Don’t let unsolved murders be forgotten

His daughter called him Dad. His grandchildren knew him as Pop. He was Shorty to his friends. His real name was Mark Brammeier.

His daughter called him a traveler. Everyone else called him homeless. He wasn’t from Dothan. He was just passing through.

Nobody knows when he arrived in Dothan, but we know he never left.

Brammeier was found nearly beaten to death under an awning around 2 p.m. on Sept. 23, 2006, in front of Plaza Pharmacy, 277 W. Main St. As reported in the Eagle, every bone in his face was broken — his upper and lower jaw cracked, both eye sockets shattered, palette destroyed and a piece of skull crushed and pushing into his brain. He was on life support — a feeding tube going into his stomach keeping his body nourished and a tube in his throat so he could breathe.

He woke up once and communicated with his daughter, but then he slipped back into a coma and never came out of it. He died before he could tell the police anything about the attack that eventually killed him.

The Eagle published a story last Sunday about unsolved murders in the Wiregrass. There are more than 30 cold cases throughout five counties.
While editing the story, I noticed a name missing from the list of unsolved cases in Dothan – Brammeier.

I told the reporter to call the Dothan Police Department to check on this case. The officer he called wasn’t at his desk at the time and didn’t remember the name right away. The officer called back later that afternoon to confirm that Brammeier’s case was still unsolved.

I can’t imagine the heartbreak of having a family member murdered, and then knowing that the killer or killers are still on the streets.

Solving murders is not an easy task. Television dramas make it look easy by solving crimes in less than an hour every week. If only it was that easy.

Cases like Brammeier are troubling, not only because a man was brutally killed, but because it’s becoming too common in this country. Homeless people have been beaten to death throughout the U.S. Why? My guess is they are easy targets for people with callous hearts.

Homeless people don’t have money, or if they do, it’s very little. They’re not being killed because the killer wants the shoes or clothes they are wearing. Most of their clothes are hand-me-downs.

The scary thought is that the people who killed Brammeier and others whose cases are unsolved are still out there somewhere. Are they planning their next murder? Do they feel the slightest twinge of guilt?

Brammeier’s daughter’s fear after her father’s death was that the attackers would never be caught because people saw him as a bum or a hobo.
In an Eagle story, she said she was told by the police that they were investigating eight murders. She realized her father’s case wasn’t their top priority. I hope she’s wrong.

Every unsolved murder should be a top priority, no matter if the victim was homeless or lived in a mansion. Society has a terrible way of classifying people that makes it appear one person is more important than another.

I like what the Apostle James writes in the Bible in James 2: 1-4: “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,“ but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,“ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (New International Version)

I hope police departments don’t discriminate. A life is a life, regardless of social status, financial wealth or position in the community.

The police can’t do it all, though. If someone saw who beat Brammeier or has any information about the 30-plus unsolved murders in the Wiregrass, call the police. They need tips and clues to find and arrest the murderers who are walking free on our streets.

Ken Tuck is the managing editor of the Dothan Eagle and regional editor of Media General Alabama Newspapers. He can be reached at or 334-712-7960.