News File Photo Brynn Bills and Abby Hill appear in this undated News photo collage.

ALPENA — One year after police found a teenager’s body buried in an Alpena Township yard, police believe charges may come soon in the deaths of Brynn Bills and Abby Hill.

Police found the bodies of Bills and Hill, both of Alpena, less than three weeks apart in late September and early October last year.

Law enforcement has publicly named a suspect in both deaths, Brad Srebnik, and a person of interest in Bills’ death, Joshua Wirgau, but nobody has been charged related to either death.

Srebnik, 36, and Wirgau, 35, are both serving two-year sentences for weapons charges related to a separate incident.

Police continue to investigate the deaths.

Charging someone rests on either Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski or the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, which has participated in the investigation.

Muszynski and the Attorney General’s Office each said they would not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Charges could come soon, and “I expect the news will answer a lot of questions,” said 1st Lt. John Grimshaw, commander of the Michigan State Police-Alpena Post.

He would not say whether police have any new suspects in the deaths but said they believe there is no current threat to public safety.

Both police and prosecutors want to make sure they have an airtight case, because they only have one shot at convicting the person or persons they think responsible, Grimshaw said.

“We have all the pieces of the puzzle,” he said. “We’re just putting them together.”

Check out this interactive timeline of police’s investigation into the deaths of Brynn Bills and Abby Hill. Story continues below timeline.

BODIES DISCOVERED

Police found Bills’ body one year ago today, after an extensive search for the missing girl.

Family and friends reported they last had contact with Bills at the beginning of August, about a week before her 18th birthday.

At the end of that month, police asked for the public’s help finding Bills.

Days later, they issued a Crime Stoppers alert saying they were looking for Hill on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court regarding a traffic violation.

Notes in court records indicate police at that time were “actively looking for (Hill) for an interview.”

Court documents do not specify why police wanted to talk to Hill.

In mid-September, police took both Hill and Srebnik into custody, but both bonded out shortly thereafter.

On Sept. 21 — two days before Bills’ father advertised a $20,000 reward for help finding his daughter — police say Wirgau, visibly upset, pointed a gun at a friend and demanded a late-night ride in the friend’s tow truck.

Hill and Srebnik allegedly accompanied Wirgau, carrying guns and a black duffel bag. The men gave the friend money and drugs when he dropped them off at an intersection near Srebnik’s family’s home, the friend told police.

Police later found guns and several black duffel bags on property near the intersection, according to court documents.

On Sept. 28, a day after police arrested Wirgau for the alleged hijacking, police found Bills’ body buried in Wirgau’s back yard, calling Wirgau a person of interest in her death.

Two days later, police arrested Srebnik related to the reported hijacking.

The following week, on Oct. 5, police declared Hill a missing person and said they believed she was in danger.

They found her body in a wooded area of Alpena Township on Oct. 15.

Police have not confirmed where they found Hill’s body but said they believe she died by homicide.

SUSPICION, NO CHARGES

Muszynski in court hearings called Srebnik a prime suspect in both deaths and said police believe Srebnik was one of the last people to see both Bills and Hill before they disappeared.

Police named Wirgau as a person of interest in Bills’ death.

In December, Grimshaw said police had forwarded reports to Muszynski and felt they had enough information to substantiate charges in the deaths but would continue to gather information.

In February, Muszynski dismissed unlawful imprisonment charges against Wirgau and Srebnik related to the alleged hijacking. In exchange, both men pleaded guilty to felony firearm charges, which carry mandatory two-year sentences.

Those sentences began in April, with credit for six months served.

Muszynski said in May that her office had been joined in the investigation by the Attorney General’s Office. The same month, the AG’s Office charged Bruce Kinsey with impeding its investigation by lying during an interview.

The Attorney General’s Office gets involved in cases for a variety of reasons, often because it has more robust resources than are available to local governments, according to that office.

Kinsey’s attorney said last week that Kinsey expects to reach a plea agreement with the Attorney General’s Office by Oct. 17.

‘WE WANT JUSTICE’

The News could not reach family members of Bills or Hill for comment.

Grimshaw said he believes the Attorney General’s Office is actively pursuing the case, and he expects charges related to both women’s deaths soon.

He did not say why he believes charges are imminent.

“We want this to be resolved just as badly as the families,” Grimshaw said. “We want justice for these women.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.