Dateline: The Stranger - Who was Brittany Tavar and what happened to her? Disturbing details of the 2010 case, revealed

Dateline Season 21, Episode 57, titled The Stranger, followed the mysterious disappearance of 45-year-old Brittany Tavar and the subsequent resolution of the case. The official synopsis, as per IMDb, mentions,

“She yearned to make it in Hollywood. Instead, Brittany Tavar made headlines when she vanished. Investigators had plenty of leads - a handsome boarder, the friend turned enemy, or they wondered if the free spirit could have left on her own.”

Brittany lived in St. Augustine, Florida, when she went missing. Let us now explore her case in detail, as shown on Dateline.

Brittany Tavar earned her living as a photographer and real estate agent, as shown in Dateline

45-year-old Brittany Tavar was a friendly person who had a large circle of friends in St. Augustine. She had briefly tried her luck in Hollywood before returning to St. Augustine, where she started working as a real estate agent and a photographer to earn her living.

As Brittany went missing on July 6, 2010, along with some of her essentials and car, the police initially did not pay much attention because previously she had gone off this way without informing anyone. Moreover, her family lived far away, and therefore, it was only after her dogs were seen to be roaming on their own that the police took notice of her absence.

Brittany Tavar was murdered by Joseph “Joe” Roberts, as shown in Dateline

As police began the investigation to find Brittany, her dead body was found in the woods after months of searching. At first, the suspicion fell on Anne, her neighbor with whom she had a feud. Moreover, it also came to light that Brittany was supposed to present DVD evidence against Anne in court on the very same day that she disappeared.

However, Annie successfully provided an alibi for herself, and her insistence on her innocence made the police look for other people who might be behind Brittany’s disappearance. This led them to Joseph “Joe” Roberts, whom Brittany had met at a Barnes and Noble bookstore.

After she had learnt that Joe did not have a space to live, she offered him shelter, and in return, he was supposed to prepare the DVD that Brittany was to present in court. However, in the process of the investigation, the police came to know that Joe had also been missing since the day of Brittany’s disappearance.

The police then got access to CCTV footage that showed Joe spending money at the Oregon Walmart. He was finally captured in Seattle, Washington, as he was caught stealing meat. After the police took him into custody, Joe admitted to killing Brittany as she allegedly did not like the DVD evidence that he had made for her.

Joe pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and in 2014 was sentenced to 30 years in jail. He is currently in Apalachee Correctional Institution-East Unit in Jackson County.

Dateline can be streamed on Peacock.

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