A mother whose daughter was murdered 20 years ago wants answers from police about a mysterious letter sent the week of her death.
Brittany, the 19-year-old daughter of Dr. Maggie Zingman, was found raped and strangled in her Tulsa, Oklahoma, apartment in September 2004.
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There has been very little progress in a case where renowned crime scene investigator Sheryl McCollum has been called in to help put an end to Maggie’s pain.
She claims that contact between her and authorities has virtually ceased, leaving her frustrated, angry and hopeless.
“I just can’t understand why they’re not helping me,” Maggie told The US Sun in an emotional interview at CrimeCon in Nashville.
“My life has already changed forever. But I won’t stop looking for answers.”
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Tired of waiting for a breakthrough, Maggie wrapped her SUV in a special banner with the photo and details of her beloved chemistry student daughter, hoping that someone, somewhere along the way, would know something.
She has incredibly accumulated over 300,000 miles traveling across the United States.
Maggie met countless families affected by similar tragedies, and their shared pain helped ease her heartbreak.
However, just 12 months ago, startling new evidence emerged that could drastically alter the investigation.
SURPRISING REVELATION
Last year, Maggie’s ex-husband sent her an envelope out of the blue.
It contained a birthday card for Brittany’s paternal grandfather, which she had sent the year of his death in 2004.
“She could never remember [her grandfather’s] address, so she always sent a card to her father to pass [to him]” said Maggie.
Maggie’s ex-husband received the card that year and kept it, forgetting about it after decades.
After finding it last year, he decided to share it with Maggie as it is one of Brittany’s last communications before her death.
What was surprising, however, was the date and time on the envelope.
Police stated that the perpetrator had been in Brittany’s apartment before sexually assaulting and killing her on September 29.
However, the date indicated that the card was postmarked on September 30th, by which time Brittany would already be dead.
“This changes everything,” Maggie said exasperatedly.
NEW QUESTIONS
If the date of his death is incorrect, new avenues of investigation may be initiated.
Precious new clues could be discovered.
One of Maggie’s theories is that perhaps the killer is the one who sent the birthday card after murdering Brittany in her bedroom.
They could have done this to confuse the timeline and mislead investigators.
However, Maggie says the new detectives in charge of her heartbreaking case have stopped responding to her increasingly desperate pleas for help.
“It’s just wrong,” she said.
I received messages from people all over the country. Did it help me deal with it? God, yes.
Dr.
The US Sun contacted the Tulsa Police Department for clarification and received a lengthy explanation of the situation.
Division Commander Matt McCord emphasized that they have been working “hand in hand” with Maggie to solve the murder.
“We have always been diligent in keeping Dr. Zingman informed as new information emerges,” he told The US Sun in an email.
“I can assure you that we will continue working to resolve Brittany’s case.”
McCord said the lead investigator on the case believes the envelope is “another piece of the puzzle we are exploring.”
THE MYSTERY DEEPENS
Maggie remembers calling her daughter on September 29, 2004, but getting no answer. She assumed Brittany was studying.
The next day, however, she received a knock on the door that changed her life forever.
A storm was raging outside. However, the darkest clouds were about to swallow her life.
“I was given a piece of paper and asked to call the Tulsa Police Department,” she recalled. “It was like something out of a movie.”
KILLER’S ENTRY
Brittany was absent from school when one of her friends decided to check on her at her apartment the next day.
The front door was unlocked. Inside was his body.
Upon further inspection, a typical crawl space above the apartments was easily accessible to anyone wishing to enter any of the properties.
With no security cameras in operation, Maggie refuses to rule out the possibility of a killer – who she suspects may be pretending to install cables as a way of getting into the building – breaking into Brittany’s house through the loft, which has since been boarded up.
“There are many examples of predators using entry points like this because they would not show forced entry,” she said.
According to Maggie, detectives initially worked the case for the first eight years from every angle, from collecting DNA to interviewing persons of interest, but it soon went painfully cold.
Progress had been so slow in recent years that the trauma therapist decided to take matters into her own hands in her desperate search for answers.
JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY
With his home state of Oklahoma in the center of the country, several major highways are nearby.
“Many serial killers will travel down the road and be caught at the end of the border,” Maggie explained. “So I thought I just needed to go there.”
Moving between cities over the next nine years, she encountered other families living in the hell of crushing uncertainty over cold cases.
Her multiple trips, which she dubbed Caravan to catch a killer, were cathartic. Most lasted six weeks and were done completely alone.
She would often park and attract the curiosity of passersby who saw the banners on her car and wanted to know more.
“I would get messages from people all over the country,” she said. “Did it help me cope? God, yes.”
FRESH HOPE
While awaiting developments surrounding the envelope, Maggie tries to get help from a state-of-the-art genetic genealogy lab. Othram.
She hopes that testing several DNA swabs from the scene might reveal something.
Maggie also remains hopeful that these tests can help solve the mystery, but there is no timeline as lines of communication are strained.
Other problems, including the retirement of some detectives who were initially involved in the case, remain an issue.
The envelope seems to be Maggie’s best hope of moving forward.
“If they don’t have everything in order and they have the timeline wrong, and you start looking at the autopsy, there are questions about that,” she continued.
“I mean, it’s all crazy.”
My life has already changed forever. But I won’t stop looking for answers.
Dr.
Meanwhile, Tulsa police say they are doing everything they can.
“We do not close any homicide case until it is solved,” Division Commander McCord added.
“Over the past 50 years, we have maintained an unprecedented average homicide resolution rate of 90%, with a trend in recent years of over 97%.
“This is a nationally leading standard and other agencies have frequently contacted the department to learn from our detectives.
“We want to bring justice. That’s what we do here every day.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
