The killer was a woman
Nothing should be ruled out.
What evidence do I have that a woman killed Brittany Phillips? As much evidence as I do that a man did. Every report I’ve read or heard follows the TPD theory of the crime: that Brittany was raped and killed by strangulation in her Tulsa apartment.
Suspend disbelief here and shut down the part of your brains screaming about statistical improbabiliy.
This is how an investigator - including reporters like me - have to think about stories, cases, etc., when they run into a dead end.
Cold case groups use “what if” to guide them, to tear apart stories that have been told and retold so many times they are practically gospel. To be so locked into one theory after 20 years supports the need for some serious what ifs.
(A refresher on facts of the case HERE)
And since the Tulsa Police Department brass are refusing to work with cold case groups (and others) who have offered
their sevices free of charge why not give it a go?
Everyones ruled in until ruled out
What if is a great place to start. Another way to think about facts of the case - the only ones we have available to us - is the “if that then what?” or IF-THEN methodology.
So what do we know?
There is NO physical evidence of rape. In a killing as personal and brutal as a strangulation if there is no rape then there has to be another motive and a wider net of suspects.
Per the medical examiners report:
There was “no injury” to exterior “genital area” and “anus shows normal features…without evidence of injury.”
No notation of rape kit collection
Internal examination “The vaginal wall is directly examined and shows no evidence of injury or other lesions.”
Cause of death is asphyxiation by “compression of the neck”. This is widely believed to be strangulation but “compression” opens up a can of worms to other possibilities. Brittany’s hyoid bone wasn’t broken - this isn’t dispositive of strangulation - but noteworthy. There are no signs of ligature marks noted and most internal neck injury is described on the lest side of neck musculature and thyroid cartilage - but injury is noted on the right side as well.
Strangulation purportedly takes a lot of strength. But if a woman was able to get on top of brittany - facing her - the woman could absolutely use a knee or forearm - using body weight and pressure - not just that ones hands.
If Brittany wasn’t raped then motive shifts, potential suspect pool widens. She was last reportedly with a friend who was a girl (this doesn’t suggest her friend is responsible for anything).
Maggie once asked a former detective on Brittany’s case if they had ever considered a female predator? The detective said yes, but that they found no evidence to suggest a woman did this.
What evidence do they have a man did? Their word? That Brittany was found in only a t-shirt? The police ruled out the DNA recovered from semen and blood from the scene - so what if?