On September 20, 2006, emergency crews responded to a mobile home fire and made a gruesome discovery. Now Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Special Investigators are working on this cold case to find out who killed Alston Eugune Brooks.
Amanda Granit, Host:
ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2006 EMERGENCY CREWS RESPONDED TO A MOBILE HOME ENGULFED IN FLAMES…
THEY WERE ABOUT THE UNCOVER A GRUESOME DISCOVERY.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
laying inside of the mobile home with blood throughout his head and face, and it looks like blunt-force trauma injuries to the rear of his head.
Amanda Granit, Host: A NEGHBORHOOD IN SHOCK.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
But by all accounts, he was just a pleasant individual.
Amanda Granit, Host: WE ARE TAKING A LOOK BACK AT THE MURDER OF ALSTON EUGENE BROOKS IN HOPES THAT YOU CAN HELP US SOLVE THIS UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
My name is John . I'm a Special Investigator here with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit. Been here since January. Fantastic opportunity. So I'm thrilled to be here. Before that I was a member of the New York City Police Department. I retired as a detective after 23 years, the last 13 of which I was assigned to the Intelligence Bureau.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
Within the Intelligence Bureau, we worked on numerous investigations, whether they be intelligence collection or criminal investigations. The beauty of that was I was able to take my experience of collecting intelligence, analyzing intelligence, and utilizing the resources of the Bureau to further investigations. That translates well to these cold case investigations because it gives you a fresh look to look for the evidence, analyze the evidence, and work through what you have and see what you don't have.
Amanda Granit, Host:
What case are you working on now that we're talking about today?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
The case I'm working on today is the case of [Alston Eugene Brooks 00:01:46], who was a 65 year-old male. He had lived in a mobile home community in the Debbie Circle area in the University area. He was an individual who lived by himself, spent a lot of his time ... He wasn't working at the time. He had worked in a local lumber yard, and I believe he was on disability. He lived by himself, spent a lot of time outside in the front of his mobile home, and he was well-liked by other neighbors. He was believed to be quiet and friendly. He would receive a check monthly. So he'd be seen often sitting by a tree waiting for the mailman to receive that check, which I believe was most likely what kept him going as far as living. And then he would spend a lot of time alone, but sometimes during the check time, when the check came, he would have visitors.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
The night he was found murdered, his mobile home was reported on fire. So deputies responded, the local fire department responded, and he was found by a responding deputy on his side, laying inside of the mobile home with blood throughout his head and face, and it looks like blunt-force trauma injuries to the rear of his head. His glasses were still on his face, and because of the fire he was removed rather quickly from the scene from inside the location. The fire was set somewhere in the back, so they were able to get him out pretty quick. And then they determined that he had possibly been the victim of a homicide or some sort of foul play, so they created a crime scene and that's where we are.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
The case file has numerous interviews from neighbors, one stepson that he had in his life, and they all describe him like I did earlier. That he was a pleasant, private individual who spent a lot of time just sitting on the porch. He had spent some time at a local flea market where he would go to here and there, but otherwise, they really didn't have much of a pattern of life on him. But by all accounts, he was just a pleasant individual.
Amanda Granit, Host:
What year and what time of year did this occur?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:On September 20, 2006, he's found in the early morning hours when somebody calls his mobile home on fire.
Amanda Granit, Host:
Was this the time of the month that the check arrived?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
We don't know. That's something we're endeavoring to find out as far as bank records, to see if we're able to locate a pattern with those checks.
Amanda Granit, Host:
Oftentimes these mobile home communities, the units are close together. Did any neighbors hear anything that evening?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
The night before, a neighbor had looked out his window in the late hours and looked to see ... He had heard some conversations going, which was odd to him, and he noticed that another individual ...Was unable to give a good description of that individual, was on the porch with Mr. Brooks.
IAmanda Granit, Host:
Obviously, when first responding deputies arrived, the unit was on fire. Did that impact the ability to collect evidence from the scene?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:It may have hampered it somewhat, but a lot of evidence was recovered, which is evidence we're working with now. So the phenomenal work of the forensic techs, and the deputies, and the investigators that responded to that scene were able to give us a good evidentiary base to work with as we move towards modern science with DNA.
Amanda Granit, Host:
Today, how are you processing and furthering that evidence?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator: We're going through the evidentiary list to see what we can use to have reexamined for any DNA. DNA as a science has grown to where even the smallest sample could produce some sort of lead. So we're looking to take what evidence we have, bring it in, have it processed by FDLE to see if we can get further investigative leads.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
The great thing about this case, it falls underneath the Bureau of Justice, the BJA, the federal government's grant program for prosecuting cold cases using DNA. So we're able to offset some of the costs that would be associated with either using private labs along with FDLE to get a more robust testing of this evidence to hopefully be able to find at least a lead, or maybe even be able to further it towards familial genetic genealogy, where we're able to use other avenues of approach from a more genealogical way.
Amanda Granit, Host:
Walk me through that process. You send the evidence over to FDLE or a private lab, it comes back letting you know that DNA was found on there. Then what do you do as the special investigator?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
The DNA is pretty much a lead at that point. If they're not able to marry that DNA up, that source or that sample to an individual who's already been in custody and had DNA uploaded, or somebody who has DNA in the system, then we're able to ask for some sort of genealogical trace. That actually is where the DNA goes into the databases where people who submit their own DNA into private functions such as Ancestry or some of the other ones, they go into a program and then they're fleshed out from there. I'd like to explain that better. It was all over the place.
Amanda Granit, Host:
Walk me through the process of what happens with this evidence if hopefully when you send it over to FDLE it gives you some sort of DNA off of this piece of evidence?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
At that point, if there is an individual associated with that, then we will work to getting a confirmation swab from that individual to marry up the findings of the DNA testing and the individual we believe is the lead. That's more confirmatory, and that's what kind of solidifies the science at that point. So what we do is we'll get that confirmatory and then we'll go forward from there.
Amanda Granit, Host:
And then if the DNA is found but doesn't actually provide a specific match, what do you do to further the case?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
So then we can actually ask FDLE to then look at if they are able to trace it from a familial standpoint. If they're able to tie in those DNA strands, those individual markers that are connected to other individuals they may have in the system, and then they can give us leads on who in a family tree or within an associate family range we could look at. And then we'll look at who that person is. Where were they? Can we put them in the area at the time? Are they living on the other end of the country, or outside the United States? We have to look to see how we can match the individuals that we're looking at to the area.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
And then if that doesn't work, then we can move on to the private labs that do the work with forensic genealogy. They'll actually take the DNA and they will go through the databases that are publicly available. They will look through a family tree to find the most common ancestor amongst the DNA sample that you're looking at, and try to narrow down to who could be the individual that you may want to consider that'd be the next lead.
Amanda Granit, Host:
It really seems like the ability to test the DNA through this grant could result in this case being closed.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
It has great potential. It's just a question of where the genealogical information comes from. If the data set is wide, then we're great. But if a family member of your target, nobody associated with them ever submitted some sort of DNA, then we're back to being unable to track them down. So really, it goes to the quality and the quantity of the possibles within the genealogical DNA database.
Amanda Granit, Host:
2006, obviously many years ago, but not a time where having cameras in the area was unheard of. Was that anything that investigators were able to utilize, or they just weren't widespread at that point?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
As we've gone through the case file, cameras don't seem in the immediate vicinity to play a part in narrowing down clues for this case. The investigators at the time did extensive, extensive interviewing, spoke to so many individuals. Some that gave some evidence, some information that could be considered beneficial to the case, some that had no information. But cameras unfortunately were not something that we were able to utilize in the general vicinity of the fire.
Amanda Granit, Host:
Obviously, a lot of potential is held in the DNA, but what would be your message to anyone who knows anything?
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
Well, one of the other things we discussed earlier is that we'd like to re-interview some folks, see if their memories have changed, have been jogged by anything. Some folks may have not been comfortable with speaking to us at the time. We'd like to track down some individuals who may have been in the area just to kind of rehash the incident. And then I would implore people to, if you have any information on this case, please come forward. This gentleman just kind of lived a quiet life and didn't deserve to go the way he did, and it's the motivation behind really trying to solve this case. Because it was unfair about how he was murdered, and I think if anybody has information, we'd really appreciate the help.
Amanda Granit, Host:
To those people who may be nervous to talk to law enforcement or tell them what they know, what is that process? I guess not what is it like, but ease their minds on that process. You're not looking to interrogate someone who might have information for you. You are looking to collect that information and do what's best for this person who deserves justice.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
A hundred percent. We're not looking to put anybody into a room and try to get that information out of them by any other means than just sitting down and talking. We would love to meet in a neutral place where somebody is comfortable, have a conversation, describe what you know, what you believe. We're open for anything, because that little piece of evidence that you think is not important, that you feel it's not going to help, well, it just might. It may close a loophole or gap that we've been trying to close for a while.
John Murtagh, HCSO Special Investigator:
In the intelligence world we call them intelligence gaps, and sometimes these things will find their way into a case and all of a sudden things get a little clearer. But it takes a while for it to get there. It could be any kind of source. So we would just implore anybody who has any information or any ideas on this case to please come forward. We'd be more than happy to meet any time in any place to discuss what you know, and be real happy to be able to tell you down the line that you were the reason why this case was eventually resolved.
IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS CASE OR ANY OTHERS FEATURED IN UNFINISHED BUSINESS, CALL THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE AT 813-247-8200. YOU CAN FOLLOW ALONG FOR ANY BREAKING UPDATES IN THESE CASE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, FIND US AT HCSO SHERIFF ON FACEBOOK. INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER.