After nearly four decades of heartbreak and unanswered questions, justice may finally be in sight for the family of Shirley Brant, a beloved real estate developer who was shot and killed in her office in 1986.
Authorities announced the arrest of Jeffrey Taylor, now 64, in connection with Brant’s murder. He is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm.
Brant was on a phone call with a client at her North Miami Beach real estate office on June 13, 1986, when two men entered. A temporary employee at the office heard Brant cry out and plead, “Don’t shoot!” before she was fatally shot. The attackers fled the scene with cash and credit cards.
At the time, police said the suspects were “nicely dressed,” wearing dress pants and collared shirts, possibly to blend in or appear professional.
For years, the case went cold. Although investigators found fingerprints at the scene, the prints were not entered into the national system because they didn’t meet the standards at the time.
But this year, detectives resubmitted the evidence, and in March, the fingerprints were matched to Taylor.
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North Miami Police Chief Juan Pinillos praised the breakthrough, saying, “This arrest shows that we never give up on justice. We hope this brings some peace to the Brant family.”
Shirley Brant, a mother of four and wife of a local dentist, was remembered by her son, Dr. Steven Brant, as a “very, very talented woman” who once sang on cruise ships before building a career in real estate.
Her husband, Lawrence, was devastated by her death and even hired a private investigator to keep the case alive.
“She passed away one week before her 50th birthday,” Steven Brant recalled. “She never got to hear the words, ‘It’s nifty to be 50.’”
Taylor is being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. His next court appearance has not yet been announced.
