Megan Nichols Cause Of Death: Megan Nichols, 15, vanished from her residence in Fairfield, Illinois, in early July of 2014. “Dateline: The Note” on NBC describes what occurred. Before her skeletal remains were discovered nearly four years later, authorities believed she had fled.
The police made startling discoveries during their investigation, including sexual offenders and a classic love triangle. If you want to know what happened to Megan and who murdered her, we have your back. So, shall we commence?
Megan Nichols Cause Of Death
Megan Paige Nichols was born on July 18, 1998 in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, to parents Jackson Nichols and Kathy Jo Hutchcraft. Her presence brought joy to everyone she met because she was a young woman full of vitality and optimism. During her time at New Hope School, her enthusiasm for cheerleading, softball, volleyball, and the school band was boundless.
She was a significant contributor to the varsity volleyball team at Fairfield Community High School, where she pursued her passion for volleyball. Megan’s band and show choir performances were where she could truly let free and express joy to the audience through her musical talents.
Through her involvement in the First Baptist Church, she was very invested in the Fairfield community. She loved singing in the church choir and hanging out with her youth group pals as a means to show her devotion to Jesus. When she returned home, the adolescent relished the opportunity to play her ukulele and perform for her family and friends.
Her life’s mission was remarkably straightforward: to improve the lives of those she cherished. Therefore, Megan’s disappearance from the residence she shared with her mother and stepfather in Fairfield, Illinois on July 3, 2014 came as a shock.
On July 3, Megan and her mother had planned to perform errands, including a shopping trip. During their outing, the adolescent abruptly felt ill and expressed a desire to return home and rest. She either received a text message on her phone or simply felt queasy, but it is unclear which. Therefore, Kathy returned her to their home and abandoned her there.
Her short errand took her almost an hour to complete. When Kathy returned home at approximately 11:00 p.m., she was startled to discover that Megan was not in her room. When Megan went missing, her parents and grandmother rushed to the police station out of pure terror and concern. Due to the teenager’s brief absence, their hopes for immediate assistance were regrettably dashed.
The police stated they could do nothing immediately. Kathy and her mother were disheartened by this response, but they returned home determined to continue searching for any information that could lead them to Megan.
To quote Kathy: “We went back upstairs, and when I pulled back her blanket, I discovered her phone. When I picked it up, my heart sank.” Texts, contacts, and images belonging to Megan had been removed from the phone. Additionally, they discovered a note written by Megan in her chamber.
“It stated, ‘Mom, I love you, but I’ll never be happy here,'” said Kathy. There is no sense in wasting your time attempting to locate someone who does not wish to be located. Even though Megan’s mother asserts that the lyrics are not her own, the composition appears to be Megan’s.
Megan’s remains were discovered in a rural location of Wayne County, Illinois, on December 26, 2017. The federal government positively identified Megan’s remains as hers on January 26, 2018. According to police sources, she was strangled to death.
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Why Did Megan Nichols Get Murdered?
A acquaintance of Kathy’s suggested that she investigate her bank accounts after she allegedly discovered a note from Megan. Concerns were warranted when it was discovered that a cash withdrawal had been made around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3. Megan had gone on a bike ride earlier in the day before returning home with an illness. The timeline corresponded to the period of her bike ride.
Kathy reported that the last time she saw her daughter was on a surveillance video of an ATM, where she was making a withdrawal just before disappearing. The police did not have to search for long before discovering a firm lead. According to court documents, Jackson Nichols, Megan’s biological father, was a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a registered sexual offender.
Obviously, there were two sources of inquiry oriented towards him. The first question is whether he could have physically harmed her given his legal standing. Megan could have chosen to be with her father in the event of a domestic emergency, secondly. Now that arrest warrants had been issued for Jackson, US Marshals were able to apprehend him. He wasn’t a suspect for long, however.
Even though Kathy had misgivings about Megan’s disappearance, she never suspected her ex-husband. Before she vanished, she revealed that her daughter had been dating Brodey Ian Murbarger. However, the situation was complicated by the fact that he was also seeing someone else, transforming it into a classic love triangle.
Given the age difference between Megan (then 15) and Brodey (then 18), Kathy grew concerned. One evening, she confiscated Megan’s phone and read her text messages before deciding how to proceed. Megan’s text messages to her mother exposed her inner anguish as she vented her rage. Brodey stated that he was rushing to get her.
Concerned by the events, Kathy recalled the young man and forbade him to have any further contact with Megan. However, the issue was not at all resolved. Megan mysteriously vanished the day after Memorial Day in 2014, and Kathy learned that Megan was evidently with Brodey.
Megan’s last phone calls before she disappeared were to Brodey, as evidenced by her phone’s call logs. Kathy noticed something peculiar on the surveillance footage of the Megan ATM. Fairfield Police stated that they were unable to confirm that the automobile in the background was Brodey’s, though it appeared to be very similar.
After being unjustly accused, he ultimately stated on Facebook that he had nothing to do with Megan’s kidnapping. However, the investigation took an unexpected turn when Megan’s body was located and identified.
On September 25, 2020, an Illinois grand jury indicted Brodey for the 2014 homicide of Megan. On October 7, 2020, he was detained without incident outside of his Evansville, Indiana place of employment, and his apartment complex, Lakewood West, was searched.
After his extradition to Illinois, three counts of first-degree murder, one count of concealment of a homicidal death, and two counts of home invasion were lodged against him. His 50-year sentence was suspended on January 27, 2023.
