Retired detectives probe 1986 cold case of North Miami Beach mother shot to death

It has been 37 years since the death of a beloved North Miami Beach mother and businesswoman and the two men responsible for her murder have never been charged.

Now, Shirley Brant's case is getting a fresh set of eyes on it thanks to two detectives who came out of retirement to help solve more cold cases.

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."

On June 13, 1986, Brant, 49, was working in her real estate office when she was shot to death in what police believed was an attempted robbery.

"At that time, Shirley was actually on the phone with a friend and she began to scream," said Detective Pamela Denham of the North Miami Police Department. "One of the Black males attempted to grab the phone at which time a gun went off and she was shot."

Now, 37 years later, the case remains unsolved.

Denham and fellow North Miami Police Det. Yvette Darden are combining their years of experience, coming out of retirement and helping to solve about 40 cold cases in the area, including Brant's.

"We haven’t forgotten about any of our cold cases," Denham said. "We’re looking at each and every one individually and seeing what there is that we can investigate and hopefully try and solve it."

Shortly after Brant's murder, the only witness in the case, Brant's office assistant, was able to help police draw a sketch of one of the suspects.

"The description that they had given was a Black male, approximately six feet tall, thin build, with low cropped hair," Denham said. "The thing that was unusual about this is that both subjects were 'nicely dressed.'"

The crime happened around 4 p.m. when only Brant and her assistant were working in a mostly empty office building at the corner of Northeast 18th Avenue and 164th Street in North Miami Beach.

Despite the case generating several news articles, no one has come forward.

The building where the incident happened still stands but much has changed since Brant's murder.

The only witness in the case has since passed away making the case that much more challenging for detectives to solve. But there is still hope.

"You never know what somebody knows," Denham said. "You never know if you were somewhere and somebody said something and it didn’t mean anything to you at that time, but now it could mean something to us."

DNA technology could also be a key factor in solving the case.

"We have submitted some evidence," Denham said. "We just have to wait and see what happens. It’s a waiting game at this point."

In the days following the tragedy, Brant's husband of 31 years channeled his grief into action, advocating for gun control and even writing a letter to former President Ronald Reagan, who wrote him back.

Sadly, Dr. Lawrence Brant died without seeing his wife's case get solved.

"She's gone forever," Brant wrote to the editor of The Miami Herald. "In a brief moment, we've lost our treasure forever."

Anyone who knows anything about this case is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.