In the autumn of 2015, the life of 31-year-old Teresa Longo, a female, tragically ended in Omaha, Nebraska. Her body was discovered on October 2, 2015, inside a vacant house near North 39th and Burdette Streets after police received an anonymous tip. At the time of her death, Longo was a mother to a young daughter and was experiencing homelessness. An autopsy later revealed that she had died from a close-range shotgun wound to the back of her head.
Forensic analysis of insects found on her body suggested that she had been killed sometime between September 15 and September 21, two weeks before she was found.
The investigation into her death quickly led authorities to a suspect, 31-year-old Reginald Briggs. Briggs and Longo were known to one another; he had reportedly offered her a place to stay in exchange for her working for him as a prostitute. Investigators learned that Briggs had told an acquaintance that he had killed Longo. Police arrested Briggs and charged him with first-degree murder, pandering, and several firearms offenses. During the investigation, law enforcement conducted an extensive search of the Little Papio Creek near Karen Park, looking for crucial evidence related to the crime.
Reginald Briggs' case went to trial, where prosecutors detailed a grim story of exploitation. They asserted that Briggs was running a prostitution operation that involved Longo and his girlfriend. Briggs was ultimately not convicted of first-degree murder. Instead, a jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, as well as use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, and pandering.
Following his conviction in August 2017, Briggs was sentenced to a lengthy prison term. However, in June 2019, the Nebraska Supreme Court, while upholding his convictions, found errors in the original sentencing process and ordered that he be resentenced. The case brought to light the significant dangers and vulnerabilities faced by those experiencing homelessness and caught in cycles of exploitation.
