Rich Graham Explains the Brinson Murder!!!!

The Racheyl Brinson Incident –

Accident or Murder?

By Rich Graham

Sunday, November 25, 2001 was to be the day that Racheyl Brinson would tell her estranged husband,
Steven, that she wanted a divorce. That same day Racheyl’s life came to a sudden and tragic end. Steven
was the last person to see her alive.

Racheyl was 32 years old and the mother of a two year old son, Cole. Cole’s father was Steven Brinson. Steven was several years older than Racheyl when she began dating him while she was still in high school in Kingsland, Georgia. Racheyl had been a good student and an excellent athlete possessing cat-like agility. She
was able to compete with the boys in softball, football, gymnastics and other sports. Her father died when she was just fourteen. She took over the outdoor maintenance chores at home, including operating machinery
and caring for her riding horse.

After high school Racheyl attended Florida Community College in Jacksonville for a year learning computer skills. She then returned to home and worked for ten years as an assistant manager at a local auto parts
store. Steven was employed as an electrician. They married in 1989 and built a new house. Although the
future held promise, alcohol use and abuse crept into their lives, followed by Stephen’s infidelity. When
Steven promised to stop his philandering and be a responsible husband, Racheyl became pregnant and
Cole was born in October 1999. Then she obtained a better paying job working at the US Navy’s Kingsbay
Submarine Base. Soon Steven went back to drinking and staying out late, even missing work. He was allegedly stopped several times for DUI. But, his uncle was the county sheriff and the “good ole boy” system protected himfrom arrest. Domestic disturbances were reported to the police. But, Steven would simply leave before the cops arrived and no police action would occur.

Steven rarely babys at and spent little time with Cole. Racheyl was doing all of the household chores and the
outdoor maintenance as well. Her income alone was sufficient to maintain the home. Steven was not
contributing to supporting the family. He had become a liability and a physical threat. During the last week of
Racheyl’s life Steven had not been residing at home. Instead, he was staying at their camp at the Mumford Island Hunting Club in nearby Woodbine. Three of Racheyl’s friends later told private investigators that
Racheyl intended to ask Steven for a divorce on the day she died. On that fateful Sunday morning Racheyl’s
mother, Pat Smith, had taken Cole to church. Racheyl was at home, and had made plans to meet a girlfriend at the hunting club that afternoon. They planned to hunt deer from their tree stands. But that friend had to work over and was unable to keep the hunting date.

Pat said Racheyl was sober when she last saw her at about 2:40 PM. About one-half hour later Racheyl and
Steven were observed by several other hunt club members as they were sighting in their rifles at the club’s
shooting range. These witnesses later said that Steven and Racheyl were both drinking a beer, but both
 appeared to be sober when the parted company at 3:30PM. There would be just a couple of hours of daylight left for hunting. This was the last time that anyone other than Steven saw Racheyl alive.

According to Steven, he drove Racheyl several miles from the shooting range to the spot where they normally hunted. He claimed that Racheyl didn’t want to hunt from her usual tree stand and chose to use one that hadnot been used for years and had been decaying. Steven said he walked in an opposite direction to hunt from astand a few hundred yards away. The plan was to meet back at their truck at dark, he said.

When Racheyl didn’t show up, a little before 6:00 PM as planned, Steven said that he walked back to her
stand where he found her lying face down at the base of the tree. He said he checked for vital signs, then went back to his truck and used his CB radio to call for help. He also called 911 from his cell phone. Racheyl was deceased when rescuers arrived.

Camden County Sheriff’s deputies had responded to the call. Accepting Steven’s account at face value,
they notified the GBNR (Georgia Bureau of Natural Resources). Since this was considered to be a hunting
accident, that agency was designated to conduct the official investigation. By the time an agent arrived, the
incident scene had been abandoned. No physical evidence had been collected and no crime scene
preserved. No photographs had been taken to document the scene. No physical examination of Steven’s body was made to search for injuries or other evidence of a scuffle.

Two days later Doctor Lora Darrisaw, GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation), performed an autopsy. She
has since acknowledged that, had she been told about domestic violence, she would have been more vigilant
in her examination. She determined that the cause of death was “blunt force trauma of the head comprised of
a complete transverse basiiar skull fracture (middle cranial fossa)”. Other injuries noted included “blunt force injuries of chest”, “multiple right posterior rib fractures” and “fracture of the right clavicle”. Based upon the autopsy report and the statement provided by Steven Brinson, the coroner ruled the manner of death as “accidental” due to the victim falling from a tree stand.

Curiously, although the witnesses who saw Racheyl at 3:30 said that she appeared to be sober; and,
considering that she was supposed to have been hunting from a tree stand thereafter; her BAC was reported tobe .15 per cent, nearly double the legal limit for DUI.

This begs the question, “Was Racheyl actually hunting alone from a tree stand? Or, did she continue to drink
alcohol and not go hunting at all?” Questions arose about the competency of the GBNR to conduct a thorough death investigation, which should have occurred in this case. Did the relationship between Steven Brinson and the sheriff influence the efforts of the investigator(s)? Why was the scene not documented
by photography? Why was the medical examiner not told of domestic violence? Did Racheyl tell Steven she
wanted a divorce? If so, did Steven react violently and beat Racheyl? Is it likely that a person as agile as
Racheyl would have fallen from a tree stand?

These are some of the many unanswered questions that tormented Pat Smith. She could get no answers
from the authorities. She sought help from her local legislator, from the state’s attorney general and others,
but no one would agree to investigate further. So, in 2003, after hearing positive comments about fellow
Vidocq Society member Robert Ressler, Pat contacted him and asked him to help. Due to other commitments, Mr. Ressler referred the matter to Rich Graham and his partner, Betsy Ross, of RGI (Ross-Graham Investigations).

Reports of RGI’s findings have been provided to the GBI, the county coroner and others. Although much
credible evidence was developed that suggests this was a homicide, the coroner has refused to change his ruling as to the manner of death, which officially remains “accidental”. Even a finding of “equivocal”, if not
“homicide”, would probably suffice to prompt the local prosecutor and state authorities to reopen the case. But, the coroner remains steadfast with his ruling.

Racheyl’s family and friends, though discouraged, continue to hold out the hope that one day some
responsible person in authority will act responsibly and reopen the case.

About the author:
Rich Graham is a retired Pennsylvania State Trooper who is now self-employed as a private investigator. His
agency, Ross-Graham Investigations, specializes in death investigations and criminal defense cases. Rich
is a volunteer team member with “Project ALERT” of NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children”. He is also a recently approved member of the Vidocq Society. He can be reached for comment at
rich@ross-graham.com or #814-758-4798.