Casefile True Crime - Case 146: Brittany Phillips

Episode Date: June 13, 2020

When 18-year-old Brittany Phillips enrolled to study at Tulsa Community College in Oklahoma, she was excited to move into her own apartment. With the help of her mother Maggie Zingman, she soon found the perfect place – a one-bedroom apartment in the Glen Eagles housing complex on East 65th Street. --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Written by Jessica Forsayeth Additional writing and editing by Elsha McGill Creative Director: Milly Raso For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-146-brittany-phillips

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In 2003, 17-year-old Brittany Phillips was thrilled when she received a full scholarship to study chemistry at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, a coastal city in Florida's Tampa Bay region. Her mother, Dr. Maggie Zingman, had attended the same college in the 1970s and excitedly helped her daughter prepare for the interstate move from their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Brittany was inspired to study chemistry after losing her grandmother to cancer during her senior year of high school and had decided to dedicate her life to finding a cure for the disease. She left for college in August of 2003 and threw herself wholeheartedly into her studies. Brittany was a friendly and trusting young woman who had no problems settling into her new surroundings. She succeeded academically, made new friends and took a part-time job waitressing at a popular seafood restaurant. However, as she neared the end of her first year at Eckerd College, Brittany became increasingly homesick. She was a year younger than her classmates, having started kindergarten a year ahead of schedule and she found it difficult to be away from her loved ones.

She decided to withdraw from Eckerd College and return to Tulsa to continue her studies closer to home. Brittany's mother Maggie and older brother Joshua supported this decision wholeheartedly. They were a close knit trio, with the mother and daughter speaking on the phone nearly every day. Maggie was always Brittany's first point of contact whenever she was struggling or needed advice and she was relieved that Brittany was returning to the comfort of Tulsa. As a concerned mother, she had been worried about Brittany's safety while she was studying interstate. Not only was Brittany younger than her classmates, but she had a particularly youthful appearance and a trusting nature that Maggie feared could make her especially vulnerable. In May 2004, 18-year-old Brittany returned to Oklahoma and enrolled in Tulsa Community College. Her plan was to obtain the relevant transfer grades that would allow her to study chemistry at Oklahoma State University.

After perusing local apartment listings, she found a suitable one-bedroom apartment in a large housing complex called Glen Eagles, which was located at 9407 East 65th Street in Tulsa. Glen Eagles housed multiple blocks of one and two-storey apartment buildings interspersed with car parking facilities and was home to many other students at Tulsa Community College as well as working couples and young families. It was within walking distance of Union High School where Brittany had graduated from just over a year prior, which pleased her as she was already familiar with the area. Brittany and Maggie inspected apartment number 3216 in the 32nd building. All up, the building had 16 apartments across two levels, with eight on the bottom story and eight on the top. Depending on the location of each apartment, access could be gained via either a front or rear entry. Apartment 3216 was situated on the top floor at the end of the building, meaning there were only adjoining neighbors to one side. The interior was small and a little dated, but it had everything Brittany would need for life as a busy student, including a kitchen, small dining area, living room and bathroom.

The bedroom even featured a walk-in wardrobe and floor to ceiling bay windows that opened onto a small balcony. The front door, which was accessible from the rear of the building, had a small dent in it, but the landlord assured Brittany they would have it repaired and the rest of the apartment appeared to be in good condition. Being a safety conscious mother, Maggie researched the area online and found that the crime rate there was lower than the state average. She also ran a check for sexual predators in the neighborhood. Concluding that it would be a safe and convenient place to live, Brittany handed over her deposit and signed the lease. Brittany quickly settled back into life in Tulsa. Brittany quickly settled back into life in Tulsa. She attended classes at college 16 hours a week and secured a part-time job as a waitress at a nearby Applebee's restaurant.

It didn't take long for her to make friends and she soon became close with a group of female students who took turns hosting study groups at their respective homes. Brittany warmly welcomed her friends and their partners to her apartment and enjoyed playing the role of host. Every weekend, she made the two-hour round trip to visit her mother Maggie at her home in the small Oklahoma town of Chandler, where Maggie worked as a psychologist and counselor at a maximum security women's prison. In Tulsa, Brittany soon began dating. Ever since she was little, Maggie had nicknamed her Pretty Brittany on account of her long curly blonde hair, wide eyes and infectious dimpled smile. She was five foot two inches tall with a petite frame and fresh face and her natural beauty had landed her some occasional modeling work. The combination of her good looks and kind nature ensured Brittany was never short of admirers. As she was the type of person who didn't like turning anyone down, Brittany attracted a fair share of undesirable boyfriends, some of whom were physically and verbally abusive towards her.

At one stage, she went on a date with a security guard who she described to her mother as creepy and strange. Despite saying she didn't want to see him again, the security guard continued pursuing Brittany until she eventually had to block his number. Maggie was relieved when Brittany started dating a nice young man whom she brought to Chandler for a visit. On the afternoon of Monday, September 27, 2004, Brittany was suffering from seasonal allergies that caused her to feel unwell and irritable. This was an ongoing health issue and she went to the Urgent Care Medical Center where she sat in the waiting room for several hours before leaving without seeing a doctor. Frustrated, she called her mother for advice. Maggie told her not to worry and that she would book an appointment for Brittany to see a doctor in Chandler when she came to visit on the weekend. Brittany agreed, telling her mother she had an evening class to attend and would then go straight home to bed.

The pair ended the call as they always did, telling each other, I love you. Brittany then drove to pick up a friend for their class at Tulsa Community College's South Campus. On the way into the class, she ran into her brother Joshua who was also studying at the campus and the two had a brief conversation. After class, at approximately 9.45pm, Brittany dropped her friend home and then drove the short distance back to her apartment. The next day of Tuesday, September 28, Brittany didn't show up to her scheduled classes. Her friends noted this as highly unusual as she was a dedicated and punctual student but they assumed she must still be feeling unwell. That same day, Maggie tried to call Brittany but her phone rang out and eventually went to voicemail. Maggie left a message asking her daughter to return her call.

On Wednesday, September 29, Brittany was once again absent from her classes and still hadn't returned Maggie's call. Maggie phoned again and left another voicemail. Although it was unusual for the mother and daughter to go a few days without speaking, it did occasionally happen. So Maggie tried to reassure herself that Brittany was likely just busy and would return the call in due course. When Brittany still hadn't shown up to any of her classes by Thursday, September 30, her friends began to worry. At 9pm that evening, Maggie called Brittany but for the third time in as many days, the call went unanswered. She left a third voicemail, this time asking Brittany to call her back immediately as she was starting to become very concerned. Brittany's friend Emma, not her real name, decided to check on Brittany herself.

Emma's father was a district attorney with a background as a police officer so she called him as she made her way up the stairs to Brittany's apartment and explained the situation. When Emma reached the front door, she knocked but there was no response. She tried the door handle and was surprised to find that it was unlocked. She pushed it open at crack but her father, who was still on the phone, warned her against going inside. Instead, he offered to send a police officer around to perform a wellness check. The dispatch officers arrived at the apartment just before 10pm. Inside the bedroom, alongside the bed, they found Brittany's lifeless body lying on the floor, facing away from the bed head. It was immediately obvious that her death was the result of a homicide, with marks on her neck indicating she had been strangled.

She was wearing a sleeveless top and underwear but it appeared as though she may have been redressed into this outfit. Investigators were dispatched to the apartment while the crime scene was quickly established and Brittany's body was transported to the medical examiner's office for further investigation. In the early morning hours of Friday, October 1, an officer from the Chandler County Sheriff's Department was sent to Maggie's home to deliver the news. When she opened the door, the officer told her bluntly, You need to call the Tulsa police. Your daughter has been murdered. Assuming the authorities must have Brittany confused with someone else, Maggie got straight into her car and drove the 65 miles southeast to Tulsa. When she arrived at the Glen Eagles complex, she found Brittany's apartment filled with police officers. An officer advised that Brittany was deceased and had been identified using the photo on her driver's license.

Devastated and in shock, Maggie left for the medical examiner's office in the hope of being able to see her daughter one last time. Tulsa homicide detective Jeff Felton and a team of local officers were assigned to Brittany's case. They scoured her apartment and quickly uncovered a wealth of forensic evidence. Alongside the location where Brittany's body had been found, there lay a small tower that looked like it had been used by the killer in an attempt to clean up. A pale purple pillowcase was also nearby and quickly attracted the detective's attention as it didn't match any of the other bed linen in the apartment. This indicated it may have been brought there by the assailant. What appeared to be a urine stain was found on the bed sheet and a miniscule speck of blood was found on the wall leading out of the bedroom. The towel, pillowcase and sheet were taken into evidence for further testing.

In the bedroom and living room, all of the flyscreens had been removed from the windows, amounting to four screens in total. Each of these were dusted for fingerprints. Marks on the bedroom wall indicated that Brittany had put up a struggle in the attack, but aside from this, everything in the apartment appeared to be in place and it didn't look like anything had been stolen. There were no signs of forced entry, which led police to consider that Brittany may have known her attacker and willingly let them inside. They speculated that after the murder, the killer may have then removed the flyscreens to make it look like someone had broken in to conduct a random attack. Alternatively, they may have accessed the apartment from another entry point, perhaps even lying in wait for her to return home. It was presumed that after the attack, the assailant had left via the front door, which explained why it was unlocked when Brittany's friend came upon the scene. At the medical examiner's office, a post-mortem revealed Brittany had been killed sometime between arriving home at 9.45pm on Monday, September 27 and 8 o'clock the next morning of Tuesday, September 28.

This meant she had laid deceased in her apartment for approximately three days before being found. The faint outline of thumbprints were detected around her neck, indicating the killer had likely strangled her using their bare hands. A rape kit determined that Brittany had been sexually assaulted, but there were insufficient amounts of semen to extract a DNA profile. It appeared as though the rape had taken place after she had been rendered unconscious, but small traces of blood found beneath her fingernails, indicated she had fought her attacker until the very end. Unfortunately, investigators were unable to extract a DNA profile from the blood under her nails. Maggie wasn't allowed to see Brittany at the medical examiner's office and had to wait until she was ready for burial. Her body and face had been covered by a thin towel, and Maggie was advised not to look underneath. Instead, she gently stroked Brittany's hair and set a final goodbye the same way she had always farewelled her daughter, by tracing a fingertip down her covered forehead to the end of her nose.

On Monday, October 4, Brittany's funeral was held at the Temple Israel in Tulsa on what would have been her 19th birthday. Afterwards, her loved ones proceeded to the Rose Hill Cemetery to lay her to rest. Brittany's obituary, lovingly penned by Maggie, read, A gift has been taken back. On October 4, 1985, your bright eyes opened to the world, and on this day, 19 years later, your eyes closed for the last time. My little girl, with long blonde curls, you were taken too soon. Your youth and aged wisdom are now locked inside. You were the smiling, spinning, dancing pony princess.

You were the young woman who wanted to research ways to heal. You loved deeper than many, and hurt twice as hard. You touched all that ever met you. We all will ache with your loss, for there was so much you had to give. My little pretty, pretty, one last time I say, Remember my smile and kisses, my arms wrapped tightly around you, keeping you safe inside. In this way, I hold you forever. As Brittany's loved ones mourned her sudden and tragic loss,

Detective Felton and his team worked tirelessly on the case. Brittany's death was the 38th homicide in Tulsa that year, but one of the few that involved sexual assault, and the pressure was on for police to make a quick arrest. The amount of forensic evidence left at the scene gave them hope that the case would be solved quickly, but the fingerprints that had been detected on the window screens were incomplete and couldn't be matched to a suspect. However, it was determined that the speck of blood found on the wall leading out of Brittany's bedroom

had come from an unknown person, and forensic experts were able to use it to establish a DNA profile. Relieved at this news, Maggie thought that it wouldn't be long before her daughter's killer was in prison. She told a reporter from Tulsa World News that once he was caught, she wanted the perpetrator to spend the rest of his life behind bars, as death would be an easy way out. She said, quote, I am hoping they find this person, although I know it will not bring Brittany back.

Working on the theory that Brittany knew her killer, police obtained mouth swabs from her friends, family and neighbors, as well as maintenance workers from the Glen Eagles complex who may have had access to her apartment. The young man she had recently started dating was also tested and questioned. Each DNA sample was compared against the suspect's profile, but no matches were found. The DNA search was extended to Brittany's classmates at both Tulsa Community College and Eckerd College, as well as acquaintances who'd had contact with Brittany in the past.

Not a single match was made, leading investigators to extend the testing to local persons of interest with a history of sexual assault and violent crimes. Maggie told police about the date Brittany had been on with the security guard that had left her feeling uneasy and tense. The security guard was tracked down but refused to give a DNA sample. Police obtained a court order that required him to comply, however, his DNA wasn't a match to the suspect's and with no other evidence to link him to the case,

he was ruled out of the investigation. The suspect's DNA was entered into CODIS, the national database used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to store and analyze DNA. At the time of Brittany's murder, CODIS contained more than 2 million offender profiles, but none matched the killer's sample. Nevertheless, investigators were hopeful that a hit may be generated in the future. The Tulsa Police Department developed a behavioral profile

and deduced that the killer may have worked in the public service sector and regularly traveled the I-35, I-44 or I-40 highways for work, as these provided cross-country access. He was the type of person who likely stayed up late and often went out during odd hours of the night. He found it difficult to control his emotions and liked to inflict pain on others or himself, both in everyday life and sexually.

While he may have previously been outgoing, since Brittany's murder, he had likely become quiet and closed off from family and friends. THE DETECTIVE Considering there were so many other tenants within the Glen Eagles complex, one of the most pressing questions for detectives was how the killer managed to gain access to Brittany's apartment undetected. No witnesses had reported any suspicious activity,

nor seeing anyone lurking around the building or attempting to break in. Likewise, no one had been seen leaving the apartment in the early morning hours of Tuesday, September 28. During a search of Brittany's residence, one officer noticed that the ceiling in the walk-in wardrobe contained an access point to the attic. Sliding the manhole cover aside, he hoisted himself into the attic

and realized that the upstairs space was shared by four apartments on the top floor of the complex. Theoretically, this meant that Brittany's killer could have accessed the attic via any of the other three top floor apartments and then lowered himself into her apartment via the manhole in her wardrobe, lying in wait for her to return. This theory would explain why there were no signs of forced entry and why no one was seen breaking into the apartment.

Another possibility was that Brittany's attacker had managed to hoist themselves up to the bedroom balcony and then entered via the bay windows. Although it would have been an awkward manoeuvre, it would be possible if they were of tall stature. However, gaining entry in this fashion would have required the bay windows to have been left unlocked, which was unlikely given that Brittany was very safety-conscious.

Additionally, it wouldn't have been an easy feat for the attacker to climb onto the balcony without drawing attention. Another lead emerged when the police learnt that the previous tenants in Brittany's apartment were involved in drug dealing. The dent that had been in her front door when she moved in had been caused during one of the frequent altercations that occurred whilst the dealers were living there.

In one instance, gang members had also broken into the apartment. Investigators considered the possibility that the gang members returned to retaliate against the previous tenants, only to find Brittany there instead. This line of inquiry was explored, but police soon concluded that the previous incidents at the apartment weren't related to Brittany's murder in any way. As the weeks passed by,

no suspects or major leads were identified. In the early stages of the investigation, the DNA of over 1,000 individuals was tested against the perpetrators with no successful matches. What police initially thought would be a quick investigation with a swift arrest was turning out to be a complete mystery. Locals were outraged by Brittany's murder and the time it was taking to solve the case.

Tulsa crime reporter Laurie Fulbright recounted that in all her years on the job, it was rare that an innocent 18-year-old who wasn't involved in any high-risk behaviour, such as drug dealing or sex work, had been murdered so callously. A couple of months into the investigation, forensic experts examined the bedsheet

taken from Brittany's apartment and discovered that what was initially thought to be a urine stain was in fact semen. A DNA sample was extracted, revealing that the DNA from the semen sample was a match to the DNA from the blood sample on the wall. This gave investigators an even stronger profile for the suspect. In order to keep the case in the spotlight,

Brittany's mother Maggie conducted interviews with as many media outlets as possible. She contacted various national crime shows, such as America's Most Wanted and the Investigation Discovery Channel in an attempt to have Brittany's story shared, but her requests were continuously rejected. One popular television program told Maggie

that her daughter's death was too boring a story to turn into an episode and that it simply didn't have enough of a hook to cover. The police continued to question those close to Brittany and obtained DNA swabs from individuals with even a loose association to her, but no new leads emerged and no matches were identified.

With no information to go on, the case soon went cold. As the months continued to pass with no new leads, Maggie reached out to the Carroll-Sund Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation for assistance. The foundation was established by the parents of Carroll-Sund, who was murdered along with her teenage daughter Julie-Sund and their traveling companion Sylvina Palosso

near Yosemite National Park in California in 1999. It aimed to provide financial rewards to assist law enforcement in locating missing people and bringing violent criminals to justice. The foundation agreed to help Maggie and offered a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of Brittany's killer within a six-month timeframe.

The Crime Commission also added $1,000 to the reward pool. On August 16, 2005, a press conference was held to announce the reward money, during which Maggie said, quote, When we have children, for the first few minutes after they are born, we think, what if? What if? But it is too hard to think about something happening to them. She made an impassioned plea for anyone with information

to put themselves in her shoes and not to hesitate to contact the police. The announcement of the reward money generated a few new tip-offs, but none provided any useful leads, and the one-year anniversary of Brittany's murder came and went with no developments in the case. In February of 2006, Maggie reached out to an outdoor advertising company

who agreed to feature Brittany on one of their billboards. To maximize public awareness, the billboards would be relocated to different high-traffic areas around Tulsa every three months for a 12-month period. The billboard featured a photo of Brittany, along with the heading, a murderer remains on the streets of Tulsa and a number decor with information.

It was initially erected on the corner of the I-244 Expressway and Utica Avenue, a busy stretch of road in Tulsa. Hopeful that the billboard would generate new leads, the Carroll-Sund Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation agreed to extend the timeframe within which the $5,000 reward money could be claimed. Maggie was cautiously optimistic, but once again the days turned into months

without any promising leads. In September 2007, as the third anniversary of Brittany's death was approaching, the pale purple pillowcase found at the crime scene was displayed to the public at a local news conference. Although Brittany's was the only DNA detected on the pillowcase, Detective Belton explained that the killer may have taken the item to her apartment as a makeshift bag

and had accidentally left it behind. He said he had been hesitant to release the description of the pillowcase earlier in case it prompted the killer to throw out any matching linen, therefore destroying evidence. Nearly three years on, he urged the public to think back to September 2004 and recall if they had a boyfriend or roommate who was missing an unbranded pale purple pillowcase

that had some light bleach staining at one end. This announcement generated no new leads, prompting police to consider whether the pillowcase may have belonged to Brittany after all. When the three-year anniversary came and went with no breakthroughs, Maggie stood on the street near Brittany's apartment, handing out flyers in an attempt

to raise awareness about her daughter's case. She was frustrated by the constant disinterest of national media outlets and had decided to publicise Brittany's case herself. In October of 2007, Maggie had her Toyota RAV4 SUV professionally painted in Brittany's favourite colours, pink and purple,

with images of butterflies dancing through swells of colour. Printed in bold, capitalised font along the driver's side of the car were the words, Caravan to Catch a Killer, next to several images of Brittany. Inside the car, Maggie set up framed photos of Brittany alongside some of her favourite childhood toys.

Although she barely had enough money to support herself, Maggie set off across the northeast USA in her eye-catching SUV. For three weeks, she travelled through small towns, stopping wherever she could to tell Brittany's story and successfully attracted attention from local media. Upon her return home and to work, Maggie set about saving enough money to tour her Caravan to Catch a Killer

through the southeastern states. At the time of Brittany's murder, just 15 states in the USA took DNA samples from offenders upon their arrest. The remaining 35 states, including Oklahoma, only took DNA samples at the time of conviction. This allowed many sex offenders to slip through the cracks, as some victims retracted their statements

or failed to testify before a conviction could be made, often due to shame and fear of retribution. Maggie believed that if DNA samples were required to be taken from offenders at the time of arrest, Brittany's killer would have been identified right away. She began working in close contact with legislators and police to campaign for the laws to be changed in Oklahoma, telling the Tulsa World newspaper, quote,

We can't bring Brittany back, but I am going to use her name and her story to change these laws, so maybe this does not happen to someone else. In response, civil rights advocates argued that obtaining DNA upon arrest was an unconstitutional breach of privacy rights. Another problem when it came to identifying the killer's DNA was that a huge backlog of DNA samples collected from rape test kits

were yet to be analyzed and added to the CODIS database. This was a nationwide problem, as funding cuts meant more pressing issues took precedence. In Oklahoma alone, thousands of DNA samples taken from rape victims were still untested, with some dating back as far as a decade. There were no laws requiring that testing be done

or that untested samples were kept, which led to a large number of rape test kits being discarded by law enforcement agencies. In April of 2008, Maggie embarked on her second caravan to catch a killer tour, with Britney's pink cowboy hat riding alongside on the passenger seat. She travelled a total of 4,200 miles throughout America's southeast, giving 17 news interviews across nine states,

while also campaigning for Oklahoma's DNA testing laws to be changed. Maggie was overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who were willing to listen to her story, with some even donating money for fuel so she could continue her journey. She also met other parents whose children had been murdered and began building up a support network for families to share stories of their loved ones. Maggie spent the next few years setting out across the country on more caravan to catch a killer tours whenever time and finances allowed.

In 2011, lawmakers concluded that collecting DNA from a suspect who was not a convicted felon went against the Fourth Amendment rights of unlawful search and seizure. They also believed it contradicted the fundamental constitutional right of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Disappointed by the outcome, but undeterred, Maggie pressed on. The following year,

the Supreme Court determined that collecting DNA upon arrest was not an invasion of privacy and had nothing to do with being innocent until proven guilty, as DNA was nothing more than a forensic tool akin to collecting fingerprints. Following this, more states across the country started passing laws that required DNA to be collected from suspects at the time of arrest for certain crimes. By 2014, as the 10-year anniversary of Brittany's death passed, Maggie wrapped up her 12th caravan to catch a killer tour

and was more determined than ever to stop the case from going cold. In May 2016, thanks in part to Maggie's tireless campaigning, Oklahoma became the 29th state to sign a bill that required DNA to be collected at the time of arrest for suspects of rape and certain violent crimes. As the votes were read aloud, the senators gave Maggie a standing ovation. During a subsequent interview with Fox 23 News at Brittany's gravesite, Maggie said, quote, People tell me I'm brave, or people tell me I could never do this,

but I have no choice. I sort of feared that if we find her killer, we're going to find out that he was arrested numerous times, that he came through the system, and that because we didn't take the DNA then, that he was out there doing it again. She said she hoped the new laws would enable perpetrators to be captured quickly before they had the chance to commit further crimes.

An investigator from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations DNA Lab said that if the law had been passed two years prior, 14 murders and 25 sex crimes could have been prevented. She told Fox 23 News, quote, We're talking about bad crimes, murder, assault, child sexual assault, child physical assault. Obtaining DNA upon arrest casts a wider net where we capture those people maybe when they first offend,

instead of when they offend the fifth or sixth time. In mid-2017, a state audit into the backlog of DNA test kits revealed that the Tulsa Police Department had more than 3,000 untested kits dating back to the early 1990s. Due to lack of funding, the department concentrated on testing the more recent kits first, as there was a higher chance the perpetrator would be prosecuted

and there weren't enough resources to process the backlog. This meant that if Britney's killer had committed another sexual crime, which police believed was highly likely, his DNA could be sitting on a shelf untested. In early 2018, nearly 14 years after Britney's murder, advances in DNA phenotyping technology allowed for an image of the prime suspect

to be generated using the profile obtained from his blood and semen. Although DNA phenotyping doesn't provide an exact match, it can accurately predict the person's genetic ancestry, eye and hair color, complexion, face shape, and even whether or not the person has freckles. Although the testing is expensive, MAGI organized for the leading DNA phenotyping laboratory in the country, Parabon Nanolabs, to create the image

in the hopes it would result in further tips from the public. The DNA phenotype revealed that the killer was a Caucasian male of European ancestry. He had either blonde or brown hair and blue or green eyes, with a sprinkling of light freckles over his nose and cheeks. Upon seeing the image, MAGI's first thought was that he was handsome and someone Britney would have been attracted to. The image was circulated via the media

and MAGI had it enlarged and placed on the hood of her caravan to catch a killer vehicle. This way, the picture could attract attention while MAGI wouldn't be forced to look at it every time she got in and out of her car. Within the first two days of its release, the image generated approximately 200 tips from members of the public who thought they recognized the man.

In addition to the phenotype image, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation employed another unconventional method in Britney's case. A photograph of Britney, along with a brief explanation of her murder, was featured on the second deck of cold-case playing cards released amongst Oklahoma prisons. These decks featured a different cold-case on each card, with the aim of prompting discussions between inmates as they played,

which in turn might result in new information being reported. The cards did generate a few tips from prisoners, but investigators were also mindful that inmates may have been hesitant to discuss Britney's case, given that she had such a youthful appearance and sexually motivated crimes against youth so generally frowned upon in the prison community. Britney's murder has plagued the city of Tulsa.

In 2014, criminologist Melissa Anderson began examining the case for a criminal justice class she toured at Union High School, which both she and Britney had attended. Her classes dissected the details of the case, studying everything from the layout of Britney's apartment to conducting interviews with Maggie and members of the Tulsa Police Department.

One student had a relative who resided in the Glen Eagle's apartment complex, which had since been renamed to the Somerset Apartments. The layout of his relative's apartment was a mirror image of Britney's, and the student soon learned that the shared attic space was still easily accessible via the walk-in wardrobe. This meant that the tenants could still gain access to any of the adjacent apartments through their attic manhole.

When the phenotype image became available, the students combed through old yearbooks looking for anyone who carried a resemblance, but were unsuccessful in finding a match. Studying the case hit home for the students, who were struck by the fact that Britney used to walk down the same hallways as them every day. One student remarked to Tulsa's news on 6,

quote, She was like one of us. Although no new developments have arisen from their efforts, Maggie was touched by the amount of energy the students put in. She formed a special bond with Melissa Anderson and many of the class members, who would show up to see her off when she embarked on her caravan to catch a killer tour,

then welcome her home when she returned. By 2019, Britney's case was being overseen by the head of Tulsa's cold case homicide department, Detective Eddie Majors. The alleged Golden State killer, Joseph DiAngelo, whose then unsolved crimes were covered in episode 53 of Case File, had been arrested using familial DNA and investigators were hopeful

that the same technique could identify Britney's killer. At Parabon Nanolabs, the DNA found at Britney's crime scene was run through Jetmatch, an online database that connects to other genealogy websites to compare DNA samples from more than one million individuals. It wasn't expected they would find an exact match, as it was highly unlikely that the killer would voluntarily submit his DNA to a genealogy site.

However, there was a chance it might detect the DNA of one of his relatives to help narrow the search. To the surprise of investigators, the DNA belonging to the prime suspect in Britney's murder not only detected a familial link, but a direct match. Around the same time, someone also recognized the person in the phenotype image

and reported their name to police, confirming him to be the same person identified via the genealogy database. The individual was quickly apprehended and interrogated by the Tulsa police, while Maggie was informed that the prime suspect had finally been identified. However, after 15 years searching for Britney's killer

using the DNA found at the crime scene as the number one lead, it was determined that the semen sample found on Britney's bedsheet and the blood sample found on her wall didn't belong to the killer at all. The DNA had been left behind by the boyfriend of one of Britney's friends after she had allowed the couple to sleep in her bed one night. Considering that his DNA hadn't been on Britney's body,

as no profile could be developed from the sample underneath her fingernails, there was nothing to tie this man to the crime. The man was interrogated by police for hours until they were satisfied he wasn't involved in Britney's murder. He was then free to leave. Maggie was devastated with the hopes she had held for the past 15 years dashed in an instant. She told local news station KTUL

that hearing the news was nearly as hard as hearing of Britney's death as it effectively put the investigation back to square one. The phenotype that had narrowed down the physical characteristics of the suspect was no longer valid, meaning the perpetrator could be of any ethnicity or appearance. After receiving this significant blow, Detective Majors has spent countless hours going back through Britney's case file.

He's re-interviewed persons of interest who had previously been ruled out on account of their DNA not matching that found at the crime scene. This is no easy task, as many of these individuals have since moved from Tulsa and are difficult to track down. Adding to this frustration is the fact that despite changes to Oklahoma's law, state funding has not yet been allocated to allow for DNA to be taken from offenders

at the time of arrest. As of early 2020, this means that DNA is still only being recorded at the time of conviction. However, DNA profiles continue to be added to the CODIS database daily, which now houses more than 13 million profiles. Detective Majors believes Britney's killer likely has three or more other victims, none of whom are from the same location. He probably moved around, striking in different areas at different times.

One theory is that the killer was a truck driver or had another occupation requiring frequent travel and was just traveling through Tulsa at the time of Britney's murder. Even though Maggie was crushed by the loss of the number one lead in the case, she has vowed to continue on her caravan to catch a killer to us until her daughter's murderer is caught and brought to justice. So far, she has traveled a total of 240,000 miles across the 48 states of mainland America and has gone through 20 different vehicles.

Given the case's recent developments, Maggie intends to revisit the locations of her earlier tours to keep sharing Britney's story and educating the public about the advances in DNA technology. She manages a website dedicated to the case, BritneyPhilipsMurder.net, as well as a Facebook page that provides any updates as they arise. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact Maggie via her website. I remember when I first held Britney in my arms,

the beauty of her sort of angelic face just filled my whole body with love. And as she grew up, she just transformed from this energetic, fearless, young little girl to this energetic, fearless, compassionate, empathetic, young woman who at times was still like a little girl. I mean, I can remember a year before she died where she got upset and it was before she went to school and she just sort of crumbled in my arms. And when she got upset, she would say mommy instead of mom. And I just remember holding her in my arms, both as a child and as a young lady.

She became and I feel like both with her beauty because she was very beautiful and her intelligence so much was taken. She was going to be a cancer researcher. She was going to do so much and that's no longer here. And if anyone has a daughter, a child, hug them every day. And if you're filled with empathy from the story, please send your ideas to this podcast or to me or to the Tulsa Homicide Hotline. Thank you.