Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Dewey Brantley to pay them a last tribute. And investigators soon unearthed phone records that revealed Donnie Brantley had begun calling an ex-girlfriend within days after Marsha disappeared. Reggie Jay: I was mad. Kelly DeLude: Oh, yeah [laughs]. Kelly DeLude: I felt like finally justice is gonna be done. Marsha's neighbor was concerned too -- so much so that she decided to confront Donnie in person at his house. Peter Van Sant: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Marsha Brantley in California. Crump said he was concerned the case wouldn't get to a jury. Reggie Jay: And she just made the comment, "I've been so depressed that I could hardly get off the couch." Todd has lived at the following previous addresses: 2020 Deerwood Dr in St Augustine, FL, 367 Fortuna Ave in Saint Augustine, FL, 165 County . Mark Wills: She was devastated. She specialized in hormone replacement therapy. Brantley was arrested in 2013, but prosecutors dropped the charges after deciding they didn't have enough to get a conviction. Det. Still, there was almost no physical evidence of a crime no blood, no fingerprints, no crime scene at all. Lt. David Shoemaker: He was financially supported by his wife. Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Because the only person close enough to have reported her missing didn't do it. Peter Van Sant [in salon]: What was it about Marsha that made the two of you click? There are receipts to corroborate his story, beginning around October 2009, he said. And we were shocked by what happened next. Kelly DeLude: We just got along we would just talk the whole time. Kelly DeLude: She loved her husband She mentioned him every time. When they checked, it wasn't there. Lee Davis: It's very important. Davis said this is an example of the state's "confirmation bias." they were her kids. As the years went by, the two women grew closer. She didn't work outside the home, her parents had passed away, she had no children, her extended family lived far away, her best friends lived out-of-state, and she had recently disengaged from her local group of writing friends. . And Steve Crump does something "48 Hours" found remarkable. [4] The charges were dismissed in May 2014 due to lack of evidence. But Marsha did her best to carry on. She was also a former director of housing at Lee University. Friends and family members reported that Brantley suffered from depression. Lee Davis: She's a smart woman she left for reasons of her own. Max Goodwin sets out to tear up the bureaucracy and provide exceptional care, but the doctors and staff are not so sure he can succeed. In 1999, Marsha met Donnie Brantley on a dating website. Marsha Brantley's friends said she would have been angry and devastated if she had found out about an alleged affair. Login or Sign-up to show all important data, death records and obituaries absolutely for free! And I looked at my file and I said, "April. If Marsha Brantley had a secret, "48 Hours" contacted one of the only people she might have told. Within about a week of Marsha Brantley's disappearance, both defense and prosecution attorneys said, Donnie Brantley allegedly hand-delivered a card to Richardson. The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team represents the University of South Carolina and competes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Peter Van Sant: You're convinced you've got the right man. While Donnie was apparently seeking a new love interest, investigators say he couldn't seem to keep his story straight about his old love, Marsha. Peter Van Sant: Had she ever talked about trouble in the marriage? We're afraid that the judge will enter a judgment of acquittal because we can't prove that Marsha Brantley was murdered. Sign up on Classmates for free to reconnect with Marsha Brantley and other high school alumni. For Marsha's family, it's a second devastating blow in court. Lee Davis|Defense attorney: We're ready for trial. Kelly DeLude | Marsha's hairdresser: Cleveland, Tennessee is beautiful. Watkins died Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at his home in Adrian, GA. Mr. Watkins, 76, was born in Adrian, GA on January 21, 1945. Hairdresser Kelly DeLude reacts to learning there will be no trial for Donnie Brantley. Prosecutor Steve Crump: That doesn't make sense. And she said, "I want you to meet him.". I thought, "How dare you do that to us. He only re-emerged to say he was going to watch a movie before heading downstairs, she said. Medra Justis | Marsha's aunt: I felt like life has been squeezed out of me. April 30th, 2020 - Kirby Reutter PhD bilingual clinical psychologist with the Department of Homeland Security and author of The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for PTSD Kirby Reutter PhD The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook Second Edition by McKay Wood and Brantley is a wele resource for DBT therapists clients and anyone He said that yes, if it's viewed through the lens of first-degree murder, the evidence does not look great. DONNIE BRANTLEY: Upon the advice of counsel I plead the Fifth. Jana Wills: She was beautiful She was always kind. "If it were not for [Phyllis'] boldness, knocking on the door and asking [Donnie Brantley] 'Where is she?'" Zach Pike | Bradley County Sheriff's Office: I'm raisin' my family here. Jana Wills: She would come and pick me up from high school sometimes and we would go get ice cream. Did you kill her?". Kelly DeLude: I've been a hair dresser for over 30 years You have certain clients that you kinda click with and you're closer to - and for me, Marsha was one of those clients. And when I would wake up in the morning, I would think of Marsha. She recalled a time the group met at Marsha Brantley's house and Donnie Brantley came home. "I felt compelled to find out what happened to her," DeLude tells "48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant. Stephanie Richardson: I'm sorry, they're stretching things. Reggie Jay: Thunder Rock Writers Group the other name was the Big Girl Panties Group. Join host Kristi Bryant, armchair detective and Georgia native, as she investigates missing person cases in the southern United States. Back in 2014, when "48 Hours" first began investigating this case, Marsha's aunt, Medra Justis, and cousin Jana Wills met with Steve Crump, who was about to take over as district attorney general. Peter Van Sant: So this is from the case file? Lee Davis: And she -- she told Donnie that she needed some time to herself and time to think. DEPOSITION ATTORNEY: Do you know Stephanie Richardson? Kelly DeLude [in salon]: When I would go to sleep at night, I would think of Marsha. [6] He was charged for the murder in December 2016. When asked what happened to his wife, investigators said he told neighbors several variations, including that she had "gone out west," or was "living in their camper in Townsend [Tenn.]". "[Dodd] went and knocked on [Donnie Brantley's] door and said, 'Where is Marsha?'" "I don't ever remember sitting down and having a conversation with him, because I don't ever know of a time that he was ever anywhere that we actually sat down and could have had a conversation," Wills said. She uses her tenacity, inability to hear no, and southern charm to shed light on past and present cases. Her body has never been found. But that note was not preserved, and investigators believe there was never any money or that Donnie Brantley is the one who spent it. Marsha Brantley The Generation Why Podcast Episode 331 May 2009. April 7, 2018 at 1:00 a.m. When Marsha Brantley, 50, of Cleveland, Tenn., suddenly vanished in 2009, her husband Donnie eventually became a suspect in her murder. Jerry Hoffer: I'm listening to the story And I'm just sitting there thinking, "Man, this guy is -- he might've killed his wife!". During a search of the couple's home, Donnie Brantley told investigators his wife had left him and they were planning a divorce. They were their dogs. Kelly DeLude: One night I decided, "Well, I'm gonna call Donnie and ask him if he knows where Marsha is. I know that. Lee Davis: No. But the longer she was gone and when I talked to the TBI and they told me that Donnie had told so many lies, then I began to wonder that maybe she, maybe she wasn't gone away.". The case was featured in an April 2018 episode of the CBS documentary show 48 Hours. Crump fears the jury would never get a chance to decide on guilt or innocence -- that the judge would rule there just isn't enough evidence to go on and throw the case out. Pinterest. Marsha Rader Brantley disappeared from Tennessee in the spring of 2009 but it took more than six months before it was reported. "I was bustling around getting ready for a wedding. And she said, "Well, you know, it's really affecting our business.". She grew up in an affluent family, an only child with no children of her own. "Except for the roses your hubby gave you just because. But neither side in the legal case agrees with her. When Marsha Brantley, 50, of Cleveland, Tenn., suddenly vanished in 2009, her husband Donnie eventually became a suspect in her murder. Marsha Ellen Brantley (nee Rader), born February 28, 1959, was an American woman who disappeared around May to June 2009. But after that, for a while, it was like, 'Well, what do you think this will cost? Janie Parks Varnell | Defense attorney: Law enforcement had tunnel vision and they had tunnel vision that led directly to Donnie Brantley. "She's leaving me. Because she wanted everyone to be committed," Jay said. Peter Van Sant: Not a phone call, not an email, not a text message? Genres. Those things were disclosed in 2010 to law enforcement and from all I can tell, they've never been investigated. In 2011, the Bradley County Sheriff's Office became involved, and in November 2012, the Brantleys home was searched again, this time with cadaver dogs. [2], In late 2008, friends began to suspect that Brantley's marriage was troubled, despite her claims to the contrary. "You could tell something was wrong," Jay said, adding that the couple seemed unhappy with each other. It was pretty traumatizing. 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