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Misty Morse was found dead in the Indian River, Florida, on July 24, 2000. A retired judge discovered her body while he was on his morning stroll. Her dead body was found tied and partially decomposed, in a gruesome state.
Season one episode 8 of Real CSI: Miami is going to showcase Misty Morse's murder case, which shook the whole of Brevard County, Florida, and was a hard one for the detectives and the investigators because of zero evidence initially to lead the investigation. The episode is titled Lady in the Lagoon and it is all set to air on August 14, 2024. The official synopsis of the same reads as -
"The body of a young woman is found in a south Florida lagoon with her limbs bound together by nautical rope; investigators uncover a secret love affair and use pet DNA analysis and a procedure called de-gloving to solve her murder."
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Earlier, Season 4 Episode 2 of Amazon Prime's docu-series Swamp Murders dealt with the same case.
What happened to Misty Morse?
As shown in Swamp Murders, Misty Morse was found dead on July 24, 2000, by a retired judge. Her body was found floating in the Indian River, in Florida. When the detectives of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office reached the scene, they tried to recover the body very fast. The dive team was in action with a body bag to recover the body carefully. When the body was finally recovered, the detectives found out that she was nude, bloated, and moderately decomposed.
The detectives also discovered that duct tape was used on her to bind her feet, eyes mouth, and nose. There were also torn plastic grocery bags tied to her feet which the detectives speculated were filled with something heavy to aid the drowning of her body. A nylon rope with a double diamond pattern was also recovered from her body.
However, as the body was in the water for days, there was hardly any evidence to aid the investigation or get the victim's identity as revealed in Swamp Murders on Prime Video. With the face being decomposed and bloated, no fingerprints, and no ID, it was very hard to even find out who the victim was initially. However, forensics did not let down.
What did forensics reveal?
Forensics revealed that the duct tape from the body was white tape used in the navy, however, no evidence was found from the adhesive on the tape. Although there was black hair found on the white duct tape, it did not match the victims. Forensics couldn’t determine the cause of her death as there was no trauma, no broken bones, or even a gunshot wound as shown in Swamp Murders.
Whether Misty was dead because of the water in her lungs was a matter of speculation. She could have been killed before she was thrown into the river or she could have also drowned and suffocated. The detectives also speculated that she could have been strangled and suffocated or probably drowned.
Finally, the fingerprints were found and matched after making an incision around the victim's wrists and taking out the outer layer of the skin. The detectives then discovered that the dead body was of Misty Morse, a 22-year-old Florida resident.
Who killed Misty Morse?
As previously shown in Swamp Murders on Prime Video, the detectives didn’t have much lead on finding the killer however they believed that the killer could be a military man or someone with a nautical background, seeing the way the murder was committed - with a sailing rope, white duct sail tape, and knots similar to the ones in navy. Misty's phone records and the search of her room also did not aid the investigation.
They first suspected Misty’s exes Ted Underwood and Bobby Cooper, who were later cleared as they aided the investigation, and no evidence was found against them. However, Bobby told the detectives about Misty’s ex-lover Brent Huck, who was an ex-Navy Seal.
Misty’s family confirmed that their relationship was aggressive and painful. When the detectives connected the dots and searched Brent’s home they found out that he had access to a charter boat, and he lived a few kilometers away from the crime scene. What struck them the most was that Brent had abrasions on his hands, the white tape found from the scene matched the ones in Brent’s home and so did the screen spline, the bags, and the rope.
However, Brent Huck didn’t confess to the murder and the evidence which was found wasn’t concrete enough to arrest him. However, in 2022, it was time for big revelations as the Quest Gen Forensics team revealed that the black hair found at the crime scene was the dog’s hair and they even confirmed the breed.
Brent had a dog, whose hair matched the one found on the victim. It was a German Shephard Rottweiler Mix named Chiba, who was gifted to him by Misty. The DNA finally matched and he was linked directly to the murder, with the dog playing the savior card.
Finally, on October 23, 2003, Brent was convicted of first-degree kidnapping and felony murder. He was given two life sentences. The detectives concluded that Misty Morse had pranked Brent by telling him that she was carrying his child, which could have threatened him as he was in a serious relationship as shown in Swamp Murders on Prime Video.
To save himself and his relationship, he must have killer Misty, who was not pregnant as confirmed by the forensics. It was a prank gone wrong, that led to the killing of a 22-year-old.
To know more about Misty Morse's death, watch season one episode 8 of Real CSI: Miami. Also, stay tuned for insights on more murder mysteries and thrilling cases.
