Britton, 43, was found in her home in the 10200 block of Shirley Meadows Court
by a family member, police said. The family member called 911 around 2 p.m. and
police responded.
Police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn declined to offer any further details about
the incident. She said reports are not released until the investigation is
complete and she was unsure when the investigation would be finished.
"While we understand the need for the public to have information, we have to
consider the family's right to privacy, too," Llewellyn said.
Christopher Flohr, Britton's attorney, released a statement Jan. 29 that read,
in part: "Brandy was and always will be a good, kind and generous soul who will
be dearly missed by her friends and family, but her death underscores an
important question: Was the public benefited at all by the resources spent on
her arrest and prosecution? As we ponder the apparent senselessness of her
passing, we must openly wonder about the purpose, necessity and utility of a
criminal justice system that seeks to punish a person rather than to heal
them."
Case now considered closed
Britton was due back in court Monday, Feb. 5, said Wayne Kirwan, a spokesman
for Howard County State's Attorney Timothy McCrone.
"Late last week, though, it came to our attention that the defense was going to
ask for a postponement for a situation with the defense attorney's family," he
said. "The case will now be closed."
Kirwan said the prosecution will file an ''abatement by death" motion Feb. 5,
which will formally drop the charges against Britton and close the court case.
Britton, a former assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County, was charged in January 2006 with four counts of prostitution out of her
Ellicott City home.
Police had been investigating Britton for 10 months following numerous
complaints that she was running a house of prostitution, according to charging
documents.
The investigation culminated when a police officer entered Britton's home and
was directed by her to an upstairs bedroom, where she told the officer to
undress and place money on a table by the door, charging documents state.
Her trial was postponed in October 2006 because the courtroom slated for trial
was busy.
Britton faced home eviction
In addition to her trial, Britton was also facing eviction from her home Feb.
1, according to Cpl. Dave Miller, of the Howard County Sherrif's Office
landlord and tenant section.
Miller said Britton's Shirley Meadows Court house had been bought in
foreclosure auction and the new owners had obtained a writ of possession,
asking the sheriff's office to begin the eviction process. An eviction notice
was placed on the door of Britton's home on either Jan. 25 or 26, Miller said.
The sale of the house was finalized Nov. 21, 2006, for $561,000, according to
state property records.
Flohr said he was unaware of the foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings.
