Mother of Murder Victim Pleads to Get Case Solved

OKLAHOMA CITY -- It's been almost five years since a Tulsa mother's daughter was found raped and murdered. The homicide remains unsolved, but a group of detectives is giving the case a fresh set of eyes.

It's a grassroots effort among law enforcement in Oklahoma, a group dedicated to solving cold cases.

For one mother their work could be the key to finding her daughter's killer.

Dr. Maggie Zingman is once again sharing her story, the story of her daughter, Brittany Phillips, who was killed in her Tulsa apartment almost five years ago. Typically, Zingman travels across the country hoping to generate more clues, but today is different.

"This is a real gift for us to get the network expanded, especially here in Oklahoma," Zingman said.

Zingman is speaking to the Oklahoma Cold Case Investigators Association, a group that organized itself about two years ago. They meet every three months to go over cold cases.

"It's a fresh set of eyes, another set of eyes to second guess your work, or third guess your work," Roberto Peralta with the Lawton Police Department said. "Just sharing ideas about your case, to another investigator to see what he can find that you missed."

Right now, there are only two police departments in the state with cold case units, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Agents with the OSBI are assigned cold cases but can only work them when they have time.

"There's nothing statewide that does strictly unsolved cases," Peralta said. "I have no idea how many unsolved cases we have in Oklahoma."

But, Zingman knows of one, the daughter she buried on what would have been her 19th birthday. For now, she'll keep telling the story until the killer is caught.

"The beauty of homicide, no statute of limitations, so you're always going to be looking over your shoulder cause you never know when we're coming," Peralta said.

After Maggie spoke to the group, the lead detective in Brittany's case took his turn and presented all the facts in hopes someone in the group can give him new ideas.