Secret relationship with killer unveiled after teen's body found in shallow grave

In this episode of Crime Watch Daily Updates: It’s no secret that teenagers can be unpredictable, but 15-year-old Megan Nichols was a strong student and active in her church. So it became all the more shocking when she vanished one day, leaving only her cell phone that had been wiped clean and a mysterious note on her bed.

On July 3, 2014, Megan went shopping with her mom, Kathy Jo, but said she wasn’t feeling well, so she went home early while her mom stayed out. That evening, her mom walked into her room to say goodnight, but instead of finding her daughter, she discovered an empty bed.

Megan left a note for Kathy Jo saying she was never going to be happy in their small town of Fairfield, Illinois, and not to look for her because she didn’t want to be found. Her mother immediately called the police, but they could not do much because she had not been gone for long enough.

Kathy Jo checked Megan’s bank accounts and saw she made withdrawals on July 3, the same day she went missing. Surveillance cameras from the ATM caught Megan on video, and that was the last time Megan was seen alive.

Investigators searched for Megan and clues regarding her disappearance, and they came up empty-handed until December 26, 2017. Human remains were discovered on a rural farm in Wayne County, Illinois, and a month later, they were positively identified as Megan.

On October 7, 2020, law enforcement officials in Indiana arrested Brodey Ian Murbarger and charged him with Megan’s death. Brodey and Megan were reportedly in a relationship, and the two supposedly had plans to run away together. Investigators, however, found her blood in his car.

He was convicted of first-degree murder in October 2022, and his attorneys filed a motion for a new trial.

Let’s look back at the case of a teenager whose death rocked her small town.