The man charged in the death of Taylor Pifer, a 21-year-old Kent State fashion design student, made his initial appearance in Parma Municipal Court Thursday morning.

George C. Brinkman Jr., 45, is charged with three counts of aggravated murder, three counts of kidnapping and one count of tampering with evidence. Pifer’s mother, 45-year-old Suzanne Taylor, and her sister, 18-year-old Kylie Pifer, who studied biology at Bowling Green State University, were also killed.

The women’s bodies were found Sunday night in their North Royalton home.

Brinkman is also charged in the deaths of a Stark County couple — Rogell Eugene John, 71, and his wife Roberta Ray John, 64 — who were found dead Monday afternoon in their Lake Township home.

The reading of the charges against Brinkman revealed Taylor Pifer was suffocated, and that her sister, Kylie, was strangled with a telephone cord. Suzanne Taylor’s throat was cut with a knife. Previously, some reports said the three were shot.

Brinkman appeared with his right arm in a cast and he cried as Parma Municipal Court Judge Timothy Gilligan read the charges.

The tampering with evidence charge stems from the removal of the alleged murder weapon, along with other items used in the murder, from the scene, the judge said. The kidnapping charge is because the women were detained in the house and couldn’t leave.

Brinkman’s bond is set at $25 million for a total of $75 million.  

Since Parma Municipal Court does not retain felony cases, further court hearings will be held at the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland.

A date has not yet been set for Brinkman to appear in Stark County Court.

Jenna Kuczkowski is the managing editor, contact her at [email protected]