Five shocking details about Brandi Mathews's murder

The new Murder In The Heartland episode chronicles the death of 25-year-old mother of one, Brandi Mathews, in 2006. An erotic dancer at a local club in Osage Beach, Brandi Mathews was saving up to leave her abusive boyfriend behind with her son.

However, as luck would have it, Brandi went missing for over two years soon after she had moved her son Caleb Mathews to live with his grandmother, Deanna Roberts, in Arkansas. The upcoming Murder In The Heartland titled Mother's Intuition brings forth the shocking details of the Brandi Mathews murder case as the synopsis reads:

"Brandi Mathews goes missing, and only her mother seems interested in searching for her; when her remains turn up over two years later, police dig into Brandi's work and romantic partners to find her killer."

The episode re-airs on Investigation Discovery on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 9 p.m. EST.

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Five shocking details about the Brandi Mathews's murder case

1) Kelly Simino and Mathews shared an abusive relationship

Brandi Mathews was living with her boyfriend, 41-year-old Kelly Simino from Eldon, in the Barnett area in Osage Beach. The couple was known to share an abusive relationship as reported by Brandi's mother, Deanna Roberts, to the Lake Sun soon after Brandi's remains were discovered.

A still of Kelly Simino (Image via Miller County Sheriff's Department)

A month before Brandi went missing in September 2006, she had filed a restraining order against Kelly Simino fearing for her life. She had also registered six different complaints of domestic abuse against Simino with the local police.

Brandi was saving up to move out with her son, Caleb, and was close to achieving the same when she was murdered.

2) Negligence by the local police

Soon after Brandi went missing in September 2006, Deanna Roberts knew Kelly Simino had been involved in the same. She tried to find her daughter's whereabouts for over two years while there was little to no help from the local police, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch. Roberts spoke to the news outlet saying:

"She was so much more than just a dancer; she wasn’t a bad person, but that’s what people thought. She was my baby girl, she was my ‘brainy smurf’ and she was a mother who loved her little boy. She was in danger and she knew she had to start over, but she never got the chance.”

Active involvement from the police came in after Deanna contacted the Osage Beach Police Department. Even though the case fell out of their jurisdiction, the officials assigned two detectives to the Brandi Mathews murder case.

3) Partial remains discovered after three years

A group of hikers had spotted and reported skeletal remains on a creek bed and under a bridge in Eldon, situated in rural Miller County. The investigators collected DNA samples from the remains and successfully matched them to Brandi's dental records.

The skull appeared snapped which indicated the cause of death to be Brandi's neck being broken by force.

4) There were multiple witnesses

There were multiple witnesses who had provided their statements for the Brandi Mathews murder case. A witness had reported a couple engaging in a physical brawl during the autumn at the site where Brandi's remains were found in the autumn of 2006. Another witness had mentioned Kelly admitting to killing Brandi while another witness reported Kelly mentioning his intention to get rid of Brandi without getting caught for it.

A still of Brandi Mathews (Image via Mathews family)

It was only after the discovery of Kelly's remains that the police narrowed down their suspicion to Kelly Simino.

5) Kelly was sentenced to 20 years in prison

On the afternoon of Friday, January 6, 2012, Circuit Judge Ken Hayden sentenced Kelly Simino to 20 years in prison in addition to the sentences he is yet to serve. A jury had already convicted Kelly of second-degree murder for strangling Mathews to death in November 2011. He is presently serving his time at the Jefferson City Correctional Center and will be eligible for parole once he completes 85% of his sentence duration.

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