Brittany Evonne Phillips would have celebrated her 19th birthday on October 4, 2004.
Instead, she was buried on it. Last seen alive on Monday evening, September 27th,
she had dropped a friend off after attending classes at Tulsa Community College
where she was currently enrolled. At approximately 9:45 p.m., Brittany
headed home to her second floor unit at
the Glen Eagles apartment complex at 9407 E. 65th Street.
What happened after she arrived there is still a mystery. Days would elapse before she was
missed.
Finally, a friend
stopped by to check on her, and found the door unlocked . Eighteen-year-old Brittany Phillips
had been raped and murdered. 
But how it had unfolded and who was responsible was not so clear.
Police seemed reluctant to release specific details about the crime that may have
explained things further.
All authorities would say, was that it had been a "sexual assault" and she had been "strangled."
DNA had been recovered, yet police seemed slow to release even a partial profile of the killer.
Three years would elapse
before anything specific
would be made public in regards to evidence. It would come in the form of a single pillowcase.
It had been found at the crime scene.
Because it could not be identified as having "belonged to the victim,"
police surmise it must have therefore been "brought there" by her murderer--in order to
carry off valuables afterwards. But this was not done. Why?
And why would such a burglar
"up the ante" to sexual assault and murder, then leave behind such an incriminating "key piece" of
evidence? Interestingly, the pillowcase just happened to be purple --
one of Brittany's "two favorite colors." So, was it really "evidence"? Or just another personal item
owned by the victim herself?
And how did the killer get into
Brittany's apartment? Through an open window? An unlocked door? Or could she have known him and let him
in freely? Police "believe" the killer was a "serial criminal"...a "transient"...someone "passing through."
But did they look closely enough at those around her? Did they
follow-up with
Glen Eagles' management?
Were there any tenants who lived within view
of Brittany's building, it's key entry points or surrounding parking area that may have moved out
quietly or suspiciously in the days, weeks or month immediately following the murder--
perhaps without notifying management--and/or still owing rent?
Tenants who may have been familiar with her habits. Watched her movements.
Or visiting friends of tenants
who just happened to be in the right spot at the right time in order to seize upon a crime of
opportunity? While it is possible she may have been followed
to her apartment by this killer, it
seems unlikely given the fact she didn't go directly home after leaving campus. For someone to
have been in the area of building
9407 in order to see her arrive, they would more than
likely have had some specific business in being there.
The building layout of Glen
Eagles was, and continues to
be generally non-descript. The buildings share a sameness in look, a sameness
of color, enveloped within a maze of endless winding driveways. It would be an odd place for someone
to just randomly be "hanging out"--unless they belonged there in some capacity.
Glen Eagles has changed it's name
(and perhaps it's owners as well).
Former management and maintenence personnel have moved on.
As have many--if not most, of the original residents who once lived in and around
building 9407. A waiting game now.
Waiting for a killer to slip up. To reveal himself.
A revelation that may come eventually. But unfortunately--more than likely, not without
additional costs.
Brittany's Grave - As it Appeared in 2005-2006
Union High School Photo (2002) Junior Year
Crime Scene Description Data (and Questions)
FOX23 Tulsa News Station Script - 10/01/2004
