20 years after the murder of Tulsa student Brittany Phillips, the case remains unsolved

It's been 20 years since Tulsa college student Brittany Phillips was raped and murdered in her apartment, and yet no one has ever been arrested.

“It will be the first anniversary of her being dead longer than she's been alive,” said Brittany's mother, Maggie Zingman.

Despite multiple tips and countless tips over the years, police have been unable to identify her killer. Zingman never imagined that her daughter would be murdered, nor that the case would remain unsolved, nor that 20 years would pass without answers.

“I miss her every day. Every day I cry, but every day I live my life to the fullest,” Zingman said.

Zingman still sees her daughter Brittany as the same little girl she was 20 years ago. Brittany was raped and suffocated in her south Tulsa apartment in 2004, just days before her 19th birthday.

“It just breaks my heart. It was torn apart in the beginning. I have this picture of a heart being sewn back together and I feel like I do that every time I have hope and then something falls apart,” Zingman said.

Investigators believed they had the killer's DNA and tested it on nearly 3,000 men, but there was never a match. In 2019, a composite sketch created from DNA led them to a man who matched but had an alibi for the time Brittany was killed. Zingman has driven more than 300,000 miles across the country in her “Caravan to Catch a Killer,” sharing Brittany's story in hopes of getting new tips.

“I don't know what to do with this other than do what I've done for the last 20 years, which is live in her honor, live in spite of the murder, live because of the murder, because that's what it is .” “It's the only way I can survive,” Zingman said.

Zingman is often frustrated when the detective does not inform her about the case.

“I’m telling this to the Tulsa Police Department, just come forward. We can meet once a month or every two months or every three months,” Zingman said.

Sergeant Jeremy Stiles, the Tulsa Police Department's cold case investigator, recognizes the challenges of solving cases without physical evidence.

“We are grateful that she is out there talking to people and keeping Brittany’s story alive. This helps us,” said Sergeant Stiles.

“Just because some time passes in which we are unable to provide new information about the case does not mean that on the other hand we do nothing to find the information that we can one day release.”

Zingman plans to travel across the southwestern United States this fall, telling Brittany's story and connecting with the families of other murder victims. If you have any information about Brittany's case, call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.