Below is a list of another set of cases that were resolved in 2022. Links to full case write-ups are provided. Part one of the resolved in 2022 series can be found here.
Megan Nichols.
During October of 2022, a jury convicted Brodey Murbarger (pictured right) of murdering Megan Nichols (left). Megan was 15 years-old when she vanished from her family's Fairfield, Illinois home on July 3rd, 2014. Prior to her disappearance, Megan was in a relationship with Brodey - who was 18 years-old at the time. Megan's parents did not approve of the relationship, so Megan was often secretive about seeing Brodey.
Megan left behind a note before vanishing, which indicated that she was running away. Text messages later revealed that Megan believed she and Brodey were going to run away together. However, she seemingly disappeared into thin air, while Brodey remained in town. This led to many suspicions against Brodey - but he denied any knowledge of Megan's whereabouts.
Over three years later, Megan's remains were found in a wooded area of Wayne County. An autopsy revealed she had been murdered. Many speculated that Brodey was responsible for Megan's death, but it took years for an arrest to finally be made. Finally, in October 2020, Brodey was charged with first-degree murder in relation to Megan's case. The prosecution believed that he suffocated and strangled Megan before burying her body.
Brodey pleaded not guilty, but the jury ultimately convicted him of the charges. Not only did his text messages to Megan incriminate him, but the evidence also revealed that Megan's blood was found in his truck. He faces life in prison.
[full case write-up]
Morgan Martin
After nearly 10 years, the family of Morgan Martin finally saw justice for the young girl, who was just 17 years-old when she vanished in July 2012. Morgan was also pregnant at the time of her disappearance. Jacobee Flowers, the presumed father of her unborn child, was finally convicted of Morgan's murder during 2022.
Flowers was 24 years-old at the time he fathered Morgan's child. Since Morgan was just a minor at the time, he was inevitably concerned about being charged with statutory rape - but he also did not want to pay child support. Flowers reportedly was already paying child support for other children, and he did not want to pay for an additional child. With all of this in mind, Flowers quickly became the prime suspect when Morgan vanished from her family's St. Petersburg, Florida home on July 25th, 2012. However, he denied involvement in Morgan's disappearance.
It took years, but Flowers was finally arrested and charged with Morgan's murder during 2016. In 2022, he accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to second degree murder. He was offered 25 years in exchange for the location of Morgan's body. Investigators went to Pike County to search for the remains, but they were never found. As such, Flowers was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
[full case write-up]
Brittanee Drexel
Brittanee Drexel's case was one of the biggest stories of 2022. Many people had been following her case since she vanished at the age of 17 during 2009. Brittanee vanished in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina while on spring break with friends. The teen's mother had forbidden her from taking this trip, but she snuck away anyway after telling her mom she was staying with a friend in their hometown of Rochester, New York.
Brittanee's family learned that she had taken the trip to Myrtle Beach after finding out that she was missing. A widespread search was conducted and sex offenders in the Myrtle Beach area were interviewed. One such offender was Raymond Moody, who became a person of interest early on into the case. Moody initially denied any involvement, and the case eventually went in a different direction.
In 2016, it was announced that the FBI believed Brittanee had been held hostage in a "stash house" for days following her disappearance before being killed. Investigators were adamant that this is what happened to Brittanee, and that they knew the parties responsible - but they did not make any arrests.
The case finally circled back to Moody in 2022, when an informant told investigators that his girlfriend, Angel Vause, might have information about Brittanee's disappearance. Vause cooperated with the investigation, and Moody himself also decided to confess. He admitted to raping Brittanee and then killing her to cover up his crime. Moody also led investigators to Brittanee's remains. The autopsy confirmed that she had been strangled.
During October 2022, Raymond Moody pleaded guilty to all charges. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Brittany Zimmermann
Brittany Zimmerman was only 21 years-old when she was brutally murdered inside the home she shared with her fiancé on April 2nd, 2008. The University of Wisconsin-Madison student was murdered in the middle of the day, just blocks away from the Madison Police Department. When Brittany’s fiancé returned home to their apartment that afternoon, he found Brittany slain on the floor. She had been brutally stabbed and strangled to death.
Though it appeared investigators had many leads at first, the case seemingly went cold after a few months. Years passed, but then, in 2016, investigators told Brittany’s parents that they found DNA evidence belonging to David Kahl--a man who was already behind bars for his 7th DWI charge. For whatever reason, though, Kahl was not charged with murder at that time.
Finally, in 2020, Kahl was charged with Brittany's murder. In October of 2022, he pleaded guilty to the charges. He admitted that he saw Brittany as she returned home from classes on the day of her murder. Kahl said that he was on drugs when he forced himself into her apartment and committed the murder.
Kahl is expected to spend life in prison.
Amina and Sarah Said
Teenage sisters Amina Said (18) and Sarah Said (17) were murdered by their father Yaser Said on January 1st, 2008. The Saids are an Egyptian family, but Amina and Sarah grew up in Irving, Texas. It is believed that Yaser murdered his daughters because he felt they had dishonored their family by refusing to adhere to the traditional standards of their Egyptian culture.
Throughout the investigation into their murders, it was revealed that Yaser had been abusive towards both the girls and their mother throughout their lives. Amina, Sarah, and their mother attempted to run away in late 2007, but Yaser convinced them to return. It was on New Year's Day when Yaser lured the girls into his cab after telling them he was going to take them out for lunch. At some point while in the vehicle, Yaser shot both of his daughters and fled the scene. Both died from the gunshot wounds.
Yaser evaded police for over 12 years before he was finally captured. On August 26th, 2020, authorities tracked down Yaser Said in Justin, Texas. He was arrested and charged with capital murder for the deaths of his daughters. Amina and Sarah's brother was charged with aiding a fugitive. He was sentenced to 10 years for those charges.
In August 2022, Yaser went to trial. He testified in his own defense, saying that he was a victim of a smear campaign by the media. Jurors deliberated for about 3 hours before finding him guilty. He was given an automatic life sentence.
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