LA LA - Kirsten Brydum, 25, New Orleans, 27 Sept 2008. ARREST

Kirsten Brydum, 25, was an activist from San Francisco who was traveling the country via train. She'd borrow friends' bikes to get around in the cities where she stopped. She arrived in NOLA on 9/25/08 via train. She attended a concert at the Howling Wolf in the Warehouse District around 11pm on 9/26. She was last seen on 9/27 at around 1:30 am presumably getting on the black cruiser bicycle a friend had lent her to cycle back to the home of friends with whom she had been staying in the Bywater neighborhood.

On the morning of 9/27, her body was discovered around the 3000 block of Laussat Place in the Florida neighborhood, well past the Bywater coming from the Warehouse District. Her boyfriend at the time, Josh Viola, believes Kirsten may have gotten lost due to the poor street sinage & lighting in the area (a big problem particularly in the first few years after Katrina & even in 2008....heck, in some places even today in NOLA). The bike she was riding as well as her tote bag have never been found. She had been shot several times. She had not been sexually assaulted. Her murder remains unsolved & there is a $10,000 reward.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/09/murder_victim_has_not_been_for.html

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/S-F-activist-slain-in-New-Orleans-robbery-3192134.php

Memorial website set up by Kirsten's friends & family: http://www.kirstenbrydum.virtual-memorials.com/

Although some articles say robbery was the motive (her wallet, the bike, her bag are missing), this one says something different:
"The timeline stops at 1:30 a.m.," Defillo said. That's when Brydum hopped on a bicycle and left the bar. She was found seven hours later, fully clothed. She had not been sexually assaulted, police said. Robbery doesn't appear to be the motive, but her bicycle is missing."
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/murdered_womans_final_hours_a.html

Oops! Mods- I just realized I spelled Kirsten's name as Kristen in the thread title. Would one you be so wonderful as to fix that please? Thank you.

Thanks for posting this case, ktgirl. Really hope somehow your post will set things in motion to shake something new loose in this case.

I have to say -- this one really brought the Mighty Mick (Mickey Shunick, for those who didn't follow her case -- and ktgirl, I KNOW you did) to mind.

Interesting article from September, more at link-

Kirsten Brydum's family and friends announced Monday they have new evidence identifying the person they think shot the 25-year-old in the head as she rode a bicycle through the Florida Avenue area just 36 hours into a volunteer trip to New Orleans.

An independent investigation the family pursued after the Sept. 27, 2008, slaying points to a man who died in 2009 at age 36, family friend Frank Lindsay announced at a news conference Monday that was timed with the fifth anniversary of Brydum's death.

...Lindsay said the suspect has been linked to other killings and is the son of a retired NOPD officer. He declined to publicly name the suspect.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2013/09/post_345.html

hayaletcatcher said:

Interesting article from September, more at link-

Kirsten Brydum's family and friends announced Monday they have new evidence identifying the person they think shot the 25-year-old in the head as she rode a bicycle through the Florida Avenue area just 36 hours into a volunteer trip to New Orleans.

An independent investigation the family pursued after the Sept. 27, 2008, slaying points to a man who died in 2009 at age 36, family friend Frank Lindsay announced at a news conference Monday that was timed with the fifth anniversary of Brydum's death.

...Lindsay said the suspect has been linked to other killings and is the son of a retired NOPD officer. He declined to publicly name the suspect.

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2013/09/post_345.html

Click to expand...

Not a great place to get lost in. I'd never attempt a bike ride to Bywater at that time. Someone unfamiliar to those streets could have easily gotten lost. Warehouse District to Bywater at 1:30 a.m.? On a bike?

Sadly, this was not going to be solved easily, even with a reward.

Donamena said:

Not a great place to get lost in. I'd never attempt a bike ride to Bywater at that time. Someone unfamiliar to those streets could have easily gotten lost. Warehouse District to Bywater at 1:30 a.m.? On a bike?

Sadly, this was not going to be solved easily, even with a reward.

Click to expand...

Riding through the Quarter she would've been fine. It was that last stretch after she crossed Elysian Fields that was dangerous, and that's where she got into trouble. So darn sad.

Thanks for posting the article, hayaletcatcher. :seeya:

The spot where she was found is The wurst place to be. I wouldn't go there and expect to come back alive. A train engineer made the mistake of stopping the train right there. They killed him for his wallet. Any new leads on this case?

Joseph Brant, 48, convicted in the murder of Jessica Hawk, has confessed to three other New Orleans murders, including Kirsten Brydum. Now dubbed a serial killer.
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...8-New-Orleans-2007-08&p=13920025#post13920025

Oct 17, 2007 - Jane Doe, strangled, burned, body located by railroad tracks near Almonaster Ave bridge (Treasure and Arts Sts)

Jan 11, 2008 - Jody Johnson, 47, shot to death, body burned, 3600 block of Piety St.
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/01/slain_womans_father_located.html

Aug 11. 2008 - Jessica Hawk, 32, stabbed to death in her Bywater apartment, 3000 block of Chartres St.
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127297

Sept 27, 2008 - Kirsten Brydum, 25, social activist and volunteer from San Francisco, shot to death, 3000 block of Laussat Pl.

...

"Joseph Brant come forward to accept responsibility for these previously unsolved murders," said Brant's attorney, William Sothern. "He wants to resolve these investigations and bring closure to the families. He is ready to do his time."

Brant had already pleaded guilty and was awaiting a lifetime prison sentence imposed in Dec. 2016, in connection to the stabbing death of botanist Jessica Hawk in her Bywater home on August 11, 2008

http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_cba568dc-0cf8-11e8-ac99-e705a7889455.html

http://www.wwltv.com/mobile/article...men-in-new-orleans-10-years-ago/289-516156731

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...

Brydum's family issued a statement through their attorney Ben Rosenfeld on Thursday acknowledging that Brant, who is incarcerated in a Texas prison for a burglary conviction, has admitted responsibility for her murder.

"For the family this raises many new questions, and they are awaiting further details," according to the statement. "It is our understanding that Kirsten was abducted and raped on the night she was murdered."

...

"What we don't want to lose sight of is that this was a rape and a murder. This person did not reveal that there was a sexual attack," Lindsay said. "The family is in shock. This person was not on our radar. It will be for the authorities to take appropriate action."

...



"As fragile as it is, my heart goes out to the other victims of these horrendous acts. I miss Kirsten's loving voice every day and will forever yearn to touch her again," Brydum's mother Mamie Page said in the statement. "I know, had she lived, she would have touched so many more lives and this world would be better than it is currently."

Her father Steen Brydum added in the statement, "We miss Kirsten's radiance every day. We are relieved to know that the man who extinguished her incredible flame can never harm another woman."

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2018/02/i_miss_kirstens_loving_voice_e.html

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