Murder of Audreanna Zimmerman

Prior to the March 24, 2010 assault, the victim, Audreanna Redawn Zimmerman, was acquainted with her killers, Tina Lasonya Brown, her daughter Britnee Angelique Miller, and their neighbor Heather Trinee Lee. All four women lived in neighboring trailers in an Escambia County mobile home park. However, the relationship between Brown, Miller and Zimmerman deteriorated by 2010. On one occasion, Miller caught Zimmerman having a sexual relationship with Miller's boyfriend. Miller attempted to strike Zimmerman over this, and Zimmerman used a stun gun on Miller in self-defense. Several days after the stun gun incident, Brown invited Zimmerman to her home under the guise of rekindling their friendship. Upon Zimmerman's arrival, she was attacked by Brown, Miller and Lee. Zimmerman was beaten with a crowbar by Brown, who also used a stun gun to shock her several times. Afterwards, the trio abducted Zimmerman by dragging her into a car and brought her to a nearby forest. They then doused Zimmerman with gasoline and set her on fire. ==Trial proceedings==

Heather Trinee Lee Heather Lee became the first of the three killers to stand trial for the murder of Audreanna Zimmerman. On November 3, 2011, Lee reached a plea agreement with the prosecution, and pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge. As a condition of her plea bargain, Lee agreed to testify against her co-defendants, and in exchange for her testimony, the prosecution agreed to reduce the original charge of first-degree murder, drop the kidnapping charge and the death penalty was ultimately taken off the table. On July 20, 2012, Lee was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Tina Lasonya Brown Tina Brown was the second of the three perpetrators to stand trial for the murder of Audreanna Zimmerman. Brown stood trial before an Escambia County jury on June 18, 2012. Closing arguments were made three days later on June 21, 2012. On June 21, 2012, the jury found 41-year-old Tina Brown guilty of first-degree murder. The jury reportedly deliberated the case for an hour before they returned with the guilty verdict. A few days after Brown's conviction, on June 26, 2012, the same jury returned with their verdict on sentence, unanimously recommending the death penalty for Brown, who purportedly apologized to the family of the victim in court. The case of Brown as one of the notable death penalty cases handled by Assistant State Attorney Bridgette Jensen, who was known for sending several infamous killers to prison (including death row). Britnee Angelique Miller Britnee Miller was the third and final perpetrator to stand trial for the murder of Audreanna Zimmerman. Miller pleaded guilty to the charge of first-degree murder, but as she was below 18 at the time of the offense, and as such, she would not face the death penalty and the only possible sentence was life imprisonment. On May 7, 2013, Miller was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. ==Appeal process==

Miller In March 2017, Britnee Miller appealed to withdraw her guilty plea. She argued that she was a juvenile at the time of the trial, and hence she had not understood when she entered her plea that she could still be sentenced to life. Miller also stated that under the plea agreement, she was entitled to withdraw her plea of guilt if the U.S. Supreme Court decided that life in prison was in any way permissible for juveniles; at that time, the U.S. Supreme Court were deliberating and ultimately ruling that juveniles should not be required to serve mandatory life sentences without parole for offences attracting such a punishment. However, the prosecution countered that based on the terms of her agreement, Miller could only withdraw her plea if the U.S. Supreme Court's decision was not beneficial to Miller's case. That same month, Miller's bid to rescind her guilty plea was rejected by the courts. In October 2017, Miller's re-sentencing trial began before a trial court in Florida. During the hearing, the defence presented psychiatric reports and other exhibits of evidence to show mitigating factors in favour of a sentence lower than life. It was adduced from the defence's evidence that Miller committed the crime out of a deep desire for her mother's approval, and that Miller was a victim of trauma caused by childhood abuse, abandonment, and sexual exploitation, which were among the defence's points of submission for a lenient sentence. On November 6, 2017, Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh once again sentenced Miller to life imprisonment. In light of her juvenile status, Miller was allowed to have her first sentencing review in 15 years. On April 3, 2019, the Florida First District Court of Appeal affirmed the reinstatement of Miller's life sentence. Brown On May 15, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed Tina Brown's appeal against her death sentence and murder conviction. On July 8, 2014, a second appeal by Brown to the Florida Supreme Court was also rejected. On December 1, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Brown's appeal. In 2018, Brown filed another appeal. She argued that her original trial counsel was ineffective and added that Lee had more culpability in the crime, and some of the jurors should have been dismissed due to various alleged reasons they had for potential disqualification from jury selection. On April 5, 2019, Circuit Judge Gary L. Bergosh denied the appeal of Brown and stated that Brown did not provide supporting evidence to prove her claims or how they would have impacted on the outcome of his trial. On August 27, 2020, Brown's sixth appeal to the Florida Supreme Court was dismissed. By 2023, Brown filed a post-conviction motion, attempting to vacate her conviction and sentence. In the appeal, Brown's lawyers argued that a key witness against Brown, Corie Doyle, had lied on the witness stand at the behest of one of Brown's accomplices Heather Lee, and her disputed credibility raised doubts over the validity of her death sentence. On May 10, 2024, Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh rejected Brown's appeal, ruling that the new evidence did not raise a reasonable doubt over the conviction of Brown. ==Other developments and aftermath==

Brown's death row status By early 2017, Tina Brown was one of five women held on death row at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Florida. The other four were: Emilia Carr, Ana Maria Cardona, Margaret Allen and Tiffany Cole. In June of that same year, Carr's death sentence was commuted to life without parole following an evidential hearing over her case, and Cardona was similarly re-sentenced to life without parole in December 2017 after a third re-trial for the murder she was formerly condemned for. By March 2023, only Brown, Allen and Cole remained on death row, after the commutation of Cardona's and Carr's death sentences. Subsequently, in August 2023, Cole's death sentence was revoked and she was re-sentenced to life imprisonment without parole by the jury's majority decision of 10–2, leaving Allen and Brown the last two women under a death sentence in Florida. On December 13, 2024, Brown's only companion on death row, Margaret Allen, died of natural causes at the age of 58 while on death row. Allen's death made Brown the sole remaining woman on Florida's death row awaiting her execution. As of 2025, Brown is still incarcerated on death row at the Lowell Correctional Institution. Status of Miller and Lee After her sentencing, Heather Lee is presently incarcerated at the Gadsden Correctional Facility. Her projected release date is September 2, 2031. Britnee Miller is currently serving her life sentence at the Lowell Correctional Institution as of 2025. ==See also==