The Murder of Brittney Gregory
The past few days I’ve covered cases where all the victims survived, unfortunately, this case didn’t end that way. This is a from an episode of Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall. It’s season 6 episode 4, titled ‘The Jersey Devil.’
A gifted 16 year old is killed, and family secrets come out during the investigation.
Background
Brittney Gregory
Brittney Gregory was a 16 year old from Brick Township, New Jersey. Brick Township is one of the biggest towns on the Jersey Shore.
Brittney lived with her parents, and four other siblings. Even though Brittney was the youngest, at 16 years old, she was very mature for her age. She was also an A student, and loved school. She wanted to be a forensic psychologist to solve crimes.
The Disappearance
On July 11, 2004, Brittney was last seen at around 8pm. Her sister, Brianna, said Brittney had been looking for a ride to her boyfriend, John’s house. They had gotten into a fight two days prior and she wanted to repair their relationship.
Brittney did end up leaving the house, and never came home. On July 12, Brianna went into the police station to report her sister missing. By 4pm that afternoon, Detectives Mark Byrne and Elliott Morgan were assigned to the case.
Investigation
The detectives started by talking to Brittney’s neighbors, talking to the family and searching their home.
Brittney’s makeup and phone were left in the home. It was as if she had been abducted or just vanished.
Brianna told the police about Brittney’s boyfriend, 18 year old John Fitzgerald. She said Brittney had found out that John had kissed another girl, but she forgave him and wanted to get back with him.
The police got in contact with John, and asked him to come to the police station. John was described as a soft spoken person, and he appeared shocked that Brittney was missing. He said he last spoke to Brittney the night before when she hung up on him. He confirmed that they had been fighting, and that he thought she kissed another boy, which is why he kissed another girl.
John was asked to take a polygraph, and he said he would come back at a later date to do so. John was let go, because their wasn’t any evidence that he was involved.
There were various leads and dead ends. The police wanted to question Brittney’s friends next. She had a very tight circle of friends, and they told the police that Brittney’s family had a history of drugs, and there were always people in and out of the house. The police went back to Brittney’s family to learn more.
Family Secrets
Brittney’s dad, Joe Dunn, had a long history of drug use. As her friends told them, he had many associates and sketchy people were in and out of the house all the time. The police asked who was in and out of the house at the time Brittney disappeared.
Brittney’s sister, Bobbi Jo gave them a name, her ex-boyfriend, Tony. Bobbi Jo said Tony was too friendly with Brittney, and that’s why they broke up. When the police went to speak with Tony, he had an alibi, he was at home with his new girlfriend at the time. He wasn’t completely cleared, but he was for the time being.
The case stalled, until an informant gave them information about a new suspect. The informant gave them a name: Jack Fuller, a 38 year old career criminal, and an associate of Brittney’s dad, Joe. The informant said that Jack had told him he hurt his back while digging in the sand and killing a girl.
After hearing this, the informant saw Brittney’s disappearance on the news and wanted to come forward.
The Sting Operation
On July 16, 2004, the informant made a plan to meet Jack at a convenience store, while wearing a wire with the police close by. New Jersey is a one person consent state, meaning one person can consent to being recorded.
Jack didn’t give any information about Brittney or the location of where he killed her, but he did say he needed to kill someone else. A man named Tommy, who was there that night and knew he was the last person to see Brittney.
The Tommy that Jack was talking about was Tommy Long, another career criminal and childhood friend of Jack’s. The police had to find Tommy before Jack did.
The police set up surveillance at Tommy’s, and realized that after the meeting with the informant, Jack drove to Tommy’s. The police found Jack’s car abandoned, but Jack did appear a few minutes later with a gas can. He was arrested on suspicion of Brittney’s murder, and brought into the police station.
Tommy Long was found alive, and was brought in for questioning as well.
The Confession
At first, Tommy said he wasn’t going to speak. That was until the police played Jack’s conversation with the informant, about how he was going to take Tommy out. Tommy told the police everything he knew.
He said he and Jack were driving around on July 11th, and decided to go to Joe Dunn’s. Jack went inside, and a few minutes later he told Tommy he was going to drop him off. Before they left, Brittney got into Jack’s car.
Jack is confronted by the information, and he said he didn’t know what they were talking about. He asked for an attorney.
While the police were trying to get Jack to confess, another witness came forward. A woman called the police and said Jack had abducted her, and she knew where he mostly likely took Brittney.
The woman was a drug addict, and Jack had promised her a supply of drugs, only she was kept at Jack’s for a few months, and she escaped. The woman said Jack had a spot in Lakewood, New Jersey, where he liked to get high.
Brittney is Found
Almost two weeks after Brittney disappeared, the police had a search team go out into the area where the woman described.
The State Police, other neighboring police departments and search dogs were all on the scene, when one searcher found an area with an arm sticking out. It was a body of a female, with a necklace that said Brittney.
Jack’s car was also seen at the crime scene around the time of the murder. An officer had seen the car, and Jack had told them that his dog was missing, and he wasn’t questioned any further.
Jack’s car had also been sent in for testing, and Brittney’s blood was found inside his car. This along with witnesses and his voice on the tape were solid evidence to arrest him.
Brittney had just wanted a ride to her boyfriend’s that night, and she got angry when Jack started smoking crack. Brittney tried to get Jack to stop, and he got mad and started punching her. Brittney was beaten to death, and Jack removed her clothes and buried her.
Trial and Conviction
On October 18, 2005, Jack Fuller pleaded guilty to murdering Brittney. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, without the possibility of parole.
Brittney and Jack Fuller mugshot
Other
Brittney’s family doesn’t believe Jack’s story of what happened. They questioned why her clothes were taken off before she was buried, but there was no obvious signs of sexual assault.
In 2008, Brick Memorial High School, where Brittney went to school, started a forensics program in memory of Brittney. Brittney wrote in her journal about how she wanted to solve crimes and help people.
FINAL THOUGHTS
What a sad and tragic case. This young innocent girl just wanted a ride to her boyfriend’s house, and she wanted a ride so badly, that she got into a car with a monster. How was this man even out of prison? He had been arrested 48 times, previously for drug possession, robbery and weapons charges. I personally believe he shouldn’t have been out, maybe Brittney would still be alive.
I feel bad for Brittney’s family, but at the same time her dad brought these monsters into their lives. I wonder how the rest of the family truly feels about that.
Sources
https://archive.centraljersey.com/2006/01/19/judge-gives-30-years-to-brittneys-killer/
