True Crime with Kimbyr - 23, Pregnant, & Murdered! The Disturbing Case of Hannah Zehner Brim: Part 1

Episode Date: July 21, 2025

In this gripping episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, Kimbyrleigha dives into the heart breaking and mysterious murder of 23-year-old Hannah Zehner Brim—a vibrant young woman whose life was just beginning. Pregnant and full of hope, Hannah suddenly vanished, leaving behind a trail of fear, betrayal, and unanswered questions. As Kimbyrleigha unpacks the disturbing twists in this tragic case, viewers are taken through a deep emotional and investigative journey. Why would someone target a young mother-to-be? Discover the chilling truth in this emotional installment of True Crime with Kimbyr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Secrets. We all have them. Whether they're secret crushes, secret goals, or just secret thoughts. Our private lives can be very different from what we show friends, family, and coworkers, and from what we post on social media. For one 23-year-old woman in Florida, social media was a way to escape her day-to-day mental health struggles. She loved posting cute selfies, pictures of her son, and tagging her mom and dad on Facebook. until in the blink of an eye, everything stopped. No more posts, no more pictures, no more texts or phone calls. Hannah was radio silent. As investigators searched the hotel that she'd been staying in,

they began to uncover secrets, a secret message written in a makeup bag, a stolen car, a secret love affair. And they unraveled a secret plot to end Hannah's life. This is her story. Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel, and if you've never been here before, I am Kimberlea. It's nice to finally meet you. So on a serious note, today's case is about a beautiful young woman who disappeared in 2016 without a trace. Her name was Hannah Josephine Zainer Brim. She was stunning, with long, dark hair, deep brown eyes,

and she was known for having a big personality and a heart of gold. She was fiercely protective of her family and loved ones. Hannah was born on June 21st of 1992 in Pensacola, Florida. And two months later, she was adopted by her parents, Arthur Zainer, and his wife, Susan Davis. They had been together for a decade. And they met while Art was a sergeant in the Marines, and they got married in 1985, which means they had been

wanting to build their family for quite some time. By the time they adopted Hannah, Art and Susan had already adopted another daughter, Hillary, who became Hannah's older sister. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamavat Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter.

Hart started working as a corrections officer while Susan finished her degree and went on to teach middle school and high school students. They had always planned for two children. And when Hannah came into their lives, she was the missing puzzle piece. The Zaners moved to Gainesville, Florida, where Hannah and Hillary spent the next 20 years attached at the hip. They were more than sisters. They were best friends. Hannah was a social butterfly and she made dozens of close friends as she progressed through kindergarten to 12th grade. eventually graduating from Santa Fe High School in Alachua County. Now, when I think of Florida where I am from,

and that's why I do a lot of Florida cases, I have an entire playlist here. You can look below and at the end of this video, but I'm usually thinking about sandy beaches and warm weather, the occasional thunderstorm. But Alachua County is not like that. It's in the middle of the state, nowhere near the ocean, with more of a small town feel, a little more rural,

and laid back its kind of country. In August of 2000, when Hannah was 8 years old, Susan started working for Santa Fe High School, where she transitioned from teaching English into social studies. And her students loved her. Mrs. Zainer's classes in world history and psychology were some of their favorites. Hannah progressed through K through 12, making very close friends, attending church, and playing basketball. She and her family shared a love of sports, especially watching football and basketball. They got into heated debates about the Auburn Tigers,

versus the Georgia Bulldogs, and Hannah was a big fan of the Miami Heat. When Hannah loved something, she made it clear, whether it was riding courses, playing Call of Duty on Xbox, or listening to her favorite musical artist, including Shakira, Nellie, Paramore, and Avrilavine. I can relate, that brings back so many memories. But after she graduated, she took time to work odd jobs while she figured out where she wanted to go in her life. Hannah knew she wanted to be around children. And as she began dating, marriage and kids were on the top of that list. She wanted a family of her own more than anything. And from what I have read,

some adopted individuals do crave a family of their own so they can experience blood relatives and put down their own roots. It makes perfect sense to me. Around 2009 after Hannah turned 18, she met a guy named Chad who was tall, he had dark hair and light eyes, and she thought he was really cute. So let me tell you a little bit more about Chad Presley Thomas Brim. He was born on November 3rd of 1989 in North Carolina, making him three years older than Hannah. Chad already had a son named Evan who Hannah adored, and they would spend a lot of time together watching Disney movies, Tim Burton movies, cartoons like SpongeBob and reality TV. That was popular. It still is. And I was looking at Hannah's Facebook. She mentioned the show Catfish. I was thinking, do you guys

remember that show? That took me back to the early 2000s, just like her playlist of music. In 2011, Hannah worked at Steak and Shake, and in 2012, she started manning the cash register at a car wash. And around that time, Hannah discovered she was pregnant with Chad's baby. And her dream of a family was finally coming true. On April 12th of 2012, Chad and Hannah got married. They moved in together that summer and they posted pictures of their dog Presley Jade and ultrasound photos of their new bundle of joy on the way. Hannah officially became a mom on October 26th of 2012.

Her little boy, Xavier Dwayne, was absolutely adorable. He had blonde hair and big blue eyes, and he was full of energy. And soon he became quite the handful, so much that Hannah actually quit her job of the car wash to take care of him full time in those first few months. And she was transparent with friends and family about how difficult but rewarding it was to be a mom, the folding of the clothes, doing the dishes, balancing these duties with visiting her sister Hillary and her parents, and staying up for days on end when little Xavier was sick. Her anxiety and her worry were testament to how much she

actually cared about her son. New parents, we look up everything. Anytime there's a new cry, a weird sound, it's stressful, but at the same time, it's exhilarating. And Hannah felt the same way. With just Chad working, though, the family didn't feel financially secure. So Hannah began the long process of applying for as many jobs as she could in 2013. She had some solid interviews at various retail stores including Walgreens before she started working at the seafood section of a Wind Dixie grocery store. After months working there, she applied to study early education at Santa Fe Community College. She was really starting to go in the direction she wanted. She started classes in January of 2014 and then she transitioned into working retail

at Dollar General. Now in March of 2014, things started to turn south when Hannah got in a little car crash. Now this was more of a little Fender Bender, But what's really unlucky is that Chad and Xavier also got into a car accident around that same time. Lucky, everyone was okay. Insurance covered some of the cost, but the remaining financial burden that they had to pay was a significant barrier to them moving forward and being secure. So by August, Hannah had left Dollar General and posted a few kind of cryptic messages on Facebook. One said, quote, sometimes I wish this would just all go away. And another said, quote, sometimes you look.

people so much that despite what they put you through, you'll always be there." So she hinted at hitting a breaking point with Chad, a culmination of their financial and their mental health struggles. Social media was a way for Hannah to vent her frustrations. I think a lot of people can relate to that. We've all been there. And it was more of a trend back then to post these really vague wall posts. Sometimes maybe they were song lyrics, and everyone would just wonder, what's going on? But there was something else that Hannah had to go go through as a mixed-race woman, adopted into a white family. People were always asking her in sensitive comments like,

what are you? And I was thinking, well, we know what you are. And that's rude. That's that parasycial relationship. People think that they can say anything to people online like they know you. But if you really knew her, would you talk to her that way? Hannah would insist she was just American to make it easy. And she hated when other people made assumptions about her. Why did it matter to them where she came from?

What was important is she was cared for, loved, and she was trying her best to thrive. Then on October 23, she posted, Don't say you're going to do something, and then when the day comes for you to do it, and you don't, don't expect me to be nice about it or towards you. She defended herself and was honest about her struggles, especially when the job at Dollar General didn't work out, and she began a new job at Browns County Buffet. You know, at least she was finding work. Some people can't even do that, and that's saying a lot about her job.

how determined she was to make things work out. Apart from these challenges, though, Hannah adored her son. She signed him up for things like a newborn photo contest and threw a huge birthday party for him in October of 2014 that was SpongeBob themed. She celebrated Veterans Day, Marine Corps Day, and National Diabetes Awareness Month with her parents, Susan and Art.

But when it came to love, Hannah and Chad, they had their high points and they had their low points. Hannah said she had the best husband in the world. She loved cooking for Chad, they loved eating together on the couch while they watch football, and she regularly posted quotes about love, including a real man, gives his lady the attention she deserves, gives her all of his love, calls her beautiful, and treats her like a queen. Hannah was unapologetically herself and true to herself, and while she didn't post everything on Facebook, she kept her friends in the loop about what she was going through in her life.

But in 2015, she posted less and less. until one day when she was 23 years old, Hannah's posts came to a stop. And I think that would raise a red flag to many people, especially nowadays, but even back then, it was unlike her to just stay silent. On January 23rd of 2016, her parents received a call from an unknown number.

Now, it turned out it was from a hotel at 2603 Southwest 13th Street in Gainesville called the Florida Motel. It was a 30-minute drive from a local Lachua. Apparently, Hannah had been staying in this hotel room alone in an extended stay agreement for the past month or so. But her family knew about this. They actually supported that decision. Her son Xavier was staying with his dad Chad, and Hannah's Facebook account showed that she was newly single. She was going through it like many young people do, finding love, growing apart, finding yourself again, especially after having a baby and navigating life's challenges.

The hotel manager was calling to inform someone in Hannah's family that it had been days since she had been last seen, four days to be exact. And Hannah was supposed to either check out or renew her hotel stay by the following morning on January 24th. While Hannah hadn't called her mom Susan for the past few days, and no matter where Hannah was living, she knew Susan expected her to call in and talk about any new developments in her life, so Susan was immediately concerned. She called Hannah over and over again. And every time each call went to voicemail. Which was unusual in the middle of the day.

I think we would all get the feeling that that's not a good sign. When she started calling Hannah's friends in Gainesville, including Chad, no one had seen her or heard from her in days. Susan knew that she had to go check on her daughter. Because Hannah would go incognito when she was struggling with both mental health and possibly turning to substances. But Susan was sure that Hannah would call if she ever got in trouble or she needed help. Hannah had never hesitated to call in the past,

So what was different about this time? She wondered. When Hannah was younger, she started smoking marijuana. She started hanging out with kids that were part of that lifestyle. And at that point, she was very impressionable. Hannah even got a cannabis tattoo on her back and enjoyed partying and drinking alcohol. Hannah eventually tried other substances like Coke and meth.

It wasn't a good time in her life. And actually, there was an incident where she was previously hospitalized for taking too much. But ever since that, And also since the birth of her child, she was turning her life around. But battling that is difficult. And it was part of the reason for Hannah's financial and her relationship struggles. It's easy to turn to things that provide instinct comfort,

but usually it's temporary and it sets you back instead of moving you forward. But I would tell you, try hard, not to judge, especially if this hasn't happened to you or anyone you know personally. But since making the decision to leave Chad and trying to figure out how she could stay in her son's life, she decided to stay at that hotel instead of staying with her parents or her husband. This location offered her the close proximity to work and her friends and possibly could shield her parents from what she was doing,

maybe some of those bad habits that she was falling back on. No one knew for sure, but what Susan and Art knew and what they were convinced of is their daughter were starting to mature. She had put a lot of that in her past. Had she done something? Had she done too much of something they wondered? What if she had gotten in trouble with shady people? Even being 30 minutes from her son,

Hannah still made an effort to come visit Xavier on a daily basis. But she hadn't been in touch with chat. That meant something was seriously wrong. She wouldn't miss out on visits with her son. When Susan and Art arrived at the Florida hotel parking lot, they noticed Hannah's car. A silver 2003 Toyota Camry wasn't there. Now, that was a relief because maybe they thought,

Hannah was out running an errand, or maybe she went to go visit a friend for a few days. At that point, the hotel manager gave Art and Susan the keys to the room that Hannah had been staying in. And walking in that door, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary. But they did notice her purse, her jacket, her keys, and her phone were missing. It's like she had taken them with her to go out for a few hours. The sheets on the bed were crumple, clothes were folded in the laundry basket, a hairbrush was on the counter, and a charger was plugged into the wall. But they thought, if Hannah was going to stay the night,

even one night somewhere else, she would have taken her toothbrush and her toothpaste with her, and even maybe her phone charger and clothing, but that was all still in the bathroom. Why would she leave for days on end without her phone charger or her toiletries? Art called the Gainesville Police Department. He reported his daughter missing.

He told the 911 dispatcher that his wife was really concerned, especially since it was January and it was usually a little cold, in Florida. Officer Nicholas Byrd was on patrol when he heard that call, and when he realized it was Art Zaner, he felt compelled to respond. He knew the Zainer since he was a kid. Since Art and Susan were involved in the community as an officer and a teacher, they were well known. Officer Bird and his team thoroughly searched that hotel room as Art was sitting there filling out a missing person's report. Meanwhile, the Gainesville Police Department called all the hospitals, shelters, mental health

facilities and addiction facilities in the area, but Hannah had not checked herself in. The search of Hannah's room revealed cigarette butts, two small containers, a straw, and a small plastic baggie with what looked like white residue inside. So could that be related to substances? Well, it was sent back to the lab and tested, and it was positive for Coke. Hannah's parents confirmed her past use of substances and also stated that Hannah might have been involved with people in the sex work industry. They couldn't know for sure, but they thought she might have been in the past because of a website called Backpage.com.

They thought that maybe Hannah had met someone there online that could help her afford her addiction at the time. And then maybe getting involved with these kind of people, something happened to her and she was taken. So officers did follow this lead, but it turned out it had nothing to do with her disappearance. They weren't able to find any concrete evidence that linked Backpage to her going

missing. But here's where things get really weird and interesting. Officers found a small makeup bag leaning up against the microwave in that hotel room. And when they looked inside, investigators found a series of numbers and letters written inside the bag and what her parents described as Hannah's handwriting. Now that's odd. It read BNM 9502, IHGC M 56895A106252. What does that look like to all of you if you're watching? I'm going to put it up on the screen. Well, to officers, it was formatted like a vehicle identification number, a VIN.

So Officer Byrd ran this number through the system, and guess what? It was. The vehicle's owner was a guy named Nelson Armis. This was a lead. Because why else would Hannah be writing somebody's VIN in one of her makeup bags, if not to hide it? Or so that maybe. she could look someone up later.

Now, that was pretty chilling. Nelson Armist was contacted, and when he was asked if he knew Hannah, he said, yeah, they were friends. But he hadn't heard from her in a little while. He said the last time they spoke was on January 19th. But that day said, they got into an argument while they were hanging out.

He explained that Hannah had been going to her dealer's house to pick up some pills, and Nelson got upset. He told officers that he told Hannah she need to quit doing substances. to which Hannah did not respond kindly. When asked about the vehicle number, Nelson said that car was under his name, but it actually belonged to his wife, Bridget.

Now, he didn't know why Hannah would have Bridget's Vinn, according to him. He seemed really confused about that. But now they had a name, Bridget Armus. And they were planning to investigate Chad Brim. Hannah's a strange husband as well. In the meanwhile, the Gainesville Police Department reached out for assistance from Sheriff's offices

in Alachua County, Jacksonville, Union County, Marion County, the Florida Department of Corrections, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. This big team of officers were searching the surrounding area in Gainesville as well as Orange Heights and trying to find Hannah's car. A missing person's flyer was made. It was posted to Facebook, and it gave just the bare minimum details on Hannah's situation. But the investigators, along with Susan, Art, and Officer Bird,

they had a really bad gut feeling about how this investigation would turn. out because it wasn't looking good, especially thinking about substances and sketchy people that might be involved. Detective Tom Mullins of Gainesville Police Department was assigned to this case. And his first course of action was to obtain Hannah's cell phone records. He filed an emergency order with her cell phone provider. His second course of action was to interview her estranged husband, Chad Brim. He knew the relationship was strained before Hannah went missing. Detective Mullen said that Chad appeared distraught when confronted about Hannah disappearing. Chad said the last he heard from her was January 19th.

And he thought it was strange. Even with the relationship issues, Hannah always made a priority to visit her son on a daily basis. On the night of the 19th and the 20th, he was at home watching Xavier with no one to corroborate his alibi. But Chad insisted, he didn't have a car. He didn't go anywhere. When asked about their relationship, Chad revealed that Hannah's issues had resulted in multiple fights. The officer had already looked up a case that was reported back in July of 2014. Records showed that they had an argument.

It was Chad and Hannah. And that Hannah had apparently hit Chad in the face with her hand. And after this, she allegedly took a kitchen knife into the bathroom with her and locked herself inside while Chad called the police. Now afterward, Hannah was charged with domestic battery at the misdemeanor level. but the case was later dismissed by Chad. He confirmed the officer that this did happen but insisted Hannah had never hurt him. He only called the cops because he was afraid for her.

He was worried about her mental health. She had a history of emotional outbursts and potential self-harm. From court records that I found, there were other reports of incidents in April and in July of 2015 between Hannah and Chad, and even Chad's mother, Lisa Brim Manili. And it made me sad.

Hannah was stuck. in a self-destructive cycle that she had been battling for a while. It was difficult for her to want to seek treatment. Since she was not being treated for her mental health, she didn't want to go on and be treated for anything else. And she was using stimulants at the time, which can cause you to be aggravated and increase your aggression. Detective Mullins wondered,

did Chad and Hannah maybe get into one of these fights the last time they saw each other? And did things escalate? Was Chad being honest with them about his own history of substance use, DV cases and spousal issues? Because that's a strong motive for Hannah to disappear. Chad told Detective Mullins he still loved Hannah

and he wanted to actually work on their relationship so that they could raise Xavier together. But Hannah had left because she needed to figure things out on her own according to him. She had updated her Facebook profile recently to Hannah Zaner, her maiden name, instead of Brim. And she changed her status to separate it and had discussed seeing other people even with Chad

as well as getting a divorce. Though nobody could corroborate Chad's alibi, Susan told Detective Mullins that Chad never raised his voice at Hannah when she was around, and she didn't think he was capable of hurting her daughter. Now, the hotel room also had no physical evidence that Chad had ever been there, but he did remain a person of interest at this point. And then, Hannah's father, Art revealed something shocking to Detective Mullins. He told him that Hannah was 17 weeks pregnant with a baby girl,

who she planned to name Nikita Josephine Brim. Many people know pregnancy can cause difficult hormonal changes, which can lead to increased anxiety and mood swings. It gives a lot more context to the photos that Hannah began posting before she disappeared. They were selfies from when she was much younger, with dyed hair and crop tops, and when you're going through changes

and your body is going through changes, it's really easy to look back on old photos and think you were so much happier back then. At five months pregnant, there is no doubt that Hannah was in a vulnerable state both physically and emotionally. If Hannah was pregnant with Chad's child, this brought up another question. Would Chad hurt his unborn daughter? When did he find out about this pregnancy? Did he even know?

And if he and Hannah got a divorce, regardless of the custody agreement, how would that affect Chad financially, emotionally?