Nicholas Paul Brodeur, 26, of Glenville, West Virginia, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of October 13, 2021. A Gilmer County High School graduate and a Certified Nursing Assistant at Genesis Health Care’s Glenville Center, Brodeur enjoyed music and played guitar and sang.

The night before his death he was at his family’s Messenger Road home with a life-long friend, 21-year-old Levi Curtis Estep. The two reportedly played guitar together; Estep left and later returned around 1 a.m., and the pair went to a cabin on the family property. At about 2 a.m. Brodeur’s mother heard a single gunshot and, when she went outside, saw Estep driving away in a black Subaru while another son said Nicholas had been shot.

Estep, a Calhoun County resident, was arrested by the West Virginia State Police and charged with first-degree murder. During questioning he reportedly said he had blacked out, did not fully remember the shooting, and also admitted I did it. The family said they were unaware of any conflict between the men; no motive has been reported. The family honored Brodeur’s wish to be cremated.

Did anyone who knew Nicholas or Levi notice anything unusual in the days before October 13, 2021?