FL FL- Shirly Brant, 49, singer & real estate agent, fatally shot in her office in possible attempted robbery, Miami, 13 June 1986, *New initiative, DNA*

[dotr]

Jan 29 2024

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.

www.nbcmiami.com

rbbm

'Now, Shirly 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."

"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.''

'DNA technology could also be a key factor in solving the case.
"We have submitted some evidence," Denham said.'

 

[dotr]

Article clipped from The Miami Herald

Clipping found in The Miami Herald published in Miami, Florida on 1986-11-20.

miamiherald.newspapers.com

The Miami Herald​

Miami, Florida • Thu, Nov 20, 1986Page 137

''The deaths of Joan Abramowitz and Shirley Brant continue to haunt North Miami Beach police detectives Although the investigations remain open both have slammed into a dead end Police are without leads In a community accustomed to violence Joan Abramowitz and Shirley Brant were not the typical Dade County crime statistics police say Neither was involved in drugs wrongdoing or family troubles Neither had enemies Both appeared to be randomly selected by their killers: one woman plucked from a shopping mall the second shot in her real estate office Both crimes occurred in the middle of sunny afternoons Both were innocent victims of time and place Had they gone somewhere else that day they would probably still be alive''

''It was Friday the 13th of June Shirley Brant w'as working at her North Miami Beach real estate office Two men walked into the Gateway Office Building at 16375 NE 18th Ave while Brant was on the telephone "Don’t shoot” a witness heard her cry Without speaking a word one of the men fired at close range and fled with her credit cards Police believe the men tried to steal her purse Brant 49 the mother of four children and wife of dentist Lawrence Brant was to celebrate two family graduations that weekend Her sen Steven was finishing medical school Her youngest child Robert was graduating from high school Five months later the killer walks free and police have no leads The missing credit cards have never been used The murder of Brant who was active in charitable causes including the plight of Soviet Jews shocked and saddened strangers and friends It is a case that detectives desperately w'ant to solve North Miami Beach police passed out 6000 bulletins with a description of the gunman''

 

[dotr]

ARREST!
April 25 2025

‘Career criminal' arrested in 1986 cold case murder of mom, businesswoman in North Miami Beach

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...

www.nbcmiami.com

''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.

''Police 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.''

Jeffrey Taylor, 64, was arrested in connection with the killing of 49-year-old Shirley Brant in 1986. He is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center)

 

[dotr]

Apr 28, 2025
The man was found to already be serving a life sentence for attempting to kill a Monroe County deputy.

 

[dotr]

Feb 21,2026 lengthy article.

Justice denied: How the suppression of key evidence led to an accused killer's release

An accused killer will soon be released after key evidence against him was ruled inadmissible at trial.

www.nbcmiami.com

'An accused killer will soon be released after key evidence against him was ruled inadmissible at trial.'

'But as the case was moving through the judicial system, a judge ruled that key fingerprint evidence could not be introduced at trial because the crime scene technician who found the fingerprint was deceased and therefore could not be cross-examined.'

''On the night our mother was murdered, there was a living eyewitness present in the office. That witness saw an armed individual confront our mother. The assailant took the desk phone, ripped it from the wall and threw it to the floor. The eyewitness saw these events unfold. The assailant then shot our mother, soon after she plead with him shouting “Don’t Shoot, Don’t Shoot.” She died quickly thereafter.
This is the evidence...
The phone that was physically torn from the wall was dusted for prints. The fingerprints on that phone were preserved as evidence all these years. Those fingerprints were later matched to the individual who was arrested.''