WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Brittany Phillips Part 1 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:51.961 School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.361 case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite 0:00:55.401 --> 0:00:58.761 witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.961 be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights 0:01:03.001 --> 0:01:06.160 from family and community members, their statements should not be 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.961 considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts 0:01:10.041 --> 0:01:14.041 inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:17.160 presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 0:01:17.961 --> 0:01:20.840 Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply 0:01:21.041 --> 0:01:23.601 that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime 0:01:24.121 --> 0:01:27.121 is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening. 0:01:30.281 --> 0:01:34.121 On Monday, September twenty seventh, two thousand and four, eighteen 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:37.881 year old Britney Phillips, a student at Tulsa Community College, 0:01:38.121 --> 0:01:41.840 drove home from campus with a friend of hers, Lydia. 0:01:41.961 --> 0:01:43.401 They had just taken. 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:45.881 A chemistry to test, and Brittany was looking forward to 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:49.600 hanging out and celebrating her nineteenth birthday, which was coming 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:53.361 up on October fourth. When we talked to Lydia, she 0:01:53.601 --> 0:01:56.441 said that Brittany met Lydia at her apartment that night 0:01:56.881 --> 0:02:00.321 and that they rode in Lydia's car. After class, they 0:02:00.321 --> 0:02:03.041 went back to Lydia's apartment, which was a short ride 0:02:03.041 --> 0:02:07.321 away from Britney's. This was at around eight pm. Brittany 0:02:07.361 --> 0:02:10.521 got into her own vehicle, said goodbye to Lydia, and 0:02:10.601 --> 0:02:11.161 drove home. 0:02:12.201 --> 0:02:14.401 I have to drag my memory now for such a 0:02:14.441 --> 0:02:18.281 while ago, but we met me and we started studying together, 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:22.961 and then we realized she was a chemistry major and 0:02:23.281 --> 0:02:26.240 I was a biology major, so we needed to take 0:02:26.361 --> 0:02:29.481 some of the same science bosses together. So we decided 0:02:29.481 --> 0:02:32.801 to do our schedules together and take all of our 0:02:32.881 --> 0:02:36.281 classes together. We became friends. We were hanging out, We 0:02:36.321 --> 0:02:38.680 even were on a trip together. We had a night 0:02:38.761 --> 0:02:42.721 class and we got home to my apartment. Her birthday 0:02:42.761 --> 0:02:44.921 was coming up, her plans. 0:02:45.401 --> 0:02:49.441 But then as the week rolled on, Lydia said, Brittany 0:02:49.561 --> 0:02:53.520 never called her, and then she noticed that Brittany didn't 0:02:53.521 --> 0:02:55.881 show up for their next class on Wednesday. 0:02:56.721 --> 0:02:59.761 I remember calling her. I remember trying to get a 0:02:59.801 --> 0:03:02.841 hold of her and she didn't answer, and I was like, 0:03:02.921 --> 0:03:05.801 that's so weird. I was like, maybe she doesn't feel good. 0:03:06.201 --> 0:03:08.241 And so I went to school Wednesday night and she 0:03:08.361 --> 0:03:11.521 wasn't there. I was just like, that's so weird. She's 0:03:11.561 --> 0:03:13.201 not here, and she didn't tell me she wasn't going 0:03:13.281 --> 0:03:14.321 to be here, you know what I mean. 0:03:14.761 --> 0:03:18.120 But I didn't know exactly what kind of thing going on. 0:03:18.681 --> 0:03:22.921 And then come Thursday, I still hadn't heard from her, 0:03:23.841 --> 0:03:27.401 and I just was like, what's going on? Where are you? 0:03:27.721 --> 0:03:28.001 Are you? 0:03:28.121 --> 0:03:28.520 God at me? 0:03:28.761 --> 0:03:31.001 Are you upset? Are you having a problem? 0:03:31.841 --> 0:03:35.281 Lydia was unsure if she was overreacting or what to do, 0:03:35.801 --> 0:03:38.361 but her gut told her that something was wrong. 0:03:39.401 --> 0:03:41.961 So I was like, I wonder where she at. And 0:03:42.041 --> 0:03:44.801 so I remember driving by her, so I was like, 0:03:44.881 --> 0:03:47.921 I'm just gonna drive by and see, and her car 0:03:48.121 --> 0:03:51.921 was there, her car window was down. That's weird. And 0:03:51.961 --> 0:03:54.001 then I walked up to her friend's door and it 0:03:54.081 --> 0:03:56.681 was dark. And the way that her apartment is, you 0:03:56.801 --> 0:03:59.321 have to walk around to the back of the buildings, 0:03:59.481 --> 0:04:03.281 very not safe for a young girl by herself, so 0:04:03.321 --> 0:04:05.321 you have to walk in, you have to walk upstairs. 0:04:05.921 --> 0:04:08.361 So I walked up to her door. I even like 0:04:08.441 --> 0:04:10.601 cracked her door open real quick, and I said, Brittany, 0:04:10.961 --> 0:04:13.001 and I heard her cat me out and then I 0:04:13.041 --> 0:04:16.880 set the door because I got nervous. It was just dark. 0:04:17.041 --> 0:04:20.121 It's crazy out back there by myself, I was nervous, 0:04:20.481 --> 0:04:21.921 so then I called my dad. 0:04:23.241 --> 0:04:27.001 Lydia's father had been a district attorney in Rogers County. 0:04:27.681 --> 0:04:28.321 That's my dad. 0:04:28.481 --> 0:04:30.440 I just can't get a hold of my friend. You know, 0:04:30.481 --> 0:04:32.681 I haven't seen her in a few days. Her boat's 0:04:32.681 --> 0:04:35.760 going straight to voicemail. I'm just and Murry's about her, 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:36.281 and I don't know. 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:38.320 I just I have no idea why. 0:04:38.361 --> 0:04:41.321 I just thought this is so randomly odd. 0:04:42.601 --> 0:04:45.601 Lydia's dad explained to her how to call the authorities 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:50.320 for a welfare check, and when first responders and police arrived, 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:53.921 they found Britney's body in the bedroom of her apartment. 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:58.481 News reports said that Brittany had been raped and strangled. 0:05:00.321 --> 0:05:02.801 In the two decades since, ex. 0:05:02.641 --> 0:05:06.201 Boyfriends and strangers have been questioned, sex offenders have been 0:05:06.201 --> 0:05:10.161 investigated and DNA swabs have been taken, but there's still 0:05:10.281 --> 0:05:14.201 no suspects. And the information that we've found so far 0:05:15.081 --> 0:05:17.601 has made me question if a lot of the facts 0:05:17.801 --> 0:05:20.681 that have been reported about this case are true at all. 0:05:21.841 --> 0:05:24.080 We're going to be going back to the beginning and 0:05:24.241 --> 0:05:28.961 asking some fundamental questions, including could the timeline of Britney's 0:05:29.041 --> 0:05:32.241 murder be off by up to forty eight hours. Was 0:05:32.361 --> 0:05:35.881 Brittany definitely raped? Was this the work of someone who 0:05:35.961 --> 0:05:39.200 knew her and staged the crime scene or could it 0:05:39.281 --> 0:05:42.840 have been a serial killer? And could that person still 0:05:42.881 --> 0:05:47.001 be out there? And finally, could police have been on 0:05:47.041 --> 0:05:52.481 the wrong trail all this time? I'm Catherine Townsend. Over 0:05:52.521 --> 0:05:55.361 the past seven years of making my true crime podcast, 0:05:55.401 --> 0:05:58.281 Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing 0:05:58.481 --> 0:06:02.201 as a small town where murder never happens. I've received 0:06:02.361 --> 0:06:05.601 hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking 0:06:05.641 --> 0:06:09.601 for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families. 0:06:09.481 --> 0:06:10.481 And their communities. 0:06:11.001 --> 0:06:12.921 If you have a case you'd like me and my 0:06:12.961 --> 0:06:15.521 team to look into, you can reach out to us 0:06:15.561 --> 0:06:18.081 at our Helen Gone Murder Line at six seven eight 0:06:18.201 --> 0:06:21.801 seven four four six one four five. That's six seven 0:06:21.841 --> 0:06:25.760 eight seven four four six one four five, or you 0:06:25.761 --> 0:06:29.321 can send us a message on Instagram at Helen gonepod. 0:06:30.041 --> 0:07:19.561 This is Helen Gone Murder Line. Britney's mother, doctor Marjorie Zingman, 0:07:19.961 --> 0:07:22.201 will never forget the day that she got a call 0:07:22.401 --> 0:07:26.721 about her daughter's body being found. Since Britney's death, Maggie, 0:07:26.761 --> 0:07:30.281 a psychologist who specializes in trauma and works with veterans, 0:07:30.801 --> 0:07:34.321 has been relentless in trying to find answers and she's 0:07:34.361 --> 0:07:38.401 gotten very creative about her methods. We met Maggie at 0:07:38.441 --> 0:07:42.161 the True Crime Conference Crime Con. She was driving a bright, 0:07:42.281 --> 0:07:45.361 pink and purple Kia Carnival with a huge picture of 0:07:45.361 --> 0:07:48.121 Brittany on it and the side is emblazoned with a 0:07:48.161 --> 0:07:51.641 phone number where people can call in tips. She calls 0:07:51.681 --> 0:07:54.641 the vehicle Caravan to catch a killer, and over the 0:07:54.721 --> 0:07:58.961 years she has driven all around America, traveling thousands of 0:07:59.001 --> 0:08:02.281 miles and talking to multiple media outlets to bring attention 0:08:02.441 --> 0:08:07.041 to Britney's case. Maggie is now seventy years old. She 0:08:07.241 --> 0:08:09.881 tells us that her greatest hope is to see this 0:08:10.001 --> 0:08:15.281 case salved and the killer caught before she dies. Britney 0:08:15.321 --> 0:08:18.361 grew up in Tulsa, and after graduating from high school, 0:08:18.681 --> 0:08:22.401 Britney moved to Florida to attend Eckard College in Saint Petersburg, 0:08:23.201 --> 0:08:26.361 but after a year, she moved back to Oklahoma. She 0:08:26.401 --> 0:08:31.561 began attending Tulsa Community College. Brittany loved her major chemistry 0:08:31.961 --> 0:08:35.361 and according to her family, was hoping to someday work 0:08:35.361 --> 0:08:40.241 in cancer research. She also loves sports and music and 0:08:40.321 --> 0:08:44.001 planned to eventually transfer to Oklahoma State University to continentnew 0:08:44.001 --> 0:08:47.401 her studies. Friends and family say she was very focused 0:08:47.441 --> 0:08:50.801 on her goals and was a good student. The last 0:08:50.841 --> 0:08:53.641 time that Maggie spoke to her daughter was earlier that day, 0:08:53.841 --> 0:08:57.841 on Monday, the twenty seventh. This is also the last 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:01.601 day that Lydia saw or spoke to Brittany. Maggie told 0:09:01.721 --> 0:09:04.481 us that Brittany had allergies and that on that day 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.681 Brittany went to an urgent care near campus to try 0:09:07.721 --> 0:09:08.481 to get an appointment. 0:09:09.361 --> 0:09:12.041 That day, she couldn't even go to her last cliff 0:09:12.241 --> 0:09:16.481 because she was so stuffed up. And then she also 0:09:16.521 --> 0:09:19.601 had this little little pug nose. It just was so 0:09:19.641 --> 0:09:22.601 small that it also caused proms, But it was the 0:09:22.721 --> 0:09:25.801 allergies that were just making her totally sick. And so 0:09:25.881 --> 0:09:30.081 she sat in that urgent care about halfway between the 0:09:30.361 --> 0:09:34.401 pampus and her apartments and sat there for two or 0:09:34.441 --> 0:09:38.041 three hours. And that's when she called me when she 0:09:38.121 --> 0:09:40.241 got upset to meet like a little girl, you know, 0:09:40.361 --> 0:09:43.521 just graying, I've been waiting here for hours type of thing. 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:45.041 Britney's friend. 0:09:45.161 --> 0:09:48.521 Lydia tells us she doesn't remember Brittaney mentioning being sick 0:09:49.081 --> 0:09:53.081 or her mentioning urgent care, but she does remember that 0:09:53.121 --> 0:09:56.081 they went to class together that night. She remembered what 0:09:56.161 --> 0:09:59.040 Brittany was wearing when she dropped her off, a white 0:09:59.081 --> 0:10:03.521 shirt with a floral print and pants. Maggie told us 0:10:03.561 --> 0:10:07.321 that to her knowledge, Britney was not seeing anyone seriously, 0:10:08.121 --> 0:10:12.161 but Lydia said Britney had recently told her she had 0:10:12.201 --> 0:10:13.881 started seeing someone. 0:10:14.241 --> 0:10:15.081 She had a boyfriend. 0:10:15.121 --> 0:10:16.001 I had never met him. 0:10:16.441 --> 0:10:19.161 They had only been talking for like a month. Can 0:10:19.161 --> 0:10:21.081 I remember her telling me about him? And then she 0:10:21.121 --> 0:10:23.440 had told me that he's worked at some restaurant and 0:10:23.561 --> 0:10:25.160 forgot the name of it now and started with the 0:10:25.241 --> 0:10:27.921 best and there were two locations. 0:10:28.721 --> 0:10:31.681 Lydia called one of the restaurant's locations and was told 0:10:31.721 --> 0:10:34.561 that the boyfriend worked at the other location. So she 0:10:34.681 --> 0:10:37.281 called the other restaurant and talked to the boyfriend and 0:10:37.361 --> 0:10:38.560 told him what was going on. 0:10:39.721 --> 0:10:41.281 I was like, I am looking for Britney. 0:10:41.321 --> 0:10:42.001 I'm her friends. 0:10:42.321 --> 0:10:44.081 He's like, I can't get a hold of her either, 0:10:44.681 --> 0:10:46.481 and I was like, oh my gosh. So I told 0:10:46.521 --> 0:10:49.001 my dad all that, and my dad said, okay, Paul, 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:52.361 the non emergency have them come over and do a 0:10:52.401 --> 0:10:55.721 Commonwealth pro check. And I said, okay, so if the 0:10:55.761 --> 0:10:58.721 boyfriend actually met me out there too, we have. 0:10:58.801 --> 0:10:59.521 The cop come. 0:11:00.241 --> 0:11:02.361 They go upstairs and then they come back and they 0:11:02.841 --> 0:11:07.201 can they tell us? You know, I was just completely shocked. 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:13.001 Britney's case is still an open investigation, so we have 0:11:13.121 --> 0:11:16.521 not been able to access information through FOYR requests. But 0:11:16.561 --> 0:11:20.601 according to what Lydia said, Britney's boyfriend seemed upset and 0:11:20.681 --> 0:11:24.161 was cooperative with police. We don't know anything about the 0:11:24.201 --> 0:11:27.801 interview process that police had with him. Lydia said she 0:11:27.921 --> 0:11:31.601 does believe police interviewed him, but we don't know anything 0:11:31.641 --> 0:11:34.481 about how police were ruling out suspects at that point. 0:11:37.881 --> 0:11:41.401 In the apartment, officers found Britney dead on the floor. 0:11:42.081 --> 0:11:44.561 Britney was lying near the foot of the bed, Her 0:11:44.601 --> 0:11:47.641 head was turned to the right. She was wearing only 0:11:47.721 --> 0:11:51.001 a shirt, the same shirt that Lydia described her wearing 0:11:51.041 --> 0:11:53.961 when Britney dropped her off, and she was naked from 0:11:54.001 --> 0:11:57.641 the waist down. We were able to get a copy 0:11:57.681 --> 0:12:02.081 of the medical report from Britney's mother first responders pronounced 0:12:02.081 --> 0:12:05.721 her dead on September thirtieth at ten nine pm, and 0:12:05.801 --> 0:12:08.481 the medical examiner arrived on the scene at one. 0:12:08.441 --> 0:12:09.881 Forty five am. 0:12:10.201 --> 0:12:12.721 It was noted in the report that there were numerous 0:12:12.801 --> 0:12:17.441 towels and items of clothing adjacent to her body. Investigators 0:12:17.441 --> 0:12:19.801 stated there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to 0:12:19.841 --> 0:12:21.641 the piles of clothes scattered around. 0:12:22.681 --> 0:12:24.201 Police also said there. 0:12:24.081 --> 0:12:27.161 Didn't appear to be anything obvious missing from the apartment, 0:12:27.601 --> 0:12:31.920 and Tulsa Police Department Cold case Detective Jeremy Styles said 0:12:31.961 --> 0:12:35.001 no one that police interviewed remembered seeing anything out of 0:12:35.001 --> 0:12:39.521 the ordinary outside the apartment either. When Britney's toxicology report 0:12:39.561 --> 0:12:42.761 came back, it was negative for alcohol or any kind 0:12:42.761 --> 0:12:47.241 of drugs. One of the main things that you'll find 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:50.241 if you google this case is the fact that Brittney 0:12:50.481 --> 0:12:51.801 was raped and strangled. 0:12:52.401 --> 0:12:54.280 But is that true. 0:12:54.321 --> 0:12:56.321 We talked to one of the former detectives on the 0:12:56.321 --> 0:12:59.121 case to try to figure out why police believed that 0:12:59.161 --> 0:13:02.401 Britney had been raped. He told us that because of 0:13:02.441 --> 0:13:05.040 the way her body was found, and because of the 0:13:05.081 --> 0:13:08.561 fact that she wasn't wearing pants, that indicated to him 0:13:08.721 --> 0:13:13.040 a possible sexual assault. There was also a dried used 0:13:13.081 --> 0:13:16.721 tampon found near Britney's body and a small amount of 0:13:16.801 --> 0:13:20.761 dried menstrual blood in her vagina, but in the autopsy 0:13:20.801 --> 0:13:24.321 report there is no mention of any seamen being found 0:13:24.361 --> 0:13:28.281 inside Brittany. So, barring any other evidence, I have to 0:13:28.321 --> 0:13:31.481 disagree with the detective's assessment. To me, it does not 0:13:31.601 --> 0:13:35.761 appear that there was any definitive proof of rape. We 0:13:35.841 --> 0:13:39.521 asked the detective about this, he replied via text. He 0:13:39.601 --> 0:13:42.441 told us he believed if there was semen, that it 0:13:42.481 --> 0:13:45.121 may have degraded in the time between when Brittany was 0:13:45.241 --> 0:13:47.841 killed and the time when her body was found. But 0:13:48.441 --> 0:13:52.121 the autopsy report also specifically states that there is no 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:56.280 sign of either external or internal vaginal or anal trauma, 0:13:56.721 --> 0:13:59.521 and there is no mention of a sexual assault examination 0:13:59.721 --> 0:14:04.201 of any kind. Is it possible that Britney's killer removed 0:14:04.201 --> 0:14:06.601 the tampon to stage the crime scene to look like 0:14:06.601 --> 0:14:09.681 an assault, or that they were in the process of 0:14:09.721 --> 0:14:14.241 sexually assaulting her but were interrupted. We don't know, but 0:14:14.441 --> 0:14:17.241 in my opinion, the fact that there is no definitive 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:20.521 indication in the medical examiner's report of rape or sexual 0:14:20.521 --> 0:14:25.921 assault might change the killer's mo and presumably might widen 0:14:25.961 --> 0:14:31.321 the pool of suspects. But then, because nothing was taken 0:14:31.361 --> 0:14:35.161 from the scene, what was the killer's motive and was 0:14:35.161 --> 0:14:38.961 it someone who Britney knew or a stranger possibly a 0:14:39.001 --> 0:14:43.081 serial killer. Lydia did say that because of the chemistry 0:14:43.081 --> 0:14:45.881 test that night, she and Brittany had left class a 0:14:45.881 --> 0:14:49.441 little earlier than usual. Could the killer have known Britney's 0:14:49.441 --> 0:14:53.521 schedule and been stalking her. One thing that detectives used 0:14:53.521 --> 0:14:55.801 to determine if the killer was known or unknown to 0:14:55.841 --> 0:14:58.521 the victim is whether or not entry to the crime 0:14:58.601 --> 0:15:02.161 scene was forced. Many media outlets have reported over the 0:15:02.241 --> 0:15:05.121 years there was no sign in a fourth century. So 0:15:05.921 --> 0:15:10.561 how did Britney's killer access the apartment? One theory investigators 0:15:10.601 --> 0:15:13.281 had was that the killer could have gotten in through 0:15:13.321 --> 0:15:15.681 an attic space that was accessible to all of the 0:15:15.721 --> 0:15:20.081 apartments in that complex, which might suggest that the killer 0:15:20.241 --> 0:15:24.441 was familiar with Britney's apartment complex. But it turns out 0:15:24.721 --> 0:15:29.161 Britney's apartment was much easier to access than initially reported. 0:15:30.041 --> 0:15:33.081 A few weeks before her murder, Britney had been locked 0:15:33.121 --> 0:15:35.921 out of her apartment. She had had to get someone 0:15:35.961 --> 0:15:38.561 to boost her up to her second four balcony so 0:15:38.641 --> 0:15:42.161 that she could get in, and when Britney's body was found, 0:15:42.601 --> 0:15:45.161 it was noted that the balcony doors of her apartment 0:15:45.201 --> 0:15:48.201 were open. Also, Lydia told us that when she went 0:15:48.241 --> 0:15:52.761 into Britney's apartment that the door was unlocked. In the 0:15:52.801 --> 0:15:56.641 early stages of the investigation, police seemed to believe that 0:15:56.721 --> 0:16:00.521 this was some kind of robbery gone wrong. In two 0:16:00.561 --> 0:16:03.601 thousand and seven, police went public with a piece of evidence, 0:16:04.041 --> 0:16:08.081 a light purple lavender pillowcase found at the scene that 0:16:08.161 --> 0:16:12.041 did not match any of Britney's other bed linens. According 0:16:12.081 --> 0:16:15.761 to Tulsa World, Police theorized that the robber may have 0:16:15.761 --> 0:16:19.321 broken into Britney's apartment and was using their own pillowcase 0:16:19.361 --> 0:16:23.080 to steal things, and then the robber was either interrupted 0:16:23.081 --> 0:16:26.241 by Britney walking in or just got frazzled and forgot 0:16:26.241 --> 0:16:30.481 the pillowcase. Investigators at the time said they were releasing 0:16:30.481 --> 0:16:34.241 the information about the pillowcase because there had been robberies 0:16:34.281 --> 0:16:38.081 in the area, robberies where the perpetrators used pillowcases to 0:16:38.121 --> 0:16:42.081 gather up the stuff they stole. Police released photos of 0:16:42.121 --> 0:16:45.601 this pillowcase and they that maybe someone out there might 0:16:45.681 --> 0:16:49.921 recognize the linens. We asked Maggie about the pillowcase. She 0:16:50.121 --> 0:16:52.641 tells us that the police found no DNA on it 0:16:53.001 --> 0:16:55.681 and that eventually they discovered that it either belonged to 0:16:55.721 --> 0:16:59.481 Brittany or to someone she knew. They now don't believe 0:16:59.521 --> 0:17:02.841 that it was related to Britney's murder. It seemed to 0:17:02.921 --> 0:17:08.120 be just another red herring. There was some DNA of 0:17:08.161 --> 0:17:11.521 in it's found in Britney's apartment. According to information that 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:14.921 law enforcement has released over the years, there were traces 0:17:14.921 --> 0:17:18.160 of seamen on Britney's sheets, a small amount of blood 0:17:18.201 --> 0:17:23.321 on a wall, and DNA underneath Britney's fingernails. Maggie said 0:17:23.481 --> 0:17:27.160 that she believed that the DNA under Britney's fingernails indicated 0:17:27.201 --> 0:17:30.120 that her daughter may have fought for her life. She 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:33.801 believes that the killer was either waiting for Brittany when 0:17:33.801 --> 0:17:37.161 she came home, or possibly that he broke in while 0:17:37.201 --> 0:17:43.241 she was sleeping. Maggie tells us she started investigating the 0:17:43.241 --> 0:17:47.481 possiblity that Britney's killer had been a serial killer and 0:17:47.761 --> 0:17:50.840 that he may have killed again or possibly left the area. 0:17:51.641 --> 0:17:55.680 That's why she started sharing Britney's story. With people across 0:17:55.721 --> 0:18:00.321 the country. Maggie said she estimated she's traveled over three 0:18:00.521 --> 0:18:04.721 hundred thousand miles. She told People magazine that she has 0:18:04.761 --> 0:18:07.640 spent a massive amount of money, approximately one hundred and 0:18:07.681 --> 0:18:11.920 twenty thousand dollars, to keep Britney's story out there. She 0:18:12.041 --> 0:18:14.521 also told the magazine her travels have given her a 0:18:14.561 --> 0:18:17.481 new purpose in life. They've allowed her to process her 0:18:17.521 --> 0:18:21.001 grief and to connect with other families, in some cases, 0:18:21.161 --> 0:18:24.281 people who have also lost family members to violent crime. 0:18:25.401 --> 0:18:29.120 She's also gotten multiple tips over the years she's shared 0:18:29.121 --> 0:18:32.001 them with police. Unfortunately, none of them have panned out 0:18:32.041 --> 0:18:37.641 so far. Although Maggie remains hopeful that one day Britney's 0:18:37.681 --> 0:18:40.481 killer will be brought to justice, she has said that 0:18:40.561 --> 0:18:44.600 her travels have also become about another purpose. She wants 0:18:44.641 --> 0:18:48.201 to connect with the victims of other homicide cold case families, 0:18:48.881 --> 0:18:52.761 and she wants to change legislation to allow more DNA 0:18:52.801 --> 0:18:56.521 testing to be done, hopefully without waiting years or decades. 0:18:57.681 --> 0:19:00.840 But Maggie has also never given up on getting the 0:19:00.881 --> 0:19:06.921 break that will bring Britney's killer or killers to justice. 0:19:07.041 --> 0:19:11.200 In twenty twenty three, Maggie got a call one that 0:19:11.281 --> 0:19:13.921 she said could change everything that she thought she knew 0:19:13.921 --> 0:19:22.561 about the timeline leading up to when Britney's body was found. 0:19:25.161 --> 0:19:29.281 In twenty twenty three, Britney's mother, Maggie got a call 0:19:29.361 --> 0:19:33.080 from her ex husband, Britney's father. He told her that 0:19:33.161 --> 0:19:35.201 he found a birthday card that Brittany had mailed to 0:19:35.241 --> 0:19:37.840 him in two thousand and four. He was supposed to 0:19:37.961 --> 0:19:40.961 forward it to her grandfather. That was apparently their routine 0:19:41.001 --> 0:19:45.281 every year. In twenty twenty three, Maggie was on private 0:19:45.281 --> 0:19:50.400 investigator Cheryl McCollum's podcast Zone seven, and they talked about 0:19:50.401 --> 0:19:53.521 on the podcast the fact that Cheryl had investigated the 0:19:53.521 --> 0:19:56.081 stamp and found out that the stamp was bought from 0:19:56.080 --> 0:20:00.041 a Kiosk machine, which means that the stamp was printed 0:20:00.121 --> 0:20:03.120 from that machine on the day it was mailed. But 0:20:03.201 --> 0:20:06.481 the weird thing is the post office stamp was dated 0:20:06.521 --> 0:20:11.041 September twenty ninth, and up until that point, police's working 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:14.200 theory was that Britney was killed sometime between the night 0:20:14.241 --> 0:20:17.160 of the twenty seventh, after she dropped Lydia off and 0:20:17.241 --> 0:20:21.721 the morning of the twenty eighth. Maggie believes that could 0:20:21.881 --> 0:20:25.521 change the timeline. Brittany could possibly still have been alive 0:20:25.561 --> 0:20:28.160 on the twenty ninth, at least a day after the 0:20:28.201 --> 0:20:32.601 police's timeline. She is also considered the possibility someone else 0:20:32.641 --> 0:20:35.321 could have mailed that letter for Brittany, possibly one of 0:20:35.321 --> 0:20:36.401 her friends. 0:20:36.321 --> 0:20:38.120 Or less possibly the killer. 0:20:40.281 --> 0:20:42.201 Over the years, Maggie has talked to a lot of 0:20:42.201 --> 0:20:46.321 Britney's friends, so she hasn't found anyone who remembers being 0:20:46.361 --> 0:20:49.001 asked to drop off a letter. So that is still 0:20:49.041 --> 0:20:52.161 a big unanswered question. We're going to be diving more 0:20:52.201 --> 0:20:56.561 into that question next week in Part two. Other than 0:20:56.601 --> 0:21:00.641 the material under Britney's fingernails, which is not conclusive, there's 0:21:00.761 --> 0:21:03.561 no sign of defensive wounds anywhere else on her body. 0:21:04.161 --> 0:21:07.241 Now we should say the body had been there for 0:21:07.361 --> 0:21:10.361 an estimated possibly two or three days by the time 0:21:10.361 --> 0:21:15.481 she was found, and everything including DNA evidence, deteriorates during 0:21:15.521 --> 0:21:19.841 that time. But the medical examiner's report does not mention 0:21:20.041 --> 0:21:23.281 any evidence of beating or defensive wounds. There were no 0:21:23.441 --> 0:21:27.441 injuries to Britney's face or nose. The medical examiner also 0:21:27.521 --> 0:21:31.121 noted that rigor mortis was absent in Britney's jaw and extremities, 0:21:31.401 --> 0:21:34.681 and that liver mortis or blood pooling was fixed and 0:21:34.761 --> 0:21:38.241 non blanchable on the back side of her body. Now 0:21:38.361 --> 0:21:42.041 normally blood pooling becomes fixed around eight to twelve hours 0:21:42.041 --> 0:21:45.321 after death. Fix just means that if the body is moved, 0:21:45.721 --> 0:21:48.801 the blood will stay in the same place. The medical 0:21:48.840 --> 0:21:51.721 examiner did not indicate a time of death, which isn't 0:21:51.721 --> 0:21:54.640 that uncommon. Often, in cases where a body has been 0:21:54.681 --> 0:21:57.120 at a scene for days or weeks, the time of 0:21:57.161 --> 0:22:00.481 death is determined by the time the victim was last seen, 0:22:00.961 --> 0:22:02.521 rather than exact forensics. 0:22:02.961 --> 0:22:04.761 But we do know that it takes. 0:22:04.521 --> 0:22:07.881 About twenty four hours for rigor mortis to pass, which 0:22:07.921 --> 0:22:11.321 would indicate that Brittany had almost certainly been dead for 0:22:11.401 --> 0:22:16.081 at least a day or more. On Britney's neck there 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:20.600 were three irregularly shaped oval bruises, bruises that were about 0:22:20.601 --> 0:22:23.481 the same size as fingers. She was wearing a white 0:22:23.481 --> 0:22:27.360 metal necklace and it was broken. Her hyoid bone showed 0:22:27.401 --> 0:22:31.361 signs of trauma but was not broken, which, while not conclusive, 0:22:32.041 --> 0:22:37.001 is more common in manual strangulation than ligature strangulation. Brittany 0:22:37.001 --> 0:22:40.160 had hemorrhaging in her throat and broken blood vessels in 0:22:40.201 --> 0:22:42.041 her eyes, which both. 0:22:41.801 --> 0:22:43.201 Can be indicative of strangulation. 0:22:44.241 --> 0:22:47.680 The autopsy concluded Britney's death was violent and that the 0:22:47.681 --> 0:22:52.241 cause of death was asphyxia due to net compression. Given 0:22:52.281 --> 0:22:56.201 the evidence, I believe that so far it seems to 0:22:56.281 --> 0:23:01.601 point to suffocation caused by manual strangulation. DNA samples were 0:23:01.601 --> 0:23:04.880 taken from Britney's apartment and compared in its CODIS the 0:23:04.961 --> 0:23:10.481 Combined DNA Index system, and there was no match. Maggie 0:23:10.521 --> 0:23:14.080 began raising funds to do private DNA testing. She reached 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:16.521 out to every person she could think of in an 0:23:16.561 --> 0:23:20.881 effort to make it happen. In twenty eighteen, Eddie Majors, 0:23:20.921 --> 0:23:25.080 a cold case investigator with the Tulsa Police Department, announced 0:23:25.121 --> 0:23:28.081 that he was inspired by the way the police had 0:23:28.121 --> 0:23:32.761 caught the Golden State Killer in California using genealogy websites. 0:23:33.561 --> 0:23:36.841 He told Tulsa World that over the years he had 0:23:36.840 --> 0:23:40.121 developed a close friendship with Maggie. He wanted to help 0:23:40.161 --> 0:23:44.041 her find answers in any way that he could. Emitted 0:23:44.080 --> 0:23:47.120 samples from Britney's crime scene, the blood and seamen on 0:23:47.161 --> 0:23:51.401 the wall to Parabond Nanilabs, a Virginia based DNA company 0:23:51.561 --> 0:23:55.881 that is able to run familial DNA samples there, Maggie 0:23:55.921 --> 0:23:58.641 and Eddie started working with the chief genetic. 0:23:58.241 --> 0:24:01.921 Genealogist, C. C. Moore, and they got a match. 0:24:02.641 --> 0:24:05.361 Maggie told us the DNA from the blood and semen 0:24:05.801 --> 0:24:08.921 wasn't just a familial match, They got an exact match. 0:24:09.881 --> 0:24:14.201 But then there was another twist. Law enforcement discovered the 0:24:14.321 --> 0:24:17.441 DNA profile lay built from blood and seamen was from 0:24:17.481 --> 0:24:20.961 someone the police had already talked to. He was the 0:24:20.961 --> 0:24:24.241 boyfriend of one of Britney's friends, and he and his 0:24:24.281 --> 0:24:27.041 girlfriend had spent the night at Britney's apartment the weekend 0:24:27.080 --> 0:24:31.161 before the murder, and Maggie told us investigators have told 0:24:31.201 --> 0:24:34.920 her that this man had an airtight alibi and that 0:24:34.961 --> 0:24:39.481 they had already interviewed him. Police have confirmed this, which 0:24:39.601 --> 0:24:42.321 meant that the phenotype of the killer came from the 0:24:42.401 --> 0:24:47.521