Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Missing Marsha’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours,’ the viewers are provided a detailed account of the disappearance case of 50-year-old Marsha Brantley in the summer of 2009. Months after not hearing from her, an acquaintance of the missing woman got the police involved and a complicated investigation ensued. Thanks to the insightful exclusive interviews with the family and friends of Marsha, we learn more about her life and the aftermath of her vanishing.
Marsha Brantley Went Missing Sometime During the Summer of 2009
Born on February 28, 1959, Marsha Ellen Brantley (née Rader) was an Illinois native who grew up to be a huge animal lover. After moving to Cleveland, Tennessee, she even volunteered at a local animal shelter. The determined woman enjoyed gardening, walking, spending time with her foster dogs, and writing. In 1999, she met a guy named Donnie Brantley on a dating website and soon, they started seeing each other. As the bond between the two grew strong quickly, they made their relationship official by getting married on March 28, 2000, and moving into the house Marsha’s parents had built for her.
Soon after this joyous and life-changing moment, her mother tragically passed away in November 2000, followed by her father in the next month. According to her friends, she went through the most difficult point in her life after the death of her parents. Although she was unemployed, she maintained a blog called The Magpie’s Nest, a kind of journal in which she openly doted on her husband. In 2007, due to her interest in writing, she formed Thunder Rock Writers Group. Her writing talent received national recognition when her short story titled ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ came second in a national competition in 2009. Around March 2009, she was also said to be battling depression. In the summer of 2009, one of her neighbors and her hairdresser, Kelly DeLude, noticed that it had been a long time since they last saw Marsha.
She was not even seen walking her foster dogs in the neighborhood. Concerned about Marsha’s well-being, Kelly reported her missing and an investigation was launched in late 2009. When the police dug deeper into the life of the missing woman, they learned that she spoke with her friend Kim Shank on May 27, 2009, telling her that she had been contemplating leaving her writers’ group to join another in Knoxville. According to the phone records, she stopped receiving calls on June 2, 2009, which was seemingly the day she disappeared. Since it has been more than 15 years since her disappearance, many believe that she had died, while others still cling to the hope that she would be back someday.
Marsha Brantley’s House Was Searched Thoroughly For Evidence
When the investigators knocked on the door of Marsha Brantley’s house, her husband, Donnie Brantley, answered and told them that she had left him and they were planning to get a divorce. However, they did not buy his story, as he had begun contacting his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Richardson, just days into his wife’s disappearance. Upon searching the property for potential clues, the detectives found that her cell phone, car, clothes, and foster dogs were still in the house, making Donnie’s story even less plausible than before.
After interviewing her friends, they also learned that Marsha’s marriage had allegedly been deteriorating. In March 2010, Donnie was asked if he would take a polygraph test. Much to their surprise, he agreed to it. However, more suspicion arose when he failed the test. A couple of years later, the police searched the couple’s house once again, this time with cadaver dogs, but they still couldn’t find anything that connected the husband to the disappearance.
The Alleged Killer Was Charged Twice But Never Convicted
In light of all the circumstantial evidence against him, in July 2013, a grand jury indicted him for first-degree murder of his wife. However, it was only in August 2013 that he was arrested and charged with the same. Fearing that they would not get a second chance at proving that Donnie was guilty, the family decided to drop the charges without prejudice so that they could refile the charges in the future, possibly when there was enough evidence against him. A couple of years later, in October 2016, the authorities arrested Donnie again in Kingston, Georgia, and charged him with murder in December of the same year.
Before the commencement of his trial, Marsha’s aunt, Medra Rader Justis, took to social media and wrote, “Please pray that justice will be served. I have faith that Donnie will be found guilty, but whatever the outcome, the truth will come forth. My desire is to find Marsha and put her to rest.” In February 2018, just before the accused stood for trial, the charges against him were dropped due to lack of evidence, this time by the judge. While he remains a suspect in the eyes of the prosecution, Donnie is officially a free man as there is no hard evidence that connects him to the disappearance or the murder of Marsha.
Read More: Donnie Brantley: Where is the Alleged Killer Now?
