Do you know who murdered Brittney Briggs? Brittney Briggs was a 24-year-old single mother described by her family as kind, giving, and devoted to her young daughter. A Caucasian woman, she was building a new life for herself and her child in Las Vegas, Nevada, having recently earned her GED and started a new job as a tax preparer. Her mother, Kim Briggs, remembered her as "very, very kind. Probably too kind for her own good." Brittney's father, Jon Schaffner, said she had a bright future ahead of her. Though she had faced some struggles, her family said she was on a positive track, and her last Facebook post, just two days before her death, proudly announced her new job. Her friends and family recalled her as a beautiful soul who, despite some "rough edges," would be painfully missed.
The last time anyone heard from Brittney was the night of February 9, 2017, after she picked up medicine for her daughter. The next morning, February 10, friends grew concerned when she failed to show up for a scheduled appointment.
They went to her home on the 1900 block of Spindrift Court, near East Lake Mead Boulevard and Mount Hood Street in the northeast valley. When they arrived, they found the front door slightly ajar. Brittney's 3-year-old daughter opened the door for them, and a horrific scene was discovered inside. Brittney was found unresponsive.
First responders from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department initially saw no obvious signs of trauma. However, an autopsy by the Clark County coroner's office the next day revealed a brutal attack. Brittney's official cause of death was ruled a homicide due to asphyxia from strangulation and multiple blunt force injuries, including several hemorrhages around her neck. The home had been ransacked, but investigators found no signs of forced entry. Her cell phone, debit cards, and EBT card were missing.
The investigation was made more chilling by the account of Brittney's daughter, who was in the home during the murder. The little girl told detectives that someone had put a blanket over her head and told her to be quiet. She was found physically unharmed in her bedroom. Investigators learned that Brittney often sold clothes, trinkets, and other items online, and that unknown people would sometimes come to her home. Police theorized the killer might have been someone she knew or someone who came to the house pretending to be a buyer.
In the years following the killing, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has continued to investigate, but no suspects have been identified and no arrests have been made. The case became the 19th homicide investigated by the department in 2017. In December 2021, nearly five years after the murder, LVMPD Homicide Lt. Ray Spencer publicly appealed for information, stating, "Someone out there knows what happened. It's been over four years and someone has talked about this." The family's grief was compounded just over a month after Brittney's death when her parents' apartment caught fire, destroying irreplaceable photos and belongings of their late daughter.
Brittney's family has been left in anguish, desperate for justice and closure. "People lose family all the time, but usually there's some kind of closure and they kind of know," her brother, Austyn Schaffner, said in a 2025 interview. "But we have no idea." The family also shared the additional pain of losing contact with Brittney's daughter, who was moved to California by her biological father, severing their last living connection to Brittney.
As of February 2025, Brittney Briggs' murder remains an unsolved cold case. Her loved ones continue to hold out hope that someone will come forward with the information needed to find her killer. A GoFundMe was established to help with funeral costs. Authorities urge anyone with any information about the case to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers of Nevada at 702-385-5555. 
