48 Hours Mystery: Charlie Brandt - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

nohwheregirl · 01-21-2007, 12:43 AM

Has anyone else here seen the 48 Hours episode on Carl "Charlie" Brandt? This was really one of the most disturbing things I've ever watched. He murdered his wife and niece, then hung himself in his niece's garage. Not to be gruesome, but the niece was decapitated and her heart removed. It seemed out of the blue, but when they looked into Brandt's past, they found out that he murdered his pregnant mother, and tried to murder the rest of his family when he was 13. After a year in a mental hospital (with no official diagnosis), he moved back in with his remaining family, and they never again spoke of the incident until after the murder/suicide.

Since the mutilation of his niece's body was so expertly done, they knew he had done it before. Two more Florida murders were linked to Brandt through his M.O., but he was extremely well-travelled, and there is no telling how many people Brandt has murdered. There was also evidence that his wife knew about his past and suspected her husband of committing a local murder. Absolutely chilling.

Big3sCompanyFan · 01-21-2007, 03:12 AM

Yes, I saw it and I agree that it was probably the most HORRIFIC crime scene I've ever heard of.

It was so bad that the 3 cops who first saw went outside AND VOMITED!!!!

He was obviously very sick but it was very strange they could never diagnose it. He seemed normal for so long then suddenly he snapped one final time and took his own life along with the others.

I wonder what those mental health records indicated that the investigator got access to.

It's scary to think there could be a very rare mental illness out there that no one knows about that results in behavior like this!!!

I'm suprised none of us had ever heard of this guy since you think he would have acheived some infamy like other serial killers have.

nohwheregirl · 01-22-2007, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big3sCompanyFan

I wonder what those mental health records indicated that the investigator got access to.

I read somewhere online that Brandt had been out hunting with his father shortly before he killed his mother, and while they were hunting, the father accidentally shot Brandt's dog. It's thought that maybe this act of violence is what made Brandt snap. I think this is mentioned in some newspaper articles that I found online, but I haven't finished reading them. I'll post them later.

Quote:

It's scary to think there could be a very rare mental illness out there that no one knows about that results in behavior like this!!!

I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, but I wonder if they're making some distinction between mental illness (e.g., something like manic depression that results from a chemical imbalance) and a personality disorder (which is, what I think psychopathy/sociopathy would be). I'm just speculating here, so let me know if I'm way off base. Also, I've read up a little bit on diagnosing sociopaths, and one has to reach a certain age before he/she can be diagnosed as a sociopath. Maybe he wasn't old enough at the time? Maybe psychiatry has advanced enough in the years since his childhood that, if he was interviewed today, they would be able to diagnose him.

Quote:

I'm suprised none of us had ever heard of this guy since you think he would have acheived some infamy like other serial killers have.

I agree. I don't understand why this wasn't all over the national news when it happened. Or maybe it was and I don't remember. I think the most important thing now is matching unsolved murders and disappearances to this guy. He seemed to have a very distinctive M.O., but could it have changed over the years? I mean, he didn't mutilate his wife's body in the same way as the niece's body, and he shot his parents. So many questions!!

Big3sCompanyFan · 01-22-2007, 04:50 AM

Killing your dog is certainly no reason to become a serial killer!! I'm sure there have been other cases where dogs or pets have been killed yet the owners don't become vicious killers!

Yeah, a personality disorder is different from a psychiatric disorder but they didn't diagnose Brandt with a personality disorder either. It probably is not a rare mental illness but just a rare case of where someone went totally bezerk for some unknown reason.

I'm sure it was not in the national news since I follow the news closely and I never heard of it. The creepy part is just imagine what it was like in the house when the women were all alone and he started stabbing his wife and what she must've been thinking or saying out loud!! She must have been thinking, "WHY didn't I leave this guy when I was told he was a murderer???? And now my poor niece will die too!!"

I wonder what Michelle (the niece) was doing when he was stabbing his wife? Why don't you think Michelle had a chance to call 911 if Brandt's wife was the first one attacked?

And nowheregirl, what is your SN supposed to mean?? That you are invisible!?!? LOL!!

AB · 01-22-2007, 09:16 AM

Seeing his picture on tv, he looked like an ordinary guy. It makes you wonder
how many other people are out there like him. Hope I never run across one.

nohwheregirl · 01-23-2007, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big3sCompanyFan

I'm sure it was not in the national news since I follow the news closely and I never heard of it.

Do you remember which hurricane they were evacuating from? It just struck me that if it was, in fact, Katrina, than it would have been a much smaller story than if it had occurred at any other time.

Quote:

And nowheregirl, what is your SN supposed to mean?? That you are invisible!?!? LOL!!

It's a reference to this very obsure song.

Big3sCompanyFan · 01-23-2007, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nohwheregirl

Do you remember which hurricane they were evacuating from? It just struck me that if it was, in fact, Katrina, than it would have been a much smaller story than if it had occurred at any other time.

No, it was Hurricane Ivan since the murders occured in Sep. 2004 which was before Katrina.

The amazing thing is that Brandt killed Teri and Michelle in Michelle's house so he couldn't have been sure if any one of her friends/family might have just come knocking on the door before or while he was committing this horrible crime and cutting up Michelle.

If someone had knocked on the door and he was forced to open it then it could've changed everything at least for a while.

Thinman · 01-26-2007, 09:46 AM

This guy was absolutely the real Boogie Man. He makes other serial killers look like Sunday School teachers.

SitcomsAreTheWay · 01-30-2007, 01:31 PM

Whoa, now that's intense as well as horrific, as stated above. At 13 years old, I never imagined doing such things to any of my loved ones. Heck, not even now. He must have been suffering from SOMETHING (or even multiple) regarding the mental state because THAT definitely isn't an example of sanity.

beachgirl21 · 12-16-2008, 07:02 PM

Yes it was horrific! I was standing there when the policemen ran out the front door and got sick. Charlie was very odd but even knowing him, I never knew how crazy he really was.

treeman · 12-23-2008, 09:48 PM

I'm from Australia and saw this case the other day. Very interesting. Such a normal guy and he turns out to be this sick freak. Thanks for your imput beachgirl anything else you have to say about the case as you were actually a part of it?

-Ben

fromfortwayne · 11-24-2009, 08:19 PM

My parents bought the house from Herbert Brandt in 1971. I was exactly charlies age at the time. We moved in during january 1972. I ran into charlie and his father once at the grocery store right after we moved in and before they relocated to florida. I have no idea why my parents would buy a house where this kid went nuts, maybe they got an unbelievable deal or something. We lived in the house almost 4 years. The bullet holes were still in the tub and bathroom tile......anyway having lived there right after the attacks, I became privy to many of the neighborhood discussions. Being a boy charlie's age I couldn't find any kids in the neighborhood he associated with. From what I gathered, the father was very mean and didn't let charlie out of the house. Perhaps the father had a "guilty conscience" about how he raised charlie and that is why he took charlie back after he was let out of the mental hospital. It is my understanding that the dad was also mean to angela but the little girls were treated kindly. Maybe I am reaching, but was charlie a product of his environment? Spare the rod and spoil the child may have become "beat and abuse your kid until he becomes a serial killer".

nohwheregirl · 11-29-2009, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fromfortwayne

My parents bought the house from Herbert Brandt in 1971. I was exactly charlies age at the time. We moved in during january 1972. I ran into charlie and his father once at the grocery store right after we moved in and before they relocated to florida. I have no idea why my parents would buy a house where this kid went nuts, maybe they got an unbelievable deal or something. We lived in the house almost 4 years. The bullet holes were still in the tub and bathroom tile......anyway having lived there right after the attacks, I became privy to many of the neighborhood discussions. Being a boy charlie's age I couldn't find any kids in the neighborhood he associated with. From what I gathered, the father was very mean and didn't let charlie out of the house. Perhaps the father had a "guilty conscience" about how he raised charlie and that is why he took charlie back after he was let out of the mental hospital. It is my understanding that the dad was also mean to angela but the little girls were treated kindly. Maybe I am reaching, but was charlie a product of his environment? Spare the rod and spoil the child may have become "beat and abuse your kid until he becomes a serial killer".

Wow! That is amazing, fromfortwayne! Not to mention really really creepy. I'm curious about your reaction when you found out that Charlie Brandt had killed again.

That is interesting about rumors of abuse. It wouldn't surprise me at all that Charlie's father was abusive towards him, and if the father was abusive towards Charlie's mother, it would reinforce the idea that it's okay to victimize her. Of course, that's just speculation on my part. I'm sure we would all be very interested in any other information you might have about Charlie and/or his family.

01-21-2007, 12:43 AM	#1
nohwheregirl THE Mystery Machine Senior Member Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Posts: 1,057	48 Hours Mystery: Charlie Brandt Has anyone else here seen the 48 Hours episode on Carl "Charlie" Brandt? This was really one of the most disturbing things I've ever watched. He murdered his wife and niece, then hung himself in his niece's garage. Not to be gruesome, but the niece was decapitated and her heart removed. It seemed out of the blue, but when they looked into Brandt's past, they found out that he murdered his pregnant mother, and tried to murder the rest of his family when he was 13. After a year in a mental hospital (with no official diagnosis), he moved back in with his remaining family, and they never again spoke of the incident until after the murder/suicide. Since the mutilation of his niece's body was so expertly done, they knew he had done it before. Two more Florida murders were linked to Brandt through his M.O., but he was extremely well-travelled, and there is no telling how many people Brandt has murdered. There was also evidence that his wife knew about his past and suspected her husband of committing a local murder. Absolutely chilling.

01-21-2007, 03:12 AM	#2
Big3sCompanyFan Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 16, 2003 Posts: 2,493	Yes, I saw it and I agree that it was probably the most HORRIFIC crime scene I've ever heard of. It was so bad that the 3 cops who first saw went outside AND VOMITED!!!! He was obviously very sick but it was very strange they could never diagnose it. He seemed normal for so long then suddenly he snapped one final time and took his own life along with the others. I wonder what those mental health records indicated that the investigator got access to. It's scary to think there could be a very rare mental illness out there that no one knows about that results in behavior like this!!! I'm suprised none of us had ever heard of this guy since you think he would have acheived some infamy like other serial killers have.

01-22-2007, 04:50 AM	#4
Big3sCompanyFan Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 16, 2003 Posts: 2,493	Killing your dog is certainly no reason to become a serial killer!! I'm sure there have been other cases where dogs or pets have been killed yet the owners don't become vicious killers! Yeah, a personality disorder is different from a psychiatric disorder but they didn't diagnose Brandt with a personality disorder either. It probably is not a rare mental illness but just a rare case of where someone went totally bezerk for some unknown reason. I'm sure it was not in the national news since I follow the news closely and I never heard of it. The creepy part is just imagine what it was like in the house when the women were all alone and he started stabbing his wife and what she must've been thinking or saying out loud!! She must have been thinking, "WHY didn't I leave this guy when I was told he was a murderer???? And now my poor niece will die too!!" I wonder what Michelle (the niece) was doing when he was stabbing his wife? Why don't you think Michelle had a chance to call 911 if Brandt's wife was the first one attacked? And nowheregirl, what is your SN supposed to mean?? That you are invisible!?!? LOL!!

01-22-2007, 09:16 AM	#5
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,426	Seeing his picture on tv, he looked like an ordinary guy. It makes you wonder how many other people are out there like him. Hope I never run across one.

01-26-2007, 09:46 AM	#8
Thinman Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 08, 2005 Posts: 182	This guy was absolutely the real Boogie Man. He makes other serial killers look like Sunday School teachers.

01-30-2007, 01:31 PM	#9
SitcomsAreTheWay Retro Sitcoms Fanatic Forum Regular Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: NY Posts: 612	Whoa, now that's intense as well as horrific, as stated above. At 13 years old, I never imagined doing such things to any of my loved ones. Heck, not even now. He must have been suffering from SOMETHING (or even multiple) regarding the mental state because THAT definitely isn't an example of sanity.

12-16-2008, 07:02 PM	#10
beachgirl21 Member First Time Poster Join Date: Dec 16, 2008 Location: orlando Posts: 1	Yes it was horrific! I was standing there when the policemen ran out the front door and got sick. Charlie was very odd but even knowing him, I never knew how crazy he really was.

12-23-2008, 09:48 PM	#11
treeman -Treeman Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 12, 2005 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 151	I'm from Australia and saw this case the other day. Very interesting. Such a normal guy and he turns out to be this sick freak. Thanks for your imput beachgirl anything else you have to say about the case as you were actually a part of it? -Ben

11-24-2009, 08:19 PM	#12
fromfortwayne Member First Time Poster Join Date: Nov 24, 2009 Location: Indiana Posts: 1	My parents bought the house from Herbert Brandt in 1971. I was exactly charlies age at the time. We moved in during january 1972. I ran into charlie and his father once at the grocery store right after we moved in and before they relocated to florida. I have no idea why my parents would buy a house where this kid went nuts, maybe they got an unbelievable deal or something. We lived in the house almost 4 years. The bullet holes were still in the tub and bathroom tile......anyway having lived there right after the attacks, I became privy to many of the neighborhood discussions. Being a boy charlie's age I couldn't find any kids in the neighborhood he associated with. From what I gathered, the father was very mean and didn't let charlie out of the house. Perhaps the father had a "guilty conscience" about how he raised charlie and that is why he took charlie back after he was let out of the mental hospital. It is my understanding that the dad was also mean to angela but the little girls were treated kindly. Maybe I am reaching, but was charlie a product of his environment? Spare the rod and spoil the child may have become "beat and abuse your kid until he becomes a serial killer".