke’s disappearance and was not actually involved in the 20-year-old’s case.
This means that even after Esther’s arrest, Brooke’s disappearance has, unfortunately, remained unsolved.
According to her loved ones, it was extremely out of character for Brooke to take off without warning. Her family also claims that investigators only began conducting searches of the area three years after she was reported missing.
At the time, the authorities reportedly believed that Brooke had left at her own will. So, they seemingly expected that she would return home shortly afterward.
Since then, though, investigators have admitted to believing that foul play was involved in the 20-year-old’s disappearance.
Brooke’s boyfriend, Shaun, ultimately died in September 2019. His death was also under investigation. However, the scene reportedly had no indicators of foul play.
Most recently, investigators have stated their belief that Brooke was murdered, and they reportedly have a suspect in her case. The suspect’s identity has not been made public, though, and it remains to be seen if the person will be charged.
