Detectives have made a breakthrough in the mysterious death of a real estate broker who was murdered in her Florida office almost four decades ago.
Jeffrey Taylor, 64, has been charged with second-degree murder with a firearm over the June 1986 killing of Shirley Brant, then 49, in North Miami Beach.
The major development came after detectives uncovered a key piece of evidence which was overlooked during the initial investigation 38 years ago.
North Miami Beach Police Chief Juan Pinillos said Taylor was identified through a fingerprint recovered from the crime scene during a 2023 cold case review.
Scientists at the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office crime lab matched the fingerprint to Taylor, of Liberty City, Florida, on March 21, 2025, and he was arrested on Thursday.
The case had been one of the city’s longest-running unsolved homicides.
Detectives announced the breakthrough at an emotional press conference with Brant’s family on Friday.
Shirley Brant was killed during a robbery at her real estate office in Miami in June 1986. Police have finally made a breakthrough after a fingerprint was identified at the scene
Jeffrey Taylor, 64, has been charged with second-degree murder with a firearm over the June 1986 death of Shirley Brant, then 49, in North Miami Beach, Florida
‘Justice has finally caught up with a suspect in the 1986 murder of our victim, Shirley Brant,’ Pinillos said.
The victim’s son, Ben Brant, said his family have not been able to get closure on the horrific case as they struggled to grapple with the lack of answers for decades.
‘It affected everyone,’ he told the press conference, per CBS News.
He added that he was working with his mother at the time of her death.
Brant described her as a generous and pioneering businesswoman.
‘She was ahead of her time… breaking the glass ceiling and she gave her money to philanthropy,’ he said.
Brant’s husband passed away before an arrest was made.
He worked tirelessly to try and track down her killer, according to another son of the victim, Steven Brant.
‘He missed my mom terribly, terribly. He hired a private eye to look over things and to see that everything was done,’ he told People.
The victim’s son, Ben Brant, said his family have not been able to get closure on the horrific case as they struggled to grapple with the lack of answers for decades
Detectives have made a breakthrough in the mysterious death of a real estate broker who was murdered in her Florida office almost four decades ago
Police said Taylor was 26 at the time of the killing, while dubbing him a ‘career criminal’.
Pinillos said the breakthrough in Brant’s case came after retired sergeants Pam Denham and Yvette Darden were drafted in to help.
‘We started shouting when we heard the news,’ Darden said.
‘(We are) glad to bring closure to the family.’
But the case isn’t closed yet – Taylor will face a trial, and police are still searching for a second suspect involved in the attempted robbery and shooting.
‘We will continue to fight for justice no matter how long it takes,’ Pinillos said.
