News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Josh Wirgau, left, takes his oath before testifying against Brad Srebnik on Tuesday in Alpena. Srebnik and Wirgau are charged with crimes from the deaths of Brynn Bills and Abby Hill.

ALPENA — On Tuesday, Josh Wirgau told jurors that his friend Brad Srebnik told him he choked Brynn Bills to death and that he witnessed Srebnik shoot Abby Hill in the head in 2021.

Srebnik is charged in the deaths of Mio teen Brynn Bills and Alpena woman Abby Hill. Charges against him include two counts of premeditated murder, weapons charges, and disinterment and mutilation of a body. He faces life in prison but denies the allegations.

Wirgau, who was also charged with the murder of Hill but reached a plea deal with the state for his honest testimony against Srebnick, is charged in the destruction of Bills’ body and other felonies but reached a plea deal that removes a murder charge for the death of Hill. He faces no less than 15 years in prison and no more than 30 years.

Wirgau’s version of what happened to the two girls, and his involvement in their death, has changed several times, but when he accepted the plea deal, he said he would be 100% truthful in court.

In the 26th Circuit Court on Tuesday, Wirgau said his involvement in helping Srebnik bury Bills’ body behind his house and following orders and plans that Srebnik laid out while he, Srebnik, and Hill were trying to cover up the alleged crimes and escape capture from police, was done out of fear. Wirgau told the court that he didn’t want any part in having the body hidden behind his house, but believed if he didn’t cooperate, Srebnik would harm him or his family.

Wirgau said he was on the way back from Lansing when he responded to a message from Srebnik that simply said 911. He said the two used that text only for extreme emergencies or if something had gone bad.

In this instance, Wirgau said, the emergency back at home was that Srebnik was involved in a drug deal that went wrong.

After arriving at home, Wirgau and Hill were waiting for him and Srebnik told him that Bills had attacked him with an ice pick and both Srebnik and Hill wrestled with her. Wirgau claims that Srenik told him he was on top of a Bills and choking her when she died.

“He told me that he told her ‘I don’t want to kill you’,” Wirgau said.

While at Wirgau’s house, a plan was devised to rent an excavator and bury the body in the backyard. He said Hill and Srebnik dropped Bills’ body, which was covered in cardboard boxes, into the hole, covered with gasoline and burned. After heavy black smoke began to rise, Wirgau dropped a large cement slab onto the body and filled the hole back up.

Weeks later, police found Bills’ remains.

While trying to avoid the police, paranoia began to set in with all three of the suspects. According to Wirgau, Srebnik believed that Hill had or intended to talk to the police. After a fight at a friend’s house, the trio had a friend give them a ride claiming they intended to camp behind the Holcim Alpena plant. Wirgau said they found a place where they could set up the tent and when he turned around for a moment, he heard a scream from Hill and a gunshot and saw her laying on the ground.

He said they each had a pistol on them, but Srebnik was the only one to use it.

“I saw Brad (Srebnik) holding the gun and pointing it where Abby (Hill) was,” he said. “I started crying and I wanted to get sick, but Brad told me not to because it would leave DNA on the ground.”

Their friends returned to retrieve the two men, who told the driver that Hill had freaked out and ditched them.

On the way back to Hubbard Lake, Wirgau said Srebnik made the driver pull over twice so the firearms and cell phones could be thrown into the river at two different locations.

Police dive teams later retrieved what they believe is the murder weapon.

After being arrested, Wirgau finally cooperated with police and told them where Hills’ body was and took them to it.

During cross-examination, Defense Attorney Patrick Cherry asked Wirgau why his story had changed so much over the last two years. Often, Wirgau couldn’t remember certain times, dates, or facts about his past and current testimony. He also pointed out several instances when Wirgau sent the 911 message to Srebnik, but Wirgau could not remember what the instances were for.

“You guys only use that when it is an emergency and the worst of worst situation, but you don’t remember what any of these were for?” Cherry said.

Wirgau was warned before he took the stand that if he were to lie again, the deal he received would be off the table.

It is planned for Cherry to continue his cross-examination of Wirgau today beginning at 8:30 a.m.