TULSA, Okla. — No mother should ever have to re-live the murder of their daughter every single day, but Maggie Zingman chooses to do so in an effort to find her daughter's killer.
It was September 2004 and Zingman was living in Chandler while her daughter Brittany Phillips attended school in Tulsa.
Zingman says she remembers calling Brittany sometime on the 29, and when she didn't answer, she assumed Brittany was studying, not knowing that the very next day, her world would be turned upside down.
"A friend went by the home, I think, on September 30 and thought it looked odd and called her dad, who had been a DA, and called the police for a wellness check, and that's when they discovered that she was dead," said Zingman.
Since that day, Zingman has made it her mission to find out who killed her daughter.
She travels the country in a wrapped SUV that features Brittany's image and a number to call for tips regarding her case.
Her caravan to catch a killer is currently on tour number 23, and she has traveled through 48 states and driven more than 300,000 miles.
On the 19th anniversary of Brittany's death, we caught up with Zingman at the CrimeCon convention in Florida.
"It's a meeting of all these people interested in true crime. A lot of TV shows that work on crime, Dateline and all these different things, a lot of podcasts are which for many of us as homicide survivors are our lifeline because they are the people who are getting our story out," said Zingman.
While she is logging miles, doing interviews, and even leaving pamphlets at rest stops around the country, the Tulsa Police Department continues to work her case back home.
"We thought for a while that we had some pretty good leads, and we really looked into this, and DNA evidence and DNA is getting better and better, but unfortunately, those leads just didn't pan out," said Captain Richard Meulenberg.
While Tulsa has a near-perfect homicide solve rate, Captain Meulenberg says they need just a bit more help in Brittany's case.
"We are still looking, and we are still looking for someone who might know something or the development of technology to take the evidence that we have and get more information," said Meulenberg.
Zingman says this anniversary is especially hard because they buried Brittany on her 19th birthday.
"I miss her every day, but the other thing really is that we may never solve this murder, but I'm never going to stop," said Zingman.
She continues to work towards learning how to live with her daughter's murder every day.
"You must learn to live with the murder or whatever the trauma is. Learn to live with it, despite it and because of it. Because if you let whatever happened to your loved one limit your life or take away from your life, then he gets two victims," said Zingman.
Tulsa police have worked for 19 years to solve this case, including knocking on doors, going out of state, and taking DNA from various people in jail and otherwise, and they say they will continue to pursue any avenue possible until this case is solved.
If you have any information regarding the death of Brittany Phillips, you can call Tulsa Crime Stoppers.
That number is 918-596-COPS. You can remain anonymous and you could receive a cash reward.
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