Family wants sheriff to reopen death case

Mom, dad say daughter’s demise unresolved

A Bandera County family with more questions than answers is asking the Sheriff’s Office to reopen a case involving what they consider to be the suspicious death of their daughter.

Randy and Susan McMahon say too many unresolved issues linger concerning the fate of Brittany Mc-Mahon, 33, whose skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area July 3, 2022, after a neighbor saw dogs fighting over her skull.

Investigators initially reported the woman appeared to have taken her own life after a rope on a tree branch was found at the scene in north Bandera County. Reports stated the same rope had been seen in McMahon’s bag days earlier.

The crime-scene probe indicated McMahon’s remains also had a rope around the neck, but the McMahons, who have photos of the remain site, have disputed that account.

A forensic and anthropological examination listed the cause of death as undetermined, and a review of the case by the District Attorney’s Office has closed the books on the episode with no arrests, charges or indictments.

That’s not enough for the McMahons.

“We just want answers,” Susan McMahon said. “Brittany had dreams for her life. She had a great life … She was an amazing (certified nursing assistant).”

Despite the promise the 33-year-old woman’s life held, her parents said things took a turn after an acquaintance introduced her to methamphetamines.

Sheriff Josh Tietge, who was not in office when Brittany McMahon’s death occurred, said for now the case remains closed unless new evidence comes to light.

“This case has not been officially reopened,” Tietge said in a prepared release. “As promised, I have directed a case review of specific cases that occurred over the past several years. If any direct evidence is obtained that changes the case specifics or determined original case outcome, I will officially reopen the investigation utilizing the new evidence.”

The elder McMahons said Tietge’s second in command, Adam Marsh, has proven “exceptional” in communicating with the family, including looking through their daughter’s case to see if anything was missed.

The parents believe the tragic episode was set in motion a few days before their daughter’s disappearance, when Deputy John Broderick June 18, 2022, responded to a report of a domestic disturbance involving Brittany and a male acquaintance.

After an investigation, the deputy advised both parties they could seek a legal protective or restraining order, according to bodycam footage.

The bodycam footage also shows a rope in Brittany Mc-Mahon’s bag, but the McMahons state it is not the same rope used during her death.

On Father’s Day — June 19 — the woman was last seen at a fast-food chicken restaurant on Main Street, having been dropped off by a friend.

According to a report logged by sheriff’s Investigator Jerry Johnson, friends said McMahon told them she wanted to leave Bandera for good, to “start over” in a Texas coastal city.

McMahon disappeared after that, but a subsequent probe into the case shed more light on what the parents said is key information from a neighbor.

“That night (June 19), José Camacho got a call from his uncle about a girl screaming in the woods behind their property. José went outside to listen and heard the screams,” Susan McMahon said. “He saw a gray truck leaving the area where Brittany was later found.”

A report filed July 3, 2022, by Deputy Cory Bolt noted Camacho also found his neighbors’ dogs fighting over a human skull. Camacho contacted deputies after following a trail in the woods to where the rest of Brittany McMahon’s body was found.

Crime-scene photos and an accompanying report both note a rope was found in a tree and on the ground next to the remains. Deputies also reported a broken tree branch. Investigators said the rope found at the scene appeared to match a rope seen dangling out of McMahon’s bag in the June 18 bodycam footage when she spoke with Broderick.

Bandera County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Mike Towers ordered the remains sent to Central Texas Autopsy in Lockhart for a forensic examination.

However, due to a miscommunication because the skull had no teeth in it, the remains were instead dispatched to Texas State University Department of Anthropology.

They subsequently were verified by anthropologists Shelby Garza and Daniel Wescott. According to their report, the manner of death was undetermined, as the remains had gone through major decay and had been scavenged by animals.

Johnson in a report dated July 20, 2022, notes he attempted to speak with a man who had an altercation in June with Brittany McMahon, but the man on the advice of his attorney declined to be interviewed by the investigator. In addition, a sheriff’s report states another woman the man knew requested she supply him with an alibi during the early days of McMahon’s disappearance.

The man today is a serving time in a correctional facility for a drug-related offense, according to court records. He has maintained that he has no knowledge about McMahon’s death.

Randy McMahon said frustration with the handling of his daughter’s death investigation at one point brought out the worst in him, including at the scene where her remains were found.

“I came out with a baseball bat, yelling that (the acquaintance) had done it,” he said.

The father also called the Sheriff’s Office to threaten Johnson.

“Two deputies came out and I had a machete with me,” McMahon said. “They told me to go back home. A few months later, I got arrested for that incident and spent 14 months in jail.”

All of that is behind them now, the parents said, and what they seek is closure — and possibly justice — in the death of their girl.

“We have hope this can still be solved,” Susan Mc-Mahon said.