Prosecutors, PD revisit charges in Middletown mother shooting

The investigation continues into the shooting death of a Middletown mother Brittany Russell, the woman found shot to death in her vehicle at a Dayton apartment complex on Feb. 10. Her 6-month-old daughter was in the car at the time of the shooting. Friday, a panel of Montgomery County prosecutors did not approve charges against Brandon Carr, 34, the man arrested earlier this week on suspicion of Russell’s murder.

Key facts in the investigation:

• Victim: Brittany Russell, 29, found in car on Free Pike
• No charges approved for man arrested, Brandon Carr, 34
• Carr remains in custody on federal probation violation
• The infant, Haven, has been reunited with her father
• No weapon was recovered at the scene

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UPDATE @ 1:56 p.m. (March 1):

Prosecutors are once again meeting with Dayton police to discuss possible charges against Brandon Carr in connection to the shooting death of Brittany Russell.

Carr, 34, remains in the Montgomery County jail on a federal probation violation.

UPDATE @ 2:27 p.m. (Feb. 25):

Montgomery County prosecutors did not approve formal murder charges against Brandon Carr, 34. The case was referred back to Dayton detectives for further investigation and prosecutors may meet again next week with detectives to review the case again. Carr, however, will remain in the Montgomery County jail on a federal probation violation, stemming from a 2011 federal drug trafficking and firearms conviction, according to court and jail records.

UPDATE @ 6:05 p.m. (Feb. 24):

Chris Edwards had just returned to his Middletown home Wednesday when he began hearing and seeing reports that a man was in jail in the homicide of his child’s mother.

Brittany Russell, 29, died the morning of Feb. 10 in her car of multiple gunshot wounds to the head, with 6-month-old daughter Haven safely strapped in her car seat with the car and heater running.

“It’s a great thing because he won’t be able to do this to any other families; he is off the street,” Edwards said. “It is a relief, but nothing … will bring her back.”

Edwards said he has been racked with confusion and grief trying to decide what to do next, but Haven is flourishing.

“As soon as I got I her took her to the doctor and had her checked out … her hearing from the gun shots and stuff like that. But she is fine. Really great,” Edwards said, adding he hopes she does not remember the terrible last moments of her mother’s life.

“I think about it all the time, how long did she cry before she finally fell asleep. What did she do when the gun went off,” Edwards said. “I do know that someone was watching over her that night, that is for sure.”

UPDATE @ 4:21 p.m. (Feb. 24):

Dayton police took Brandon Carr, 34, into custody in the first block of South Halloway Street. He was interviewed at the Dayton Safety Building, where he was then arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Jail on suspicion of murder.

No official charges have been approved for Carr. However, Dayton police plan to meet with the prosecutor’s office Thursday morning, Sgt. Richard Blommel said.

Blommel said Carr was taken into custody without incident and through a collection of evidence and interviews investigators were able to identify him as a suspect.

UPDATE @ 9:56 a.m. (Feb. 18):

No additional charges have been approved for a man questioned in connection to the shooting death of Brittany Russell, but the investigation is still ongoing, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

Curtis Burdette, 37, has been charged with an unrelated drug offense and was identified by a Cincinnati media outlet as a person of interest interviewed in the case; however, police have never officially identified him as a person of interest in Russell’s death.

UPDATE @ 11:54 a.m. (Feb. 16):

A man a Cincinnati media outlet says was arrested on unrelated drug charges after being questioned in connection to the shooting death of Brittany Russell appeared in Vandalia Municipal Court.

Curtis Burdette, 37, was arraigned on a single count of possesion of cocaine, a charge that stems from an offense in that court’s jurisdiction.

Burdette remains in the Montgomery County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

INITIAL REPORT:

Dayton police have conducted “numerous interviews” as officers search for the person or people responsible for the Feb. 10 shooting death of Middletown’s Brittany Russell.

Russell, 29, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the head in her car at 4115 Free Pike. Her 6-month-old daughter was found unharmed inside the running car with the heater operating.

>> EARLIER: Killer still on loose after mom found slain

Dayton police said that, on Friday, detectives interviewed a 37-year-old man in connection with the investigation. The man was found with illegal drugs in his possession, officers alleged. After the interview, the man was arrested and booked into the Montgomery County jail on felony drug charges.

A Fox 19 Cincinnati report said the man arrested after the interview was Curtis Burdette, who is 37 and is in jail on felony drug charges. A Dayton police spokeswoman Monday would neither confirm nor deny that Burdette was the man apprehended in connection with Russell’s death.

The report paraphrased Dayton police Sgt. Richard Blommel saying that more charges would be discussed with prosecutors on Tuesday, the same day Burdette is due in court on the drug charges.

Visitation for Russell will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Herr-Riggs Funeral Home, 210 S. Main St., Middletown, with services scheduled at 1 p.m. Interment will be at Woodhill Cemetery in Franklin. Friends and family members said Russell struggled with an addiction to heroin.

Burdette was found guilty of third-degree felony possession of heroin in Butler County Common Pleas Court in 2010 and sentenced to five years community control. Burdette violated his probation and was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison with 280 days of jail-time credit.

Burdette has been booked into area jails at least 11 times since 1999 on charges of criminal trespassing, theft, parole violations, domestic violence, assault and a drug trafficking charge for which he was not indicted in 2010.

Court records shows Burdette has a history of not appearing for hearings, use of illegal drugs and probation violations.

In March 2002 after serving 14 months of a two-year sentence for burglary, Burdette applied for judicial release. He wrote that he had grown mentally and spiritually, attended bible studies, was baptized, earned his G.E.D., completed drug and alcohol addiction programs and planned to study at Sinclair Community College and hold down a steady job.

“I am now realizing how important my life is to me and my goal is to keep all kinds of negativity out of my life now and forever,” Burdette wrote, adding that he could be a role model. “I do not want to see anyone follow my path of bad choices and end up in here or worse.”

Burdette’s motion for early release was denied.

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