Shelly Brooks was born on January 22, 1969, in Detroit, Michigan. Later, he was raised in Ann Arbor, which is about 40–50 miles from Detroit. Brooks had a difficult childhood; his father neglected him, and when he was four years old, his mother left the family. After his mother left, he was raised by his grandparents.

Throughout his childhood, Brooks harbored anger towards his mother for abandoning him, and he never saw her again after she left. During his early years, he showed signs of having low intelligence, which added to his struggles.

Shelly Brooks targeted middle-aged female prostitutes and homeless drug addicts in Detroit. He was able to gain their trust easily because he lived on the streets himself. Brooks began his killing spree at the age of 32 in 2001. Over the next five years, he murdered at least six more women until 2006, when he was 36. Some believe he may have been involved in over 20 murders since 1999.

Brooks had a brutal method for killing. He would lure his victims to abandoned buildings and houses, where he sexually assaulted them and then beat them to death with rocks. He left the bodies in the same abandoned places where he attacked them. His victims ranged in age from 30 to 54 years old.

On June 26, 2006, Brooks was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman. After his arrest, his DNA was entered into a database, which linked him to the 2002 murder of Pamela Greer. Further investigation revealed his involvement in other murders. In 2007, he was found guilty and sentenced to two life terms in prison. He is currently serving his sentence at the Kinross Correctional Facility in Kincheloe, Michigan.