VIEWPOINT: Prosecutor, police delivered justice for Brinker family

May 31, 2008 09:06 pm

— By TERRY SOLLARS
I want to personally thank Madison County Prosecutor Tom Broderick for an outstanding job prosecuting the Jesse Pitts murder case. The first minute I was on the crime scene of Amanda Brinker I knew the person(s) responsible for this vile cowardly act had to be put in prison for a long time. Jesse Pitts has now been found guilty by a jury and rightly so. The evidence against him was the most evidence I have ever seen in my 25-year career as a detective in Anderson in a murder case. That does not count his quasi-confession in which he tried to actually blame Amanda herself for receiving the 8-10 blows to the back of her head. 

The Anderson Police Department should have a great deal of pride at this minute on a job well done. From the onset this case was a team effort between the nearly entire Detective Division, Lab personnel, and some great work by Uniform Officers as well. As the lead investigator on this case I am humbled by the fact that the case was so complete that the jury took less than an hour to convict this monster. I also want to tell the family of Amanda, her mother and sister, that you can now be at peace knowing that true justice has prevailed and this killer will not see the light of day as a free man for decades, if ever. Please take solace in the fact that without your help this case would have been much harder to cross all the i’s and dot all the t’s.

I now have formally retired from the Anderson Police Department and feel very greatful to have served the citizens of Anderson and Madison County for the last 25 years. I feel very confident that the Anderson Police Department will carry on its great tradition of catching the bad guys and putting them away. Please keep the family of Amanda Brinker in all your prayers and thoughts as they are now truly “Survivors of Homicide.”
Terry L. Sollars, now retired from the Anderson Police Department, is a resident of Chesterfield.