Oklahoma woman searches for daughter’s killer in El Paso

An Oklahoma woman continues the search for her daughter’s killer in El Paso, thirteen years after she was murdered.

“When you lose a child, a hole opens inside of you,” said Maggie Zingman.

September 28th, 2004: Maggie Zingman told ABC-7 a sheriff knocked on her door in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He said an intruder had raped and suffocated her daughter, Brittany Phillips. She was only eighteen years old.

“I never in my wildest fears ever thought she’d be murdered in an apartment right next door to where she had gone to school,” Zingman said.

The news broke Zingman’s heart. She buried her daughter on her nineteenth birthday.

“I can’t let her memory die,” Zingman said.

Frustrated at the lack of action in her daughter’s case, she took to the streets of America, driving a vehicle with Brittany’s photos and pleading for information on her daughter’s killer.

“I’d love to believe that finding him would bring closure, but I’ve learned over the years that you never get closure,” Zingman said.

New technology allows Zingman to get a first look at what her daughter’s killer could have looked like. Now, she’s hitting the road in her “Caravan to Catch a Killer” to spread the word.

But beyond seeking justice, Zingman told ABC-7 she wants her daughter’s killer off the streets before he can strike again.

“This can happen to anyone,” she said. “It’s a nightmare nobody wants to go through.”

The mother told ABC-7 all tips are investigated. To reach her, call 918-798-8477. You can also visit her website to learn more about the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s murder.