Reward Grows To $13,500 In Case Of Nurse Fatally Shot While Jogging

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI — Alexandra “Ally” Brueger, 31, was out for her daily run in Rose Township on July 30 when she was shot multiple times. She likely knew her killer, police have said, but her murder remains unsolved. Crime Stoppers of Michigan was expected to add another $2,500 to the reward fund on Tuesday, bringing it to $13,500.

Brueger’s body was discovered on the the lawn of a home 11240 Fish Lake Road, where she regularly took 10-mile runs. Police think she was targeted. She had been shot four times in the back.

A white or light colored four-door sedan driven was seen traveling at a high rate of speed in the area near the time of the shooting, between 2-3 p.m., police have said.

The reward increase by Crime Stoppers brings that agency’s contribution to $7,500, WXYZ-TV reported. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. A $1,000 reward was offered by Oakland County Commissioner Bob Hoffman, whose district includes Rose Township, The Oakland Press reported.

Brueger, a registered nurse at Providence Park Hospital in Novi, was also a writer and was pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing, according to reports. She rarely drank alcohol and didn’t smoke or do drugs, her family said. She broke up with her boyfriend of 2½ years before she was murdered, but that was said to be an amicable break-up.

Her mother, Nikki Brueger, told the Detroit Free Press last fall that losing Ally is “incomprehensible” to her and her husband, Franz.

“She was our only child and my best friend,” Nikki Bruege said. “My husband uses the word assassinated because she was shot four times. He’s a Vietnam vet and his comment was that he made it through the war and, 40 years later, our daughter is assassinated two miles from our home. This was the route she ran and she never told me that she ever had any problems with anyone.”

Tips may be anonymously made at (800) SPEAK-UP. Rewards are paid on tips that lead to an arrest.

According to police, the suspect likely would have exhibited behavioral changes in the days after the murder, including:

• Acting oddly or out of their normal character;
• Exhibiting signs of internal distress, such as anxiety, nervousness or irritability;
• Unexplained or stress-induced illness;
• Above-average interest in the incident;
• Reclusive or antisocial behavior;
• Absenteeism from work, regularly attended gatherings or meetings;
• Sudden change in appearance;
• Excessively cleans the interior/exterior of a vehicle, or no longer drives the vehicle;
• Sudden use of cigarettes, alcohol and/or drugs;
• Unexpected or last-minute travel, or departure without giving a specific reason or destination.

Family photo