A man has been arrested and charged in the 1986 cold case murder of a real estate broker in North Miami Beach, thanks to DNA evidence and the tireless work of detectives, the police department announced Friday.
It was on June 13, 1986, when Shirley Brant, a mother and owner of Brant Realty Corporation, was shot and killed in her office at 16375 Northeast 18th Avenue in what police believed was an attempted robbery. She was 49.
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WATCH HEREPolice said a co-worker saw the attack, which happened after two men entered the office. One of them, now identified as 64-year-old Jeffrey Taylor, who police are now calling a "career criminal," demanded that Brant, who was talking on the phone with a friend, hang up.
"A struggle ensued, during which Taylor shot Ms. Brant once," a news release reads. "The suspects fled the scene, and Ms. Brant later succumbed to her injuries at Parkway Regional Hospital."
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Decades went by without an answer.
Then, in January of 2023, the North Miami Beach Police Department formed a cold case unit to reinvestigate unresolved homicides. NBC6 covered how two detectives even came out of retirement last year to help solve her case and others.
During a review of the case, authorities found fingerprints that had been collected at the crime scene but never entered into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System because they didn't meet certain criteria at the time.
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When they were finally submitted for analysis, they came back with a match on March 21.
On Thursday, police arrested Taylor and charged him with second-degree murder with a firearm.
Newspapers described Brant as "remarkably attractive" and a "former professional singer turned real estate agent," but for those that knew her, her favorite titles were "mom," "loving wife" and "tireless advocate for the Jewish community."
Brant's family joined North Miami Beach Police for a news conference on Friday afternoon, where they expressed their gratitude to the detectives for “all the hours they tirelessly worked to solve this case.”
When asked what his mother might be feeling now that an arrest has been made, Brant's son, Benjamin, replied, “Hopefully, justice can be served.”
Sadly, Brant's husband passed away before he could witness justice being served in his wife’s murder case. The family reflected on how hard he fought to solve the case and shared that “this is all for him.”
"The resolution of this case reflects our department's commitment to justice, no matter how much time has passed," Chief of Police Juan Pinillos said in a statement. "We hope this arrest bring a measure of closure to the Bryant family and all who knew her."
