NY-Brittney Gregory - 16 - missing since 7/11/04

[Doyle]

Authorities continued to search a marshy, wooded area Wednesday for a missing teenager who is feared dead.

Brittney Gregory has been not been seen since July 11.

Jack Fuller, 38, of Howell Township, is charged with her murder. He has a history of drug and theft-related arrests, twice being sentenced to five-year prison terms in Ocean and Monmouth counties. He was most recently released from prison in April 2003.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--missinggirl0721jul21,0,922312.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

[Beffie]

I have been trying to find news about this case. This poor girl, there are so many animals out there. How do people have such little thought about human life that they think they have the right to do what ever they want to a innocent human and then just kill them and dispose of them like garbage. These idiots should come with a neon light on their forehead so these innocent people can stay far away from them. This just makes me so mad. I just wish there was a way to keep people safe from all the thoughtless (cannot type word that I want to use, please use your imagination) in this world. It makes me so sad and angry!! :furious:

[englishleigh]

I saw Brittney's mother on TV yesterday. She was pitiful. This girl was absolutely beautiful and looked like a perfect daughter. I hope they find her soon.

[Love_Mama]

This is such a sad story Doyle. I pray that they find her.

Just 16 years old.........not even grown up yet!
xxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooo
mama

[IdahoMom]

I just saw a report on Fox about this case. Why do they think she has been murdered? There is no body yet. Yes, I know she has been gone for a long time, but.....? This is odd, imo.:confused:

[LinasK]

I just saw a report on Fox about this case. Why do they think she has been murdered? There is no body yet. Yes, I know she has been gone for a long time, but.....? This is odd, imo.:confused:
She was last seen in Fuller's car and he was NOT her boyfriend. She'd had a fight with her boyfriend that day and this guy offered to drive her to buy her new clothes... I got my info off of Google News FYI

[IdahoMom]

Thanks. I didn't do a Google search, but the 2 articles I referenced (and Geraldo), left that bit out.

This is a very sad story, and it sounds like Brittney had a sad, dysfunctional, short life. Heartbreaking. Such a waste!

[L Lo 1103]

Hi All -

I don't know why authorities think Brittney is dead. I've never heard any reason (even wild speculation) as to how they came to that conclusion. I live about an hour from where this happened and here is an article from today's local paper on it:

BRICK TOWNSHIP - Authorities plan to resume their search today for an Ocean County teen they believe has been murdered.

Brittney Gregory, 16, of Brick Township, was last heard from on July 11 when she called her mother from her father's house and said she wanted a ride to her boyfriend's home.

Her mother told her that if she waited for about 45 minutes, her sister would give her a ride, but Brittney - a straight-A student who wanted to become a forensic scientist - did not answer the phone later that night.

Investigators have been looking for Gregory's body since July 18 in an area where the communities of Brick, Lakewood, and Howell converge. They will not say why they believe she was murdered; nor have they said why they are searching the wooded area, which is spotted with marshland and streams.

The search was called off for most of the weekend due to poor weather, and authorities fear recent rains may have destroyed footprints and washed away any odors or evidence.

Jack Fuller, 38, of Howell Township, a friend of Gregory's father, has been charged with her murder. Fuller, who has a history of drug- and theft-related arrests and was released from prison in April 2003, is being held on $1 million bail.

Meanwhile, friends and family planned to gather for a vigil Sunday night at the home of Brittney's father, with whom she lived. Participants expected to then walk to Brick Township Memorial High School, where Brittney was to start her junior year.

[Envy]

I was watching Geraldo last night or the night before and they were talking to her mom. She expressed the local police did not take her serious in searching for her daughter. They simply blew her off thinking she was a run away. It wasn't until the mother contacted State Police that a search got underway.

What I want to know (as a mother of a teenager) is the LE believe my child is dead, why not express these reasons with the family. The mother hasn't even been told why they think this. Just that they are 99.9 % postive that this girl has expired.

Has anyone heard anything else. This case doesn't seem to get the press other cases are getting. Poor girl!

[Anngelique]

http://nydailynews.com/news/story/214185p-184456c.html

Fear friend's dad hacked Jersey girl

'We want to find her, but we don't,' says teen's agonized family

BY NANCY DILLON in Howell, N.J.,
and BILL HUTCHINSON in New York
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS


Murder victim Brittney Gregory (l.) and a friend are all smiles at a school dance in early June.


Brittney Gregory and her boyfriend, John Fitzgerald, made these fun pictures at a photo booth at the Jersey Shore on June 30.

Authorities believe a missing New Jersey girl was hacked to death with a machete by her best friend's father, a source close to the grieving family said yesterday.
As cops and volunteers continued to search the woods near Howell for the body of 16-year-old Brittney Gregory, chilling details of how the honor student was believed killed began to emerge.

Cops have told Brittney's relatives there is no hope of finding her alive, and the investigation has led them to believe suspect Jack Fuller, 38, of Howell, killed her with a machete, a family source said.

"They [police] said there's no hope she's alive. It's awful. They think it was brutal," said the source. "She would have been one to fight."

Police also have asked the family for one of Brittney's hairbrushes, likely for DNA testing, the source said.

Fuller - the father of Brittney's best friend, Cassie Fuller, 21 - has refused to cooperate with police. The suspect, who is being held on $1 million bail, has been charged with murder.

As the search for Brittney entered its ninth day, the agonizing wait was taking its toll on her family.

"When it rains, you worry about her lying in the rain. When it's hot, you worry about her lying in the sun. It's just heart-wrenching," said Brittney's aunt, Susan Wood, 36.

"We want to find her, but we don't."

Brittney's father, Joe Dunn, who filed a missing-person report about his daughter July 12, is so distraught he can barely speak, said his girlfriend, Susan Peterson.

"Her father is so destroyed," Peterson said. "I don't know if he'll ever recover from this. It's like a horror film."

A friend of Jack Fuller, Tom Long, has told police he saw Brittney riding in the suspect's car on the day she vanished, a source said.

Torment for beau who left Britt alone

The boyfriend of a missing New Jersey teen said yesterday he's being ripped apart by guilt because he believes he could have saved her life simply by taking her to the beach.

John Fitzgerald told the Daily News that on the day 16-year-old Brittney Gregory vanished she asked whether she could go with him to Point Pleasant Beach and he said no.

John, 17, of Brick, N.J., said he had to leave Brittney behind because there wasn't enough room in his friend's truck.

"We kind of had a little argument," said John, who had been dating Brittney for 16 months and planned to marry her once she turned 18.

"I said I wanted to hang out with my friend and I'd see her later," he said. "I definitely could have prevented this if I was with her instead. Believe me, it hurts."

Police believe Jack Fuller, 38, the father of Brittney's best friend, killed her July 11 - the day John went to the beach without her, sources said.

As he looked at snapshots he and Brittney took June 30 in a photo booth at Point Pleasant Beach, John could only shake his head and wonder what if. "She was my first and only love," he said.

Nancy

[L Lo 1103]

Thanks for the post Anngelique.

How sad! I really hope they find her. I feel for her poor family and boyfriend.

[englishleigh]

Fox reporting Brittney's body found. :(

[englishleigh]

Fox News reporting the finding of a "female teen body" in NJ....they believe it is Brittney. :( There will be a police news conference at 3 pm EST.

[amandab]

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040727_1068.html

Brittney's body found.....so sad.

[WasBlind]

Body of Missing N.J. Girl May Be Found
Body Believed to Be That of Missing New Jersey Teen May Have Been Found

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040727_1068.html

No confirmation that this is her. Many families have been told their child was found, and later it was learned it was not their child.

With one going missing every 37 seconds, this could be anyone.

I will wait for confirmation with DNA, but agree if someone has been charged with her murder, LE has a reason.

Praying for this family, for answers, and if need be, for justice.
With love and HOPE, Lanie
Help For The Missing

[MrsMush99]

I just saw this now on Fox. How sad.

[kpass]

I just heard her friend's father was arrested...caught the tale end of it on Fox.

[MrsMush99]

Kpass, He was arrested last week. They knew he did it, have just been searching for her body.

[smellsarat]

It's like open season on women and children...........:furious:

[partyuv5]

God love this child. I have a Brittany of my own, and a Devin and a Lauren, Brooke and Cameron.

When I go to Heaven, I'm going to ask why.

[Lakergirl123]

Just think how Brittney's best friend must feel? That would be awful!

[LaCoruna17]

No confirmation that this is her. Many families have been told their child was found, and later it was learned it was not their child.

With one going missing every 37 seconds, this could be anyone.

Help For The Missing

It is most likely today. I just heard on the radio here that the autopsy report is due out today. Her body was located in an area that had been already searched. They missed it the first time.

I can't believe that stat. Every 37 seconds?!?! Wow, that is worst than I thoguht. That is horrible.

[L Lo 1103]

How awful for her family.

There must be much more to this story that we aren't hearing about. First the police say she's dead (without ever saying why they believe that) then they go back over a previously searched area more thoroughly and find her. I hope that whatever else they know will be used to get a conviction against that monster.

[LaCoruna17]

Just wanted to update everyone that the prosecutor's office released a statement. The body found was that of Brittney. They released very little. Just that the body was not mutilated and she was dead when she was buried. No other info was released.

[LaCoruna17]

Just wanted to update everyone that the prosecutor's office released a statement. The body found was that of Brittney. They released very little. Just that the body was not mutilated and she was dead when she was buried. No other info was released.

[Mimi]

I am wondering if there is a key witness to this horrific crime- something made the police arrest the perp with confidence, and announce that there was no possibility that Brittany was alive....what other evidence could they have to presume all this other than an eye witness?

It would be beneficial and finally give us hope that a conviction would be forthcoming for this monster at least!!!!

[Logan]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127267,00.html

TOMS RIVER, N.J. — A body unearthed from a shallow grave was confirmed to be that of a 16-year-old girl believed murdered by a family acquaintance, authorities said Wednesday.
The unclothed body was found Tuesday buried in a wooded area about two miles from Brittney Gregory's house in central New Jersey, Ocean County prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher said. The discovery was made by officers with search dogs.

[Love_Mama]

Absolutely Tragic. I will pray for her parent's............

xxxxxxxxooooooo
mama

[dannyodie]

even with the statistics showing that every 37 seconds or so that a person is abducted, the other statistic that really will sink the nail to the head is that almost 70 percent are dead within the first 3 hours of there abduction. I don't think anyone needs to worry about this man getting away with murder. after all a witness " if I read it correctly" said he saw them together the same night she was taken. this creep is no longer going to breath fresh freedom again. I can't imagine how her friend feels knowing that her dad did this to her good friend. what a terrible tragedy for all of these families.

[Mimi]

This article answers a lot of the questions we have all had about why and how LE were so sure poor Brittany was killed and so sure who the murderer was! Excerpts below but read the entire article for complete details.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/25698.htm[/url]


"Fuller, a druggie pal of Brittney's dad, was charged with murder a week later, after he was allegedly caught on tape confessing to his supplier about the grisly slaying.


Fuller, in an alleged taped conversation with his drug dealer that was first reported by The Post, admitted he was worried about the body being discovered because he didn't bury it deep enough.

"I think I was supposed to bury it six feet under," he reportedly said.

That prompted speculation the killer may have tried to rebury the corpse, but authorities yesterday said they have no evidence that occurred.

Investigators hunting for forensic evidence against Fuller were reported to have already confiscated several sickles and pieces of wooden siding from his father's home in nearby Howell. Fuller, 38, lived there between stints in prison for robbery and drugs.

An acquaintance who ran into the suspect at a local carwash four days before he was busted in the murder said she recalled him feverishly scouring his dad's Chevy, which he supposedly borrowed the night Brittney disappeared.

Cops have already confiscated the car, as well as a carwash videotape of him cleaning the vehicle, sources said.

A pal of Fuller's has said he was in the car with both the suspect and Brittney the night she disappeared but that she was still alive when Fuller dropped him off at his home.

Brittney's family said the last they heard from her, she had wanted a ride to her boyfriend's house.

The break in the case came after Fuller allegedly confessed to a drug dealer that he had killed Brittney — and the pusher felt so repulsed, he went to police with the information. Sources close to the investigation said the dealer then agreed to wear a wire to help bust the fiend. After his alleged taped confession, Fuller was arrested and charged with Brittney's murder, even though her body hadn't been found. "

[url="http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/25698.htm"] (http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/25698.htm)

[englishleigh]

Brittney was so beautiful. This is a major lesson to all of us & our daughters....NEVER take a ride alone with a man, even if you know him....b/c you may not KNOW him....your father, brother or husband is ok...NO ONE else.
This may sound extreme but look at Brittney...this was her friend's dad and her dad's friend...she thought he was safe. :(

[LaCoruna17]

Brittney was so beautiful. This is a major lesson to all of us & our daughters....NEVER take a ride alone with a man, even if you know him....b/c you may not KNOW him....your father, brother or husband is ok...NO ONE else.
This may sound extreme but look at Brittney...this was her friend's dad and her dad's friend...she thought he was safe. :(

I agree. My daughter is only 1 years ol and I tell my husband and her this very day. He thinks I am being paranoid and crazy. Look what is out there.

[kk's mom]

I agree. My daughter is only 1 years ol and I tell my husband and her this very day. He thinks I am being paranoid and crazy. Look what is out there.

You don't know who to trust anymore. My 8 year old daughter was molested by my "ex" 17 year old stepson. She was 6 at the time and he was 15. I entrusted him to watch her for 10 minutes while I ran to the post office. It destroyed my marrige (I loved his father very much). This "piece of garbage" is in juvenile detention center for at least another year. I have tried "unsuccessfully" to mandate that he register as a sex offender once he is released. But because he will be an adult and this crime happened when he was a juvenile, I cannot get it done. I read stories like this everyday and can relate to them because you always think you know someone but you just never do.....it's all so sad. My daughter made a remarkable recovery from this traumatic event in her life. I'm so grateful that I still haver her in my life. Something really horrible could have happened. She is my hero. It's so sad though that she had to grow up so quickly because a someone greedily and selfishly stole her innocence.

[carolina]

this is just about the worst thing that could happen to a family. it reminds me so much of the situation surrounding the disapperance of brookely louks...getting into a car with her father's friend. i am so glad that brittney was found, poor brookely is still missing.

http://www.childseeknetwork.com/Brookley.htm

[kitty]

Poor Brittney. She was so beautiful, and it seems like she had so much potential.


http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-6/109057028050900.xml

"How do you take the life of a person who saved your life?" Debra Gregory asked during an interview yesterday at her Beachwood home. "How do you do that?"

:mad: :furious:

I'm only 17, and these are things I think about when I'm at home by myself. It's why I don't like to go out alone. It's why I don't want to work the night shift. I live in a very rural area and they find bodies out here quite often. I'm always afraid the next one may be someone I know, or even me.

[carolina]

it sounds like her accused murderer might not be having a great time in prison. too bad.


http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1123299,00.html

[mysteriew]

One year later, a key question remains: Why was she killed?

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office would not comment when asked Friday about the motives of Jack Fuller Jr. — the man charged with murdering Brittney and leaving her body in a shallow Lakewood grave.

Executive Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Ronald F. DeLigny, who is assigned to try Fuller, has said at prior court hearings that the evidence against Fuller includes Brittney's blood, found inside Fuller's 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier, in which she was last seen alive.

DeLigny has also revealed in court that an informant told authorities Fuller had asked him, a few days after Brittney disappeared, whether burying a body 4 feet in the ground was deep enough to keep it from being discovered. Goins, in motions filed, has targeted that evidence http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050710/NEWS/507100437

[Bobbisangel]

The only reason that I can think of was that he wanted sex and she didn't go along with him. What was her mother talking about when she said "how do you take the life of someone who saved your life?" I had never heard about this case and the articles can't be found now. The killer was no doubt all jacked up on dope or alcohol.

I wonder how Brittney's dad is doing. Here it was a friend of his who murdered his daughter. And then there is Brittney's best friend. How do you cope with something like this....your dad murders your best friend. I wonder if this killer had ever come on to Brittney before...flirted or made sexy remarks. If he did she probably thought he was just kidding around and just blew it off.

It doesn't sound like the killer used a machete to kill Brittney. I think it is awful when things like that are released before it is even known for a fact how a person really died. The article after she was found said she wasn't hacked up..they used a different word. Think of what Brittney's family went through after hearing something like that!!! Of course the media could care less how what they print affects families.

I hope we hear about this killer's trial. I hope he is locked up forever. It is just so sad. This beautiful little gal with her whole life ahead of her and someone that she trusted took everything away from her and her family.

[mysteriew]

A week before he was to go on trial for the murder of a Brick honors student, a Howell man admitted yesterday that he killed the girl by beating her and leaving her to die in his car while he got high.

Ending the mystery of what happened the night 16-year-old Brittney Gregory disappeared in July 2004, Jack Fuller told a judge in Toms River that he beat the teen unconscious, then continued smoking cocaine while she lay bleeding and motionless on the seat next to him in his car.

While Fuller calmly revealed details he had kept secret for more than a year, members of Gregory's family were overcome with emotion. Her father, Joseph Dunn, stormed out of the courtroom when Fuller said he heard Brittney making a gurgling sound, but did nothing to help her. Later, one of Gregory's sisters collapsed outside the courtroom, requiring medical attention.

In pleading guilty to the single murder count, Fuller, 39, an ex-convict, faces 30 years in prison with no parole. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 13.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1129700441141140.xml&coll=1

[docwho3]

I hope they can prove he lied about some of it. That might give them cause to break the plea bargain & try him. Although I don't know that. Just saw it on some recent crime shows and hope its so.

[mocity]

Did he rape her or was he just made about her trying to stop his drug intake??


Poor girl. Prayers for the family.............

[CrimeHater]

Did it say that she tried to stop him? I wonder if he tried to rape her, or what happened to make him beat her. It sickens me. How can you sit there and be so heartless to watch someone die. Someone so young and innocent and obviously not a stranger (not that that would make it easier) but being someone close to your family makes it even sicker.

I hope the BA***RED rots!

[mocity]

CrimeHater, An article I read said he beat her because she told him not to do drugs around her.

[mysteriew]

If additional evidence is found that refutes Fuller’s confession, the case could be reopened, DeLigny said.

“Anything’s possible, but finding additional evidence is highly unlikely,” he said. “Based upon our examinations of the vehicle and home, we really haven’t left any stone unturned.”

Fuller pleaded guilty to a single count of murder which carries with it a 30-year sentence without parole. He was facing 30 years to life without parole if convicted. His trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday. He had pleaded not guilty to the crime, DeLigny said.

DeLigny said it is hard to say if he is satisfied with the outcome of the case.

“Satisfied? Tough question,” he said. “I just hope the family has some closure with it.”

Fuller is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 13, DeLigny said.
http://tritown.gmnews.com/news/2005/1027/Front_Page/024.html

[mysteriew]

A man who admitting killing a 16-year-old girl after she asked him not to smoke crack cocaine in front of her was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday as her family members and friends watched from a packed gallery.

Jack Fuller, 40, of Howell, who pleaded guilty to murder in the 2004 slaying of Brittney Gregory, will not be eligible for parole.
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1137172449273740.xml&storylist=jersey

[mysteriew]

A drug addict and career criminal with a history of dozens of arrests was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison, with no chance of parole, for beating a 16-year-old Brick honors student and leaving her to die while he got high.

The tattooed Jack Fuller, whose head is shaved, wore red prison scrubs, wrist shackles and a goatee to state Superior Court in Toms River.

Except for a pulsing wavy vein on his forehead, he sat motionless as he was sentenced for killing straight-A student Brittney Gregory in 2004 and then burying her in a shallow grave. The search to find her lasted 16 days and drew national attention and hundreds of police officers.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1137217648186860.xml&coll=1

[Bobbisangel]

If this creep lives long enough he will still get out of prison when he is 70 yrs.
I don't understand why plea deals are ever given for murder cases. I think the killers excuse for killing Brittney is bullchit. If she didn't want him to do drugs in front of or around her then why not just drop her off at home or tell her to get out of his vehicle? I still think he came on to her and she wasn't having any of it. He must not have raped her but I'd bet money sex was the reason he murdered her. I hope he dies in prison.