Britt, circa 2011; Freddie Hall
- Missing Since 04/11/2011
- Missing From Portsmouth, Virginia
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Sex Male
- Race White
- Age 49 years old
- Height and Weight 5'11, 180 pounds
- Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, green eyes. Britt's nicknames are Jim and Jimmy.
Details of Disappearance
Britt was last seen in Portsmouth, Virginia on April 11, 2011. On April 15, the police were asked to check on his welfare and they went to his home in the 5100 block of Moonlit Avenue. They found a large amount of blood spattered in several parts of the house on the walls, floors and ceiling; there was so much that it had saturated the carpet down to the padding.
Someone had tried to conceal the stains by bleaching them and painting them over. Five of Britt's teeth were also found, but there was no sign of Britt himself. Investigators said there was enough blood to indicate homicide, and Britt was declared legally dead in August 2011.
In April 2012, a Florida man, Freddie Lee Hall, Jr., was charged with Britt's murder. A photo of Hall is posted with this case summary.
He and Britt had had a business relationship for two years; Britt sold high-end used cars, and Hall did work on them.
They had argued at least three times in the two weeks before Britt's disappearance: supposedly, Hall had been paid to fix a car, but never did the work, and never returned the money to Britt. Britt said Hall had been to his house twice and was stalking and harassing him, but he never said he was concerned for his safety.
When police searched the homes of two women whom Hall had stayed with, they found two cars Britt owned. The titles were in Hall's possession, and he said Britt had been selling him the vehicles, but Britt's friends said he liked those cars and wouldn't have sold them.
Investigators found Hall's fingerprints in several parts of Britt's house, including the master bedroom. There was a 9mm cartridge case in the house, and a receipt in Hall's car for 9mm bullets he bought five days before Britt's presumed murder. Hall was convicted of first-degree murder in January 2013. The jury recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Britt was unmarried and childless at the time of his disappearance. He has one brother, who described him as an intelligent and hardworking man who paid his own way through college. Foul play is suspected in his case due to the circumstances involved.
