Timeline: 2004 - 2023
If you have actionable information about the murder of Brittany Phillips, please email tips to TPDColdCaseHomicide@cityoftulsa.org, or phone the Tulsa Cold Case Homicide Unit at 918-596-9133.
If you have general ideas or theories please share them here. If you have confidential inquiries you can email me: andy@andykopsa.com — I respect requests for anonymity. I never use anything a person tells me without clear permission. I don’t publish rumors — DO NOT post people’s names or photos please!
Timelines are critical. This is true for my day job (investigative reporter) and for any criminal case. No matter the crime white collar, violent offenses, etc., timing means everything. In homicide cases timelines are of paramount importance - not only does an accurate timeline indicate time of death but it focuses law enforcement on group(s) of witnesses, possible suspects, and how to approach the investigation overall.
This is a work in progress - I am redacting names where appropriate - this will change and has already changed in the last month. I will update as we go along.
You can listen to an expanded version of this timeline on Episode One here.
2003 in Florida: Brittany lives in St. Petersburg Florida attends Eckard College. She decides to move back to Tulsa at the end of her first year.
May 2004
Brittany moves back to Tulsa from Florida after completing her first year of college (St. Petersburg – Eckerd College – studying chemistry) – Maggie in the process of moving from rental house in Tulsa to Chandler – Brittany stays in Tulsa with friend \
June 2004
Brittany staying with friends and back and forth with her mom. Starts working at Applebee’s Restaurant (which one?) but doesn’t like it. She doesn’t like some of the staff. This could just be the nature of hospitality/server work w/high turnover, personalities, etc., or was someone specifically bothering her.
July 2004
Continues working at Applebee’s and starts to take classes at TCC – the main campus and downtown campus still living with Robles family and back and forth w/Maggie as continues to move to Chandler.
Quits job at Applebee’s and gets a new job at Cheddar’s.
She is unhappy working at restaurants but works a training shift and then one shift. Maggie tells her not to worry about working to just go to school. So Brittany quits Cheddars and starts the move in to her new apartment.
August 2004
Brittany moves into Glen Eagles apartment complex and enrolls at Tulsa Community College – address is 9407 E. 65th street #3216.
September 2004
Brittany starts attending classes at Tulsa Community College (TCC) full time.
According to Maggie about two weeks prior to Brittany’s murder her friend [REDACTED] calls from Texas. She tells Brittany she was sexually assaulted. Brittany was concerned and took off to Texas [Maggie remembers maybe South Padre Island - unclear]] to be there for her friend.
However, Brittany didn’t disclose the reason for her trip to Texas to Maggie. Maggie says this is because Maggie wouldn’t have let her go/go alone because it could have been dangerous given nature of attack, attacker, etc. Will need to confirm with Kim but would have been around 15th September.
September 27
(Monday)
Morning: Brittany is having sinus trouble and not feeling well but goes to her class at Tulsa Community college
She bumps into her brother Josh (he is a student at TCC also) on campus. They don’t hang out just say hello (WERE ANY OF JOSH’S FRIENDS THERE?)
6:00 PM (aprox.) Brittany goes with friend [REDACTED] to urgent care clinic (by BOOT BARN NOW HEALTH SPECIALTY Clinic).
[ SUNSET APROX 7:15]
7:30 PM (aprox.) Brittany calls Maggie upset from the urgent care clinic because she had been there an hour and a half and hadn’t been seen yet. She had an 8PM class at the downtown TCC campus (applied calculus). Maggie told her not to worry that she will get her an appointment with a doctor in Chandler to see Brittany when she comes home at the weekend.
7:30 - 8:00 - Brittany and friend leave the urgent care - Brittany stops at the Bank of America bank (ATM?)
8:30 - 9:30 (?) — Brittany gets home speaks to Maggie one last time.
September 28 - (Tuesday)
No contact w/Maggie (Maggie doesn’t call as she knows she has late classes)
UNKNOWN if she was still alive at this point, did she leave apartment, talk to anyone, etc.? Did she have classes she missed that day?
September 29 (Wednesday)
· Brittany misses classes again
· Maggie is getting more concerned leaves another more urgent message but thinks Brittany may be resting/going to class/etc., because she hadn’t been feeling well. And, again Brittany was going to be coming home for the weekend.
NOTE: John Phillips – Brittany’s dad shares a card from Brittany postmarked SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 – the postage was purchased at a kiosk on September 29, 2004 and then cancelled (actually sent) on same day. (Listen to Episode Two here for details on this)
THURSDAY September 30 – Maggie is now worried w/no answer from Brittany. Lydia is concerned since Brittany missed classes TPD does a wellness check at the apartment
9:00 pm (aprox.) – TPD discovers Brittany’s body in her bedroom. She is positioned on the floor alongside her bed with her
1AM – Police notify Maggie – tell her to call Tulsa PD re: daughter’s death
She gets to the apartment in South Tulsa and police are on the scene and will not let her access Brittany’s apartment. Maggie is told Brittany’s body was already taken to the medical examiner after being identified at the scene with Brittany’s driver license.
INVESTIGATION TIMELINE
October 1
An officer arrives at Maggie’s door at 1 AM , tells her something has happened to Brittany, and asks her to call the Tulsa Police Dept (TPD). after handing her a card with the police department’s phone number on it. A friend of Maggie’s follows her halfway to Brittany’s apartment which is an hour away from Maggie’s home in Chandler. Maggie continues alone to her daughter’s apartment. Brittany’s body has already been taken to the ME’s office - Maggie goes there and is allowed to touch Brittany through a sheet.
October 1/2
Autopsy determines that Brittany was sexually assaulted and strangled/suffocated sometime between 9 pm on 9/27 and 8 am on 9/28. Initial belief is that Brittany was stalked prior to her murder. TPD identifies I,276 potential suspects living in or near the apartment complex. Police consider the possibility that someone came into Brittany’s apartment by way of the ceiling, which was accessible to all apartment units in her building.
September 2007
Police release new information about the case including a light purple pillowcase at the crime scene that was likely brought to the scene and left behind. Hundreds of suspects are ruled out - there are no matches in CODIS to DNA found at the scene. Maggie launches Caravan To Catch a Killer tours
NOTES:
This is from a reddit post. I was able to confirm with Maggie this is in fact someone who knew Brittany not some random poster.
From Allie (friend of Brittany and sister to a former boyfriend of Brittany) on Web Sleuths (2021). This is in response to questioning on the thread about the DNA match and subsequent dismissal of TK as possible murderer:
“I can give some insight into this. I went to high school with Brittany and I was a year older than her. I didn't know her very well, but, she was a wonderful person and I've never forgotten about her. I posted a thread on Reddit and included the article about the phenotype sketch. From there, someone else who attended high school with us who was the same age as her and part of her friend group, saw the article and knew who the person was. They reported their suspicions to the police and DNA was retrieved and was a match. Neither the boyfriend nor the BFF came forward themselves. I do not personally know who the person was, I do know that the friend described them as troubled at the time and that they would not have been THAT surprised if they had done something terrible. They were relieved that the DNA didn't match.
I do not know for sure but I've heard rumors that the phenotype subject's father was/is a county sheriff and that the father contributed to the "rock solid" alibi.”