South Carolina man charged in the murder of Black fiancée
Michael Lee Wilkerson allegedly killed Brittany Michelle Davis and then sent her mother text messages as if she were still alive
A South Carolina man has been accused of killing his Black fiancée and continuing to text her mother after her death to make it seem as though she were still alive.
Michael Lee Wilkerson was taken into custody on Aug. 24 in the murder of Brittany Michelle Davis, WSPA reports. Davis had been missing for more than a year when human remains were found in a wooded area in Georgia in April.
DNA testing confirmed that the remains were that of Davis, 32.
Davis was last seen alive at a restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina in February 2020. Police suspect that Wilkerson killed Davis on or about Feb. 12 last year.
According to police, Davis had been living with Wilkerson, 42, at the time of her death.
Her family reported her missing on March 16, 2020.
A cause of death has not yet been determined but police uncovered evidence during their investigation to charge him with murder and that she was a victim of “foul play.” Wilkerson was taken into custody by US Marshals Task Force, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gwinnett County Police Department during a traffic stop in Buford, Georgia.
“Based on evidence obtained during the investigation, detectives had probable cause to charge Michael Lee Wilkerson, 42, with the murder of Brittany Michelle Davis,” officials said.
Wilkerson will be extradited from the Gwinnett County jail, where he is currently being held, to South Carolina where he will face charges and Davis’s family.
“To say that this is a nightmare is an understatement,” Davis’ mother, Melanie Holliman, told WHNS last July.
Holliman was led to believe that Davis was alive through a series of texts allegedly sent by Wilkerson.
Davis’ mother received text messages from her 32-year-old daughter last February and March in which she claimed to be returning from a trip to Puerto Rico. Davis never took the trip.
“The story was she had gotten a plane ticket booked to Puerto Rico,” Brian Paiz, Davis’ former co-worker, told WSPA. “And I knew she loved Puerto Rico because me and her spoke about that, but she never got on the flight.”
Paiz further said that wondering what happened to Davis, who was missing for over a year, was extremely painful for her friends and family.
“People pass away of cancer or they pass away in a car wreck or something like that. You can kind of know what it was,” Paiz said. “But to not know where she was and how she passed away, I think that was the biggest thing that really just hurt everybody.”
Paiz says he hopes that Holliman found some measure of closure finally knowing what happened to her daughter.
“It’s sad and you’re kind of sick to your stomach,” Paiz said. “But I will say this… I’m glad that her mom, who is such a sweet person, and her brothers, got some closure.”
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