Brenda Jean Pruitt was a woman who was found murdered in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 4, 1990.
She was identified via fingerprints in March 1991 and was considered the second chronological victim of the Package Killer. In March 2023, Gary Muehlberg pleaded guilty to her murder and the murder of the other victims.
Background[]
Brenda lived near the intersection of South Grand Boulevard and Cherokee Street. This was close to the Southside Stroll, which was then the city's red-light district, and it ran along Cherokee Street between Jefferson and Gravois Avenues. She had a daughter named Danielle. Danielle went on to have two daughters, one named Brenda and the other named Antinelle. The younger Brenda stated that the only thing she knew about her grandmother was that she was petite, energetic, always up on her feet, and liked to go on early morning walks. She was also clumsy, something the younger Brenda inherited.
In a 2022 interview with the Riverfront Times, Antinelle stated that Brenda took Danielle out for ice cream on Cherokee Street when she disappeared. While Danielle had her ice cream, Brenda argued with a man in an alley and returned to Danielle in tears. Antinelle wondered if the man was Muehlberg after his confession, but nothing indicates that Muehlberg and Brenda had any history.
Brenda was last seen on May 4, 1990. She was reported missing to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on May 9, 1990.
Case[]
Brenda's body was found by two Maryland Heights municipal employees, Alvin Maze and Andre Jones. The men were cutting weeds and clearing trash at 12400 Basston Drive when they noticed a 32-gallon trash can lying in the grass. When they went to put the trash can on their truck, they discovered her decomposing body inside the trash can. They called the Maryland Heights Police Department, which responded to the call at 9:24 a.m.
Her body had a ligature wrapped around her neck and a cloth tied around her mouth and eyes. Her legs were pulled tight against her chest in an unnatural position. Found with her were a halter top and a black cross necklace with a jewel in its center.
Investigators initially believed the body could have been Sandy Little, who was reported missing around that time, but her body was found on February 17, 1991. In March 1991, finger analyst Janet Majors identified Brenda's body as hers.
The trash bin was connected to a business called Beiner Hardware. Detectives interviewed employees and customers who may have bought the bins, but none of the employees recognized any of the three suspects police had at the time.
Between 1990 and 1991, three women disappeared from the Southside Stroll and were later found murdered around St. Louis County. All of the victims were found with ligatures around their necks, their faces covered, and dog hair from the same type of dog. Their bodies were found in conspicuous packages, such as between a pair of mattresses, in a large trash bin, and a plywood box. This led authorities to dub the serial killer "The Package Killer."
In September 2022, Gary Muehlberg, who was incarcerated for the 1993 robbery murder of Kenneth Atchison, was connected to the case after his DNA matched the crime scenes. Muehlberg was never listed as a suspect or person of interest in the case before then. When O'Fallon Police Department Sergeant Jodi Weber spoke to him, he confessed to the murders of Brenda, Robyn Mihan, and Sandy Little. He stated that he took them to his house in Bel-Ridge, where the victims were subjected to numerous acts of torture before Muehlberg strangled them and dumped their bodies where they were found. Later that month, he confessed to the 1991 murder of Donna Reitmeyer and an unidentified woman, whose remains have not been located or connected to another case.
At the time of his confession, Danielle had already passed away three years ago, but Antinelle and Brenda were still alive. In March 2023, Muehlberg pleaded guilty to all four murders of the known victims. Weber is still investigating the identity of his unknown fifth victim.
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