Brittany Phillips was an 18-year-old college student found murdered in her second-floor Tulsa apartment in the fall of 2004. Her mother’s last contact with her was the evening of September 27, 2004; a friend who had not heard from her alerted police on September 30, and officers discovered her body. An autopsy ruled cause of death as asphyxia; investigators found she had been sexually assaulted and strangled and noted signs of a struggle in the apartment.

Detectives collected DNA evidence, including blood and semen, but no arrests have been made and no publicly identified suspects exist. A DNA profile once thought to be the killer’s later matched someone who had a plausible reason for their DNA at the scene. Over the years ex-boyfriends and registered sex offenders have been questioned and tested without a match to the evidence believed to be from the perpetrator.

The case remains open and cold. In 2023 a birthday card Brittany mailed to her grandfather was found with a postmark of September 29, 2004, which could mean she was alive later than originally thought. Her mother has campaigned widely for answers and changes in DNA laws. If anyone knew Brittany, her movements in late September 2004, or has information about DNA evidence, please come forward.