GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — Somehow, family members of Brittany Powell mustered enough strength to walk inside the dugout where police found Brittany's body just six months ago.
"I cry every day," Brittany's grandmother, Brigitte, said as she fought back tears. "I need to know that when she took her last breath, who put her there."
Police have been working to answer that question since that February night. A toxicology report determined drugs were in Brittany's system at the time of her death, but detectives working the case have ruled out an overdose.
"There wasn't any paraphernalia that would be consistent with the drug of choice," Detective Chris Faas of the Georgetown Police Department said. "So, there was suspicion that the scene had been manipulated."
Detective Anthony Delimp, who leads Lexington's Crime Stoppers unit, said there is more to the story than just an overdose.
"Somebody brought her here, or somebody was with her," he said.
Brittany's family members weren't shy about discussing her drug addiction, saying she had been in rehab on several occasions over the years. But, like investigators, they don't believe she took her own life.
"(With) the amount of drugs in her system and they did toxicology; it's not possible," Brittany's sister, Brigitte, said. "There's no way (she did this alone). She, how can I put this, she didn’t have the tools."
"She would never do this to herself. She loved her kids too much, and she's afraid of the dark. Afraid to be by herself," said Brittany's mother, Regina Powell. "Brittany had four children, who are now being raised by their great-grandmother, Brigitte."
"We need this, we need this closure for those kids," she added. "When they get older, they're going to ask, 'what happened to mom?' I have no answer."
* Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for any information leading to an arrest. If you know anything about the death of Brittany Powell, you're asked to the call the anonymous tip line at 859-253-2020.
