Do you know who murdered Emma Brewer in 1979? In December of 1979, a sense of unease settled over a Knoxville, Tennessee community when 62-year-old Emma Truitt Brewer failed to show up for church one Sunday. A granddaughter's concern led to a grim discovery at Brewer's apartment in the Western Heights housing project. The door was slightly ajar, and inside, Emma Brewer was found deceased on the floor of her home.
The scene within the apartment painted a violent picture of Brewer's final moments.
Her hands had been bound, and she had been strangled with a chilling combination of hosiery and an electrical cord. The initial investigation into her death quickly pointed towards a man named Mitch Reed, who had been working as a handyman for Brewer. It was believed that Reed may have even lived with her for a short period before her death. Investigators learned that Reed had hitchhiked to Knoxville on the day of the murder and admitted to being on Brewer's porch that night, though he claimed it was merely to say hello.
Despite the suspicions surrounding him, Mitch Reed was never charged in connection with Emma Brewer's murder. He was known to be difficult during interrogations, maintaining his composure and never confessing to the crime. Over the years, the case grew cold, and Reed himself passed away, taking any potential confessions with him to the grave. Though jewelry and a gun were found near her body, robbery was considered an unlikely motive. Theories about the motive ranged from a fit of rage after a rejected advance to a dispute over money for his handyman services. The murder of Emma Brewer remains officially unsolved, a lingering question in the history of Knoxville's criminal cases.
