Episode 170: Brandon Mitchener (Part 1 of 2)

0:13 Hello, and welcome to the Catch My Killer Podcast. Thank you for listening. My name is Mark. Since twenty fifteen, I've written a weekly newspaper column about true crimes and unsolved Thomas Sides for the Claremont Sun newspaper in Ohio. Brandon Mitchener twenty two was a young man who dreamed of establishing his own business. His line of clothing that he designed was called make It Your Mission to Do the Right Thing. He used the acronym M I y AM. Brandon had also completed his associate's degree from Lansing Community College, where he studied business. Life seemed bright for this kind hearted young man who had so many friends and was loved by his parents and siblings. Fortunately, his dreams would come to an end in June of twenty fourteen, when his body was pulled from the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. Brandon was last seen with his business partner shortly before he was found dead. Law enforcement has ruled Brandon's death and accidental drowning, but his family believes something more sinister led to brain instant.

1:34 Brandon Mitchener was a twenty two year old man who lived in Lansing Michigan with his parents. He had big dreams. He had earned his associate's degree from Lansing Community College. It studied business, and wanted to use his education to start his own clothing line and call it m i YM, meaning make it your mission to do the right thing. According to his mother, Shirley Mitchener, Brandon had always wanted to start his own business. He had plans which included selling his clothing line all over the world. Unfortunately, he would never live to see his dreams become a reality because he would be found dead in the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. Law enforcement rold Brandon's death as an accident, but his family and closest friends do not believe this. They believe he was thrown into the river and left to drown. Surely shared the final moments between her and her son with me. They were sitting around the dinner table celebrating Brandon's father's birthday. June twenty fourteen. Would be the last time that she would ever be able to give her son a hug and a kiss. It would be the last time they would ever speak to each other.

2:46 Brandon had plans that evening he was going to meet up with his business partner to celebrate another friend's twenty first birthday on a party bus. Young men had planned to take the party bus to several different bars and some drinks and some fun. Meanwhile, Braindon's parents were preparing to take a trip to Florida to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Before Brandon left to join his friends, his mother told them to be careful. He told his mother, I got this. You trained me right. Shirley said she will never forget those parting words for her beloved son. The next day, after Brandon's parents arrived at the resort in Florida, they got a call from their oldest daughter telling them that she was concerned because Brandon didn't return home. According to police reports, after the party bus returned from its round of hitting several local bars and downtown Lansing, Brandon began to feel sick from all the alcohol that he had drank.

3:43 According to the security footage, Brandon was seen walking down the road on June twenty nine with his business partner following him. According to law enforcement, Brandon stumbled down the end of South Street, fell off of an embankment and into the river, and then und Brandon's business partner told the police that he had lost sight of Brandon and had just assumed that he had gotten home okay. He would then return to his friends and continue socializing with them. He never bothered to call nine one one or any of Brandon's family members to let them know that something may have happened to Brandon. After Brandon disappeared, his siblings and friends began searching for him. One of his relatives found his shoe in a hat belonging to Brandon. Brandon's parents cut their trip short and left Florida to return home to search for their missing son. They would come home to learn that the police had pulled Brandon's body from the river. According to an interview on Dateline, Shirley Mitchner said that there were theories about Brandon's debt.

4:46 One is that he was thrown into the river by the friends he had met up with on the party bus. A second theory is that Brandon got into a fight and was pushed into the river. The police theory is that he was intoxicated and fell into the river. Shirley Mitchner had also told Dateline that Brandon's friends should have stayed with him but then once they realized he was gone, they should have called nine one one immediately. She has spent the past eight years trying to find out what she believes really happened to her son. She would also decide to keep her son's dream alive by relaunching his clothing line. Law enforcement told Dateline that Brandon's case has been thoroughly investigated and they feel that Brandon's business partner has been opened and honest about this case. They do not consider him a suspect in Brandon's death. Brandon's mother has said that he was a glue that kept the family together. She's told me that she will keep digging and looking until she finds out what she thinks really happened to her son. For this story, I spoke to Shirley Mitchner about a relationship with her son now she continues to grieve for him over eight years later. This is the first part of a two part story. Be sure to listen to the conclusion next week. And now on with the story of Brandon Mitchner is told by his mother, Shirley. My son, Brandon James Mitchner. He was twenty two years old when his life was taken from us. But Brandon

6:18 was a very analytical person. He thought about everything before he did it. Brandon was the youngest of six kids, born in Lansing, Michigan. My house is built the year he was born in Lansing, Michigan. He was the person who got the family together. I always thought that it was the mother, but it was later in life I found out it was Brandon who got the family together because none of his siblings lived here in Michigan. Brandon was very athletic at a young age. It was just whatever sports he did, it was just natural for him. His favorite sport was basketball. But he was short. He has a brother who is six ft two or six foot three, and then another one who I believe is five to eleven, so Brandon was short. Brandon was loyal. He was a loving, loyal, dedicated friend. He was a joyful to everyone. He had a smile that was so contagious that I would say I paid for that smile because of his braces, and he would laugh and say, but their mind. But I would laugh at that. Whatever outfit Brandon would wear, he had shoes to match his outfit. He always had to match whatever he wore. Brandon

7:50 he was laid back. He was easy going, but he was so helpful to other people. He didn't like arguing or fighting. He just wanted peace. So he was a very peaceful, calm young man. But it was funny. He was a jokester, and he loved to dance. And everyone loved to see Brandon dance because he could dance. As I said, he was very athletic. One thing that broke his spirit was he played basketball all the way from three years old up and through middle school, and teachers, coaches were watching him and everything. But then Brandon, he got to high school and he didn't grow. He didn't get tall like they was hoping because on five eighth and so my husband's family, they're not tall. But my family everybody's talk. I mean, they're six futton up. But Brandon didn't get the hype, and so the coaches did not let him play in high school. That devastated him. And I wanted to go say something to the coach, and Brandon said, no, no, no, my no, you stay out of it. Let it be. I'm say because I'll speak up, Brandon. I'll speak up. Because the coaches told him the reason why they didn't want him to play in high school was because the boys were bigger than him and they were afraid that he would get hurt. Well, my thing is, let Brandon get hurt. If that's what's going to happen.

9:22 Bred women see things, and I really broke feared. He went back to playing soccer, but his heart wasn't in it. It wasn't the same. It wasn't if he had his heart set on basketball and then he took to go on to soccer. It's not the same. It's not and it wasn't. You have your heart set on one board. That's what you want to do exactly, and that's what, like I said, that's what he's done all the way from a little kid. Told later in life he tried out baseball, but when he got hit with the ball, that was it. The fuck. He didn't do that anymore. Then he had all for football. Well, like I said, he was short and if people wasn't blocking so that he can maneuver to get because he was also very fast, then he said no football. He played soccer, and I was okay.

10:15 When he was little, he said, but that wasn't what he wanted. Brendan was very meticulous about his bedroom his room every other month. He would change it around because, as I said, he's very meticulous about his things and the way he looks, and so he would change his room around every other month. But his room was very clean to be a young person lived and he lived at home. He always had a dog, and I ended up with his dog who was fourteen years old, Bruno, which he loved. And even his senior pictures. I didn't think the studios would allow this, but his senior pictures he took with his dog. I didn't think you can do that, but he said. Mom asked him, can I bring my dog? And they said yeah. So his dog went and Bruno was firing taking the pictures. He was doing real good. Vernon was a stay at home person. He had friends, love friends, and that was before he started dating. But he was very popular. But he wasn't popular because he played basketball or anything. Believe it or not. We live in a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood and the predominantly Caucasian school. But people wanted to touch Brandon, and because he was so short, everybody's hand was always on his head because he was so start. So because of that, he was popular,

11:48 but not because of sports or anything. It's just because of who he is. His personality was awesome. The parents just loved him. Brandon would spend a night over at his friends houses and the parents were always saying, out of all the kids, Brandon was really, really a good person for our kids to be around because he was positive. He didn't like negatives. He was very positive young man and didn't like negative and didn't like fighting. That's a great compliment when other people give you compliments about your kids, that's a really special thing to hear. Yes, absolutely, because it's coming straight from their heart right. It is so believe it or not. I did not allow Brandon to wear sweats to school. I just didn't think sweats was a place to wear in school. I just thought you can wear jeans, but no sweats. And everyone would tell him that he was a well dressed young man. But I'm like, well dressed, you're not dressed up. You're just wearing some jeans and assert he said, Mom, but they're ironed.

12:58 I said what he said, Mom, My clothes are always iron They're so neat that they think that I'm dressed up. I said, boy, get out of here. He was not dressed up. I just didn't allow him to wear sweats, and then when he got older, he made up his decision if he wanted to or not. But they would always say, boy, Brandon, dress is really nice. And I would think dress as nice. You don't have one nothing but a pair of pants and shirt. And he come home Mom, I'm always dressed up. Boy you are not wearing no sweats to school. Didn't allow it. It would crack me right up. He would play games teasing me. I found out recently, well I found out even before now run into videos of me. I didn't know this.

13:48 I'm thinking he's on his phone and he's looking at his messages or something like that. No, Brandon was videotaping our conversations and sharing them with his friends. And then the friends later showed me videos and I was like, what, of course, it broke my heart. It was a happy time. It made me sad, I should say it made me sad. But he really did love his mother, and people tell me that even out that he always talked about his mother. Brendon was my Friday night date. Him and I were sitting on the couch on Friday night and have popcorn and watch a movie. Or something on TV. And because this Friday night I worked all week, I would be the one to fall asleep. But up until he stayed that way, until he started dating. Even I want to say it was even after school because of Brendan was such a friend to everyone that the girls said, Brendon, you are such a nice and we like you and everything, but we just don't want to date chair. And it was all because he was short. But once you grow up, you get older, and you graduate from high school, then girls look at you differently.

15:16 And that is what happened. Once he graduated from high school, he started working out, building up his muscles. He didn't get tall. I think he ended up at five six five seven, So, like I said, he was short. One thing that I know is Brandon loved my cooking and he loved his Chinese food that him and his friends would always get once a week, always go to this Chinese I surround to get food. But other than that, he loved his mom's cooking and one of his favorite meals I would make is egg rolls, and my egg rolls would have ground beef and shrimping. Them totally different and cabin and he would hike them because he didn't want anybody else to have any or he would give everybody two. You can only have two and that's it. He would ask them up. And that was such joy that for him to love my cooking so much that he didn't want to share with others, but he did. But he told me as growing up, he said, Mom, when I become rich, I'm gonna take care of you. But you know what, mom, we're gonna stay in the same house, me, my wife, and my kids. We're gonna live in a home with you. And you have to do one thing.

16:34 You have to cook. You don't have to do anything else, Mom, but you gotta cook because you're refusing the fear of your recipes with anybody. So you gotta cook. But you can stay home and I'm gonna take care of you. And that was that's such a joy for young men to say how much they love their parents, and the parents is good to them, and they're good to the parent. And he loved to wrestle with me, jumping on my back. He had no shame in his game as a very open person. He was a young man and an old man's body, is that what they say? Or old man? Yeah? An old soul.

17:18 He had an old soul, and his siblings would even call him for advice, and they all would contact Brandon and discuss their personal business with him. And I was just amazed at that. But he had an old soul. He acted like an old man. But at the same time, he was funny. He loved to tell jokes. And I'm not good at telling jokes or remembering them, but Brandon I would tell something, I would just crack up, thinking that I'm so funny, right, and he would go ahead and laugh as if it's really funny, you know, get on the floor like you really, Oh my gosh, this is so funny, and I'm right, but it wasn't. It was funny to me, but it wasn't. But one thing else about Brandon to show how determined and dedicated he was. I believe he was like four and he picked up his dad thumbbells because he wanted to get muscles, and he saw his dad had him and these were really heavy dumbbells. I don't remember how many pounds they were, but they were really heavy, and he picked it up and had dropped on his foot. We had to take him to emergency. Yeah, and they had to cut off his toe nail and get the blood out of it.

18:33 But he did that. Then he once was at preschool and like I said, it was very athletic, and he was playing basketball, running up the court and this little boy tripped him because a little boy was jealous that Brandon could handle the ball so good. Well, back then, these were cement walls, and he went into the cement wall. At the rushing to the hospital, he ended up with seven stitches in his forehead. Then one time him and his sister were playing outside playing baseball and the sister swung and the baseball that got loose and hit him in the head. At the rush of him to hospital again, but this time Mamma wasn't going in the room.

19:23 Oh, I said, well, Brenna, since you did this, you're going in the room and watch what they do to his head because I was not going in there. And then the last time, the February before June, Brandon was driving his car. He was going to the friend's church and he was so excited about going to this church, and so he's driving and it was a little slip. This was back in February and Michigan was icy and slippery, first thing in the morning, and so this guy was driving, an older guy, and so Brandon passed him up and it was going over and Brandon's car lipped up in the air several summer thoughts and came down and landed. Brandon should have died in that car accident. The EMS and the police said they could not believe that he survived. And so Brandon, as the ambulance was taking him to the hospital, he says, wait a minute, I need to take pictures of my car. You're in this major car accident, totally major car the car lipping all over. You don't know if you're gonna live or not. And then you asked them, can you please let me take a picture of my car. So they took a picture of his car and he put it on Facebook. Now, I was on my way home from my church and my husband was at home. And then

20:56 my husband said somebody called and said, hey, is your son Okay, And Steve is like, okay, you know what you're talking about. So Steve contacted Brandon and Brandon said, I'm in the hospital. What So then any contacted me. I get to the hospital and he just sitting up there talking to the nurses. Everything's just fine. He had no broken bones. He had some bruises, but that just shows you he is such tenacities, such a loving person that God protected him from all the things that happened in his life if you think about it, from the time he was born, well not even born, until the time that he died. But he was brittanly helpful. A young lady contacted me and after his death and said to me, Brandon saved me at school. Now remember he's short and small, and she said that you that a bully was picking on her and she was scared, and so Brandon stepped up and saved her from being beaten up by a bully. And you never know what your kids have done until somebody comes and tells you things. Oh yeah, I knew Brandon was a good kid.

22:21 But don't get me wrong. He wasn't perfect, but he was a very nice, friendly, helpful young man. And like I said, he wasn't a perfect son, but he was a good son. He always worked, he was a workaholic. And Brandon, he didn't like me to buy things, believe it or not. He would always say, mom, you keep your money in He was the last one at home. So I didn't mind buying him things, but he didn't ask for them, except for one time. I've grandkids and one time I was buying the grandkids from gym shoes, and so he was like, you're spending your money on those kids, huh. I say yeah. He says, well, I think I want something. I want a pair of gym shoes. So he says, mom, the's are special gym shoes, and that's all he said. And so I gave him my deb carting me about the shoes, and I'm like, Brandon, where's your shoes? That I'm thinking, what did he do with my money? And so it's been a while, but he had a pair of Nike gym shoes, created one of a kind, and so of course they break the mold. But he created a pair of gym shoes. So that's why it took so long or his shoes to come. That was one of his proudest moments. And I did take a picture and I did put his gym shoes in the casket with him because they were hid. They meant

23:52 so much to him. So tell me more about your son's business partner and why did Brandon want to start his own business. I do not know how Brandon met his business partners, but Brandon was definitely a workaholic. He was working at Minards and they moved him up where he could help some of the other workers because he knew a lot of things about being there. Then he also had worked at Outback, and he liked out Back, but you don't want to constantly do that once you get older, and so then he rust god, liking community college and working and living at home. He received his associate's degree in business slash marketing, so he did have his degree and he wanted his clothing business. Now a step back, Brandon was at Outback and he was doing something. There was a piece of metal and he cut his finger and it was hanging. Yeah. So again my baby ended up an emergency. He almost lost a couple of fingers his cleaning tables or something and there was some metal and he didn't realize it was metal and it was real sharp and it sliced his fingers. Yeah, So he was lucky and they

25:26 were saved, you know, just thinking about his foot, his hand, his head, you know, and he survived them all. Yeah. So he was the handsomeone. He didn't have the height. He was good in school, but he wasn't great in school, but he did okay, and he was very analytical and thought about everything that he did before he would do it. So Brendan had a business partner, and I do not know who introduced him to this young man. Do you think that they met in college or could they have met in high school? It was at high school or it was after. I honestly don't remember, but I don't know who introduced them to each other. Because Brandon has a group of friends and they didn't hang around him. They wasn't with the business partner. They didn't like the business partner. But Brandon said, hey, mom, there's this guy.

26:29 He said that he wanted to go in a business with me and he's got some connections. Well, Brandon's thing is he trusted everybody. He trusted you until you get him wrong. And that's definitely not always a good thing. I mean, so that's a bad thought. Yes, you trust the wrong people right exactly, Because his best friend Jeremy told him, man, don't hang around him. He's bad blood, he's bad business. Don't get into business with him. And Brandon being the jokester and whatnot. Ah, man, it'll be okay, It'll be okay. But Brandon did learn that wasn't the right person to do business with, and he wanted out of business.

27:15 Can you tell me more about your son's business. These guys went into business together to sell clothing. Is that correct? Can you tell me a little bit more about that endeavor. Yes, it was a clothing line that sold T shirt, sweatshirts, and hats is what it's sold. Was there something unique about what they were going to do? I mean, were they going to do something completely different than what their competitors were doing. They weren't going to do anything any different. But the logo is very special. His logo is M I Y M, which is making your mission, and it's a very positive logo, meaning doing the right thing. He believed that everyone should not be a crutch to the system. You should take care of yourself.

28:14 You should get a job. You should not live at home. You should not be depending upon your parents, but depend upon yourself. And also he believed, don't hurt somebody else, don't go being a bully, don't be disrespectful, don't say the wrong things to your parents. Talk to your parents with respect. Being a good citizen, not perfect, but being a good citizen. And so mem is what his whole heart he believed in. So there was a message, Yes, it was a method. So it sounds like Brandon wanted to inspire people and encourage people to do the right thing.

29:03 Yes, and he loved reading inspirational poems, inspirational words because he was an inspirational person. And so he believed in that. And that's what his business was all about. It was to make money along the way, but still he would want to tell people to do the right thing. So make it your mission to do the right thing. And that's what he spent for. And what was the partner going to contribute to the business. Well, in the beginning, I believe they were fifty fifty because I know Brandon was giving him money. Well, the partner said, I could do this, I could do that, I could do all this stuff. But my daughter and the logo for Brandon. She helped Brandon with the business. The business partner told Brandon, I'm to get the trademark for the logo. He lied to Brandon. I contacted the federal government and they explained to me how to look for the logo. And I looked online and it never was completed. He didn't do it. He started the paperwork, but he didn't do it.

30:18 But he was getting money from Brandon. Brandon was doing it out of the home, but he would take orders and he would go to the place in East Lansing to pick up the items, and he would drive around to deliver or he would have people come to pick him up. So what was the business partner doing good question? No one liked him. He was doing everything, and so the business partner told Brandon, hey, man, I don't have time for this business. I've got a girlfriend and I work at art Van as a delivery person. I don't have time for this business. So okay, So Brandon continued to sell and it wasn't anything big. It was the beginning of something to become big, I believe. But so the business president tells Brandon, I want some of that money that you're getting. I know that you're selling merchandise, and I hear that you're doing good. I want some of the merchandise, some of the money. And Brandon kept telling him, no, I'm not sharing. I'm not getting you anything. You're not doing any of the work. And I never had met the business partner if he came to the house. We have a room in our basement where the kids would hang out at. Our basement is finished, and Brandon would hang out with his friends there, and if you're really close, they made go upstairs to his room listen to music. But I never saw the business

31:49 partner, so I didn't even know who he was other than the name. Well, I don't even think I knew his name. Come to think of it, Well, it doesn't sound like this guy was too special to your son, because I would think that if he was that important of a person in your son's life, he probably would have at least introduced him to you and your husband exactly. So I'm guessing that you probably wondered why he never made it a point to introduce you to this guy. Did you ever wonder that that your son was doing business with this guy, but yet he never introduced him to you. Did you find that suspicious? I did, And I thought, honestly, I thought this is only going to be a temporary thing with him. I thought they were going to split anyway, because Brendon was doing all the work. And as stated, we didn't know that person.

32:45 We knew Brandon's friends but we didn't know him, so it wasn't making sense. The whole thing just doesn't make sense. And like I said, I have even spoken to his best friends, the people he hung out with. No one can tell me how Brandon met him. Who introduced Brandon to him? I don't even know. Was it after he got out of high school or was it his senior year? But I can find that out from his sister. Because he's close to his siblings. He would share, you know, even girl, like I said, after high school, you know, got closer with females and whatnot, and he would get his speak to his siblings about that. But what he would say to his parents if he was talking to someone, he would let us know who they are, and he would bring them over and introduce us. And Brendan did get his heart crushed really bad with one of them, and so then he would say, well, man, if anybody else I bring them over, I'm not even introducing you to them, Nope, because I'm not letting them get close to my mama at all unless I know this is the one that I'm gonna marry.

34:02 And it was not the one I'm gonna marry. You'll never meet another one of my friends, and I never did. I don't need to meet anyone like that. Now, I'd like to ask you about the video of your son with the business partner. They were walking somewhere and then I guess something happened to your son afterward, which is unknown. So I'd like to start off by having you tell me about the final night that you and your son spent together. You all were having dinner and then he left. Tell me about that. Oh, the last day of being with Brandon. It was June twenty ninth, twenty fourteen. It was my husband's birthday and our anniversary. So I got married on my husband, Steve's birthday. But for Brandon, even on his bitch his headstone, we put down two thousand, we put down June twenty eight. We do not celebrate my husband. We do not celebrate our anniversary, but we at least have cake for my husband's birthday. So the family was all around in the kitchen, laughing and joking, and it was getting a little bit later, and Brandon says, going to celebrate my friend's birthday party he started in twenty one, and it's gonna be on a bus. He had never been on a party bus before and so he says, I'm gonna have a nice time. I'm excited, I'm

35:32 really glad I'm going. And we were going to Florida the next day. So the next day we were going, but before we left, Brandon gave me. He always hugged me and kissed me. Every day. He hugs and kissed me when he wakes up, if he sees me, he hugs and kissed me. When he leaves and he comes back, he hugs and kiss me if he's going to bed. He loved his mom, he loved his father too, but it was just a different relationship with me. So he gave me hug and a kiss. And I'm a person who's always now, don't forget to do this, and don't do this, and don't do that. That's me. And so I was telling him, Brandon, please be careful. I said, don't take stuff from other people, me talking about drinks. And he put his hand up and he said, Mom, and I'll never ever forget this. He said, Mom, I got this.

36:30 You trained me right, I got and gave me a hug and a kiss and teasing me. And that was the last time I saw my baby. When Brandon left it would be the last time that surely would ever see her son alive. Brandon's body would be pulled from a river hours after leaving home. According to the official police report, he was intoxicated and fell onto the river and drowned. However, there's a video of Brandon being with his business partner before he was found dead. The family doesn't believe law enforcement's theory about Brandon's death because the business partner said he saw Brandon and the water, but oddly enough, he didn't call nine one one or try to help save Brandon. He continued to hang out with his friends and didn't contact law enforcement or Brandon's family about him being in the river. We will take a quick break and return with Shirley discussing her son's death. So I know Brandon's role two where the party bus was going to pick them up? I knew that.

37:51 I know there was a party bus. Don't know who all were on the party bus because the police did not investigate who was there. I know that the father of the birthday boy rented the party bus under the table because there's no record of it and the police don't even know the name of the party bus company. Saul my Son text his girlfriend that night at one of the bars and said, they keep giving me these shots of liquor and I don't even know them because he didn't hang out with these people. That's the other thing. He didn't hang out with them. This is not his group of friends. And so who invited Brandon to this birthday party? The business partner said he did. The birthday boy said he did. Well, Brandon no longer hung around the birthday boy. I mean they went to school together and they were cool and everything, but they weren't hanging out, okay, And just to clarify, the man having the birthday and the business partner are two different men, is that correct? Correct? Well, the way that Brandon even ended up at the party was the business partner kept I don't know if it was texting, emailing or calling or what, but he kept pleading

39:22 with Brandon, man, we'll have such a great time. You gotta go. Come on. Because they didn't hang out together. Yeah, they may meet up somewhere, but they didn't hang out together. And so he kept calling them and said, man, you gotta go, you gotta go to this party, and Brenda kept saying no, And like I said, Stephen and I were leaving to go to Florida, and little did we know that our son was going to Battle Creek, which is where his girlfriend lived at Brendon was going to Battle Creek to pick his girlfriend up the next day, and so we didn't know that, but we found that out later. A lot of things we found out later, like this whole story, and there's still pieces of the pie that I don't know because the police didn't investigate.

40:08 I say they did not do a thorough investigation because at the bars, Brandon didn't know the boys, and he got sick and he told them he was sick, and he threw up a couple of times. Don't know what the name of the bars were. Police didn't find out. Okay, so then the party bus, Brandon was sick, got back on the bus. Out of all those kids, even the birthday boy, why didn't you call somebody? I mean, everybody knew us, you know, we were the parents that are very involved in our kids' education, So people knew us at the school. Everybody knew where we lived at, you know, because we always had Brandon's friends over here, so we knew. So how come no one brought him home. How come nobody never called us? Nobody knew we were out of town until later, but nobody. So they got off of the bus, and when they all got off of the bus, they got in like a circle, talking about where they're getting ready to go and what they're gonna do. And so pretend that you and I are in front of each other, and I throw up in front of you, and I say, I'm sick, man, I gotta go home. I gotta go home.

41:28 And a business partner was on the side, and so Brandon's lee started walking, and so the business partner tells this other boy, Hey, I'm gonna follow Brandon. This is a mile and a half walk. You're point twenty two drunk. So Brandon was intoxicated and sick and attempted to walk to his own car, but he ended up walking in the opposite direction of his car. So were you saying that the business partner didn't steer Brandon in the right direction. He stared him in the direction opposite of where his car was actually parked. They turned him away from the car. They turned Brandon away from where his car was. Brendon was reaching in his pockets for his car keys, and they turned him the opposite way. You could see his car from where they were. Okay, and can you tell me more about the party bus? What was the plan with What exactly were they going to do once they got on the bus? Tell me about that. The party bus took them to several bars, so then it was time to go back to where they started from where they picked up the bus. So when they got off of the bus, that's when Brendon was staying, I need to go home, corning to Shirley, Brandon was reaching for his keys and then vomited from

42:59 being in talking excated. However, Brandon's car was across the street from where the party bus parked, so he should have easily found his car, but instead of pointing him to his car, the business partner directed Brandon down the road and said he was going to follow Brandon to make sure that he got home safely. Shortly after, Brandon would then be found dead in the river. We will take a final break and return with Shirley's final thoughts about her son's questionable death. So Brandon was intoxicated and did not realize that his car was actually parked near the party bus. So are you telling me that Brandon was so inebriated that he didn't realize this and just walked away from his car and actually walked the opposite direction away from his car, and his business partner was following closely behind him. Right. Yes, but I think there's more to the story that I don't know, and this is what I believe happened.

44:19 I believe that one of the boys drove Brandon down to the river, that he didn't walk. I don't think my son walked a mile and a half pint twenty two alcohol. Don't get me wrong. I've been wasted before, and I know there's no way I could have done it at night eleven thirty twelve o'clock at night. There's no way. And then your clothes aren't tour no mud or dirt are on them. Nothing's wrong with your clothes. And you walk a mile and a half, even going over and overpass. How come he didn't fall off the overpass? And then you're walking. Suppose the league you're walking and you're passing all these other houses and apartment and all the rest of them had a guard reel up and you end up at the only one that didn't have a guardrael everything else had a guard reel, but this one. So you think that there's a high probability that someone drove brain into the river and that he didn't actually walk because he was probably too intoxicated to walk that bar. Is that what you're telling me? Yes, yes, that's what I'm saying. I believe they let him off and that's when he started. You see him running or walking. Lake let him off just a little bit before, and he got out of the vehicle and then he doesn't know where he's at anyway, So you can see the two together.

45:53 Okay, So the business partner says he was so intoxicated that he didn't know where he was at. Hear me, the business partner said he was intoxicated. Did he look intoxicated to you? No, he's not. He's on his cell phone. Who was he talking to? We don't know because the police didn't look at his records. Who's he talking to? Next thing, you know, they say the business partner says he heard a splash and he looked in the river and he saw Brandon. Now, this is a cliff, so you have to imagine, like you know, how you see divers jumping off of a cliff. This cliff has trees, branches, rock.

46:44 So if Brandon fell off of the cliff, how come he has no marks on his body? How come he has no bruises, no broken bones. If you were pushed or thrown, you wouldn't have any of those marks, but if you fail, you would have them. And then they found one shoe and his hat, and there's a footprint. Now the location you can't walk. It is not a path like you're a jogger. It's not a path. Oh what whose footprint is this? It's not Brandon's footprint because they measured. They showed a tape and Brandon's foot is too small. That was a size twelve shoe. And then Brandon's hat, if I believe correctly, the hat and the shoe is not down the cliff, you know how like if you fall, it's going to fall off, right, It's not like that. So how can his hat and his shoes still be on top?

47:46 One shoe and his hat? Okay? So the business partner says that he heard a splash in the river. So what did he do afterward? He heard a splash, he said to me, because I met with him, He said, he looked at Brandon in the river, and he said, and I quote, both of us aren't gonna be dead. So then he says, oh, by the way, I was intoxicated and I couldn't see because I didn't have my glasses on. So Y already liked me, because how are you going to follow him if you can't see? So then you say, but I saw him, I heard the splash. But you're tell him the police that I was looking and I didn't see Brandon. I thought he went to the bathroom. Oh, could wait a minute. You thought he went to the bathroom. Where was the outhouse? Where was it?

48:45 Where is it? I didn't see anything. They didn't show any of that in the video. Where was it? Oh? I thought he might have just went over in the bushes And were the bushes at There's no bushes none. So ioke the corner twice and asked him about Brandon Mitchener's autopsy, and they said there, that's where I get the no mark, no bruises, nothing broken on him. And so that's why I say my son had to be thrown in the river. And the police just keep asking me, where's the proof, where's the proof. Well, here's the proof. The business partner went to another party after Brandon was in the river? How do I know this? And he was driven to this party whereas he told the police he caught an uber. Where on his phone records does it show you that he caught an uber? Did you all call the number? Nope? No, you didn't call the number. So how do you know he caught an uber? Because he told yall that? Okay, So there was a young man at this party. It was at an apartment building, and I found out whose apartment it was, and a couple of the names who was at this house party, and the business partner and two other guys drove up there in the vehicle. And that's how the business partner ended up at this place

50:17 and not an ooper. So they all walked into the place and I gave all this impotitually that they did not investigate any further. Now, did anyone call nine one one for help be your son? No? No, So then the business partner went on to another party without calling nine one one, But yet he knew that Brandon was in the river, he just went on to another party. Right, he didn't even try to get help for your son? Right? None? And not only that, how come there is a house, and okay, the river is in the middle, and there's a house on the side of the river, and there's apartment on the side out of the river. How come you didn't knock on the door? How come you went agreemn hollering I can't find my friend. He didn't do any of that. But you had the cell phone because he was talking to somebody, because that's in the video, and he didn't call nine on one.

51:13 So at the house, they said he was pacing the floor and he walked in there and he said, hey, y'all, we lost Brandon tonight. How can you say you lost Brandon tonight? How can you say that? How do you know you lost them? Couldn't you have said, hey, I think Brandon went home. He's not with me, you know what I mean? Why did you say we lost Brandon tonight? So then he left and he came back with a couple of guys. So then he went to sleep, you hear me. He went to sleep, and eleven hours later, Brandon's girlfriend was looking for him because he was supposed to have been in Battle Creek and so the business partner has a mutual friend and that the girlfriend knew so she asked this young lady and it didn't come. He didn't come here to Battle Creek. So this young lady had to convince the business partner to go on Facebook and ask anybody do they know where Brandon was? Eleven hours later, he never called the police. What he did was he called the police to say do you have this person locked up? Not that this person's missing. My daughter found out. My husband and I were the next day, which was Sunday. We were on our way to Florida, and that night we got the phone call that he was missing from our daughter.

52:43 So we told her to call our friends. We have some close friends here, and had her call the friends and then they all Then my daughter contacted the police that her brother was missing because of what was on Facebook. So eleven hours later, you still didn't call nine one one. What you did was you got on Facebook saying, hey, has anybody seen Brandon, not that he was missing, which strikes me as odd because if he saw Brandon the river, why would he need to go on Facebook and ask if anyone had seen him. It doesn't make much sense. Yep, right exactly, And that concludes the first half of this tragic story. Do you know what happened to Brandon Mitchener back in June of twenty fourteen when he ended up in a river. Did he actually fall in and drown or was his death part of something more sinister. Law enforcement has ruled that Brandon's death was an accident.

53:46 However, Brandon's family disagrees. They can't understand how he was with a group of friends and then somehow got separated from them, and then moments later he's in a river drowning even stranger, no one called nine to one one or reached out to the family to let them know that something had happened at Brandon. If you know anything about this case, you can provide your chips to the Lansing Police Department at five one seven four eight three four six zero zero. And for additional information about this case, please visit the Justice for Brandon Mitchener Facebook page and if you'd like to purchase anything from Brandon's clothing line, there's also a link to the shop on that page as well. The family has also offered a reward for any information that could lead to a break in this case. I'll be sure to provide this information in the case story notes. Be sure to listen to the conclusion of Brandon's story next week.

54:45 And if you are a parent, law enforcement official, friend, or relative seeking justice for an unsolved thomicide case, please visit my website and complete the contact form. You can also contact me through Facebook. Thank you for listening.