The Murders of Elise Makdessi and Quincy Brown
For this case I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 13 episode 5, titled ‘Double Cross.’
Two members of the Navy are killed in a Virginia Beach apartment.
Background
Elise Makdessi worked at Oceana Air Base as a air traffic controller. At the time of her death, she had been married to her husband Eddie for five years.
The other victim in this case, Quincy Brown, was Elise’s co-worker. Elise had accused Quincy and four other higher ups in the Navy of sexually assaulting her. Many of their co-workers said Quincy wouldn’t have done this, and that it was out of character. Quincy had no criminal history, especially no history of violence of any kind.
Elise Makdessi and Quincy Brown
The Murders
On May 15, 1996, Elise and Eddie returned to their apartment around 9pm. They had just returned from going out to dinner. Eddie would later tell the police that they walked in and were ambushed by an assailant.
Eddie called 911, and said that the assailant stabbed and assaulted his wife, and that he was able to grab a gun and shoot him. However, the assailant wasn’t actually dead, and Eddie shot him several more times.
When the police arrived, Elise was barely alive. She was lying on the bed, her dress was pulled up and her stockings were torn. She had wounds to her chest, and her throat had been cut. Elise later died on her way to the hospital.
Next to the bed, the police found Quincy Brown. He was lying on his back, with his legs pinned underneath him. He was identified by his drivers license. He died from three gun shot wounds to the chest.
Eddie was treated at the hospital for his head injuries, but was soon released.
Eddie Makdessi
Eddie and Elise
Eddie’s Story
The evidence at the scene seemed to match Eddie’s story. The front hallway was littered with the take out containers, electrical cords were found on the bedroom floor and a knife was found underneath Quincy’s right hand.
Eddie told the police that he knew what the motive was. He turned over a videotape that Elise had made, accusing Quincy and four others of sexual assault. In the videotape, Elise said she had been assaulted in the women’s bathroom, and was threatened that if she told anyone, she and her husband would be killed.
Elise also said that she had named the five men in her journal, and that the journal had been put in her safe deposit box. The police obtained a court order to retrieve the journal, and NCIS was soon called to get involved in the investigation.
The Crime Scene
Elise’s supervisor and friend Nancy Simpson said that she didn’t believe what Elise was saying. She believed that if Elise had been assaulted, she would’ve told her. Eddie maintained that it was true.
After the police re-examined the crime scene, they started to find inconsistencies in Eddie’s story.
The police discovered that Quincy had actually called the Makdessi’s at 9:36pm. The phone call happened after the time that Eddie said they had returned home, and were attacked. The phone called lasted for 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
Quincy’s fingerprints weren’t on the knife found underneath his hand, and Elise’s blood wasn’t found on any of his clothing.
Elise had purchased the gun used to kill Quincy the night before at a sporting goods store in Hampton, Virginia.
The police hired Ross Gardner, a crime scene analyst, and he also said the crime scene contradicted Eddie’s story.
A Shocking Twist
Quincy’s autopsy showed that the first shot penetrated Quincy’s heart, which created arterial spray. The blood spatter and crime scene photos showed that Quincy was shot from the back, not the front like Eddie said.
The police then discovered that Eddie and Elise were actually both involved in Quincy’s murder. Eddie convinced Elise to make the video, and their plan was to file a lawsuit against the Navy. They called Quincy to come over for sex, and convinced him not to use a condom, so that they could get his DNA to insure that they would win the lawsuit.
Quincy was then killed, and Eddie double crossed Elise, and killed her as well. Less than 30 days before the murders, Eddie had taken out a $500,000 life insurance policy on his wife. Elise also had a $200,000 life insurance policy through the Navy. Eddie was able to collect $700,000 in total after he killed his wife and Quincy.
Trial and Conviction
After the murders, Eddie fled to Russia. He would be on the run for almost a decade, before a reported named Mike Mather tracked him down.
Eddie said he left Russia because they believed he was an American spy. He also married a Russian woman, and together they had a child.
Eddie decided to return to the United States, and he was taken into custody in 2003.
Eddie’s trial began in 2006. The prosecution’s theory was that Eddie and Elise came up with a plan together to frame Quincy, and file a lawsuit again the Navy. However, Eddie was greedy, and he double crossed his wife and killed her for $70,000.
Eddie was found guilty for the first degree murder of Elise and Quincy. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
Eddie Makdessi in court
Other
After his conviction, Eddie Makdessi asked for $50 million in damages, and said the prosecution was racially motivated because he’s from the Middle East. He also said the videotape of Elise should have been able to be used in court, and that it would’ve proved his innocence.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While I don’t agree with what Eddie and Elise planned to do, she didn’t deserve to be brutally murdered. Eddie cared more about money than he did about his wife and the lives of these two people.
The real victim in this case is Quincy. He was lured over to the Makdessi’s, brutally killed and framed for a murder he didn’t commit. I’m happy that the police realized that the crime scene and Eddie’s story didn’t match. Eddie deserves to be locked up forever.
Sources
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/crime/article_db11275c-1fb9-56a8-9e8e-dac5795cd2ce.html
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/crime/article_5fef48ae-5ffb-565a-abf3-116b0687b0cc.html
https://militaryjusticeforall.com/tag/quincy-brown/
