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Marsha Brantley was a 50-year-old woman living in Cleveland, Tennessee, who disappeared somewhere between May and June 2009. This sudden absence was noticed by her hairdresser Kelly DeLude, who went on to inquire about it to her husband, Donnie Brantley. Donnie denied having any concrete information about Marsha's whereabouts. He defended himself for not contacting the police, saying Marsha had left the house and they were soon getting a divorce.
He refused any more answers, which raised some suspicion. DeLundo went on to inform them about this sudden disappearance to the police, which prompted the investigation into Marsha Brantley. Though all the suspicion seemed to signal toward Donnie, even after years of searching, the investigators failed to gather enough evidence that could prove him guilty.
CBS' 48 Hours documented the entire investigation behind the disappearance of Marsha Brantley in Season 31, Episode 27, titled Missing Marsha, which first aired on April 27, 2018. The episode re-aired back again on Saturday, August 24, 2024. The synopsis of the episode reads,
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"When a woman vanishes and misses a hair appointment, her hairdresser becomes the driving force to find out -- did she leave her husband or is she dead?"
5 details about the Marsha Brantley's disappearance
1) Marsha Brantley was suffering from depression
Marsha Brantley was born in Illinois on February 28, 1959, and was raised there with her family. Marsha met Donnie in 1999 on a dating website, and they got married on March 28, 2000. The two eventually shifted to Marsha's house in Cleveland, Tennessee. A former director of housing at Lee University, Marsha Brantley always had a love for writing.
But Marsha became depressed when she lost both her parents in 2000. Her mother passed away in November, while her father passed away exactly one month later. She eventually took up writing, opening a blog called The Magpie's Nest, but things began to deteriorate. Marsha confessed to her friends in March 2009 that she felt so depressed that it was difficult for her even to get herself off the couch.
2) Marsha Brantley disappeared suddenly in the middle of 2009
Marsha Brantley was fifty years old when she vanished between June and July 2009. Her close ones had noticed that Marsha was suffering through a deep state of depression, and her marriage with Donnie was falling apart. The most suspicious part of the case was that even after her sudden disappearance, no one really reported her missing, not even her husband.
Her hairdresser Kelly DeLude noticed this sudden absence as Marsha had been missing her appointments. DeLude went to the Brantley residence to inquire about Marsha to her husband Donnie. Donnie claimed that Marsha had left their home because of their falling relationship, and they were soon getting a divorce. He avoided answering more questions, which made Kelly suspicious.
She then contacted the police about Martha's disappearance. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation took up the case and spoke to Marsha's husband, Donnie. His answers were inconsistent: he claimed that Marsha had gone to Florida, while another time he claimed that she had just gone for a camping trip. This raised more eyebrows towards Donnie and he was considered a person of interest in the case.
Upon investigation, the police found that Marsha had spoken the last time with her friend Kim Shank on May 27, 2009. Tracing her phone records, they found that the phone had never actually left the area surrounding the house. After June 2, 2009, the cell phone stopped receiving calls completely.
3) The police found Marsha's belongings inside the house
Donnie's unmatched answers raised suspicion, and the police went on to search the house. The detectives discovered Marsha's cell phone still inside the house, along with her belongings, and her foster dogs were also there. They also came to learn that a couple days after Marsha's disappearance, Donnie began contacting his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Richardson.
Donnie had told the investigators that the car belonging to Marsha was parked outside a local Walmart. However, when they searched for it in the first time, it wasn't there, while the second time, it was parked there. The staff of the Walmart also denied knowing Marsha Brantley.
After the disappearance, Donnie had also pawned some of Marsha's jewelry for money. The suspicion deepened more when some of Marsha's belongings were found inside garbage bags outside the house. However, no traces of blood, fingerprints, or any murder weapon were found in the house that could prove Donnie to be the culprit.
4) Donnie Brantley was taken to trial but it failed to prove him guilty
Even after months of investigation, the police failed to collect any concrete evidence. All the circumstantial evidence directly indicated Marsha's husband, Donnie, as the guilty party, but they didn't have enough evidence to prove him guilty. In March 2010, Donnie went through a polygraph test, which he failed.
A grand jury indicted Donnie Brantley for the murder of his wife In July 2013. He was arrested and charged with murder next month. But Marsha Brantley's family dropped the charges, knowing they still lacked evidence, and may not get a chance for another trial.
Three years later, in October 2016, Brantley was again arrested in Kingston, Georgia and charged for the murder later that year in December. The charges were dropped again in February 2018 due to lack of evidence.
5) Marsha Brantley's body was never found
The trial for Donnie Brantley couldn't succeed in proving him guilty, mainly because Marsha's body was never actually found. Even in the house search, nothing evident could be gathered that could prove that Donnie had murdered his wife. Donnie's lawyer, Lee Davis, said that his client is completely innocent because there is no proof that Marsha Brantley is even dead.
The disappearance of Marsha Brantley remains one of the most mysterious cold cases in American history. Even fifteen years after her disappearance, the investigators still aren't able to find concrete evidence for the case.
The episode Missing Marsha on CBS' 48 Hours looks deeper through the entire case of the disappearance of Marsha Brantley, along with further investigations into it.
Follow us as we bring detailed updates on more episodes of 48 Hours and stories of True Crime.
