Here at Dateline, we encounter many families who are navigating the unthinkable: a child who’s been murdered or gone missing. Healing can be a long journey, and that’s something Dr. Maggie Zingman knows a lot about.
Dateline first spoke with Maggie Zingman about her daughter Brittany’s case back in 2019 for our Cold Case Spotlight series. The 18-year-old’s body was found on September 30, 2004. She had been raped and strangled.
On today’s episode of Dateline: True Crime Weekly, Andrea Canning catches up with Maggie Zingman, who made her first cross-country journey to bring awareness to her daughter’s unsolved rape and murder in 2007. Nearly 20 years later, she’s back on the road for her 24th tour, driving a bright-pink wrapped van she calls her “Caravan to Catch a Killer.”
This time, she’s heading to CrimeCon 2025 in Denver.
You can listen to the full episode now, for free.
Plus, read a transcript of their exchange below:
Andrea Canning: Maggie, welcome to the podcast.
Maggie Zingman: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Andrea Canning: Of course. Maggie, where have you been so far?
Maggie Zingman: This time, on my 24th tour, I am traveling to places like Georgia and Tennessee and Virginia and North Carolina and South Carolina, and making my way up through Albuquerque all the way to CrimeCon 25 in Denver. Some people call it crazy, but this has been part of my healing process, not only for me, but especially in the last dozen or so caravans, they’ve really been focused on connecting to other cold case families and giving them a voice.
Andrea Canning: Describe your car for us, Maggie.
Maggie Zingman: It’s pink and purple. It has a very subtle butterfly background on it and then it has pictures of her, right before she was murdered, but mostly it has “Caravan to Catch a Killer” on the sides and even on the roof, so that when truckers go by, they can read it, because over the years I find I get an email saying, “I saw your car on the highway.” And people took the time to look up “Caravan to Catch a Killer” and find the Facebook, or now there’s, you know, probably at least 250 media stories over the years, local media.
Andrea Canning: Can you tell us what exactly happened to Brittany and – and what you know about her murder?
Maggie Zingman: Brittany had graduated high school, went away to Eckerd College for a year. She got homesick and she decided she wanted to come home. Then she started going to the junior college. Her brother was also going there. Um, and that Monday night, September 27th, she left school – had called me because she was feeling sick, um, and so I told her, “Come up and see me this weekend. We’ll find a doctor for you. We’ll take– get it taken care of.” On September 28th, I called her, didn’t get any answer. September 29th, I didn’t get any answer. September 30th, which was a Thursday, I called and left that typical mom message of, “Brittany, I know you’re OK, but please, please just call me. Please let me know you’re OK.” And the next day, October 1st, at 1:00 a.m., I received a knock on the door, and it was like out of a movie. It was crazy. It was storming, lightning, and this sheriff in this raincoat and stuff, and he said, “Are you Maggie Zingman?” I said, “Yeah.” He said, “You need to call Tulsa police. Your daughter’s been murdered.”
Andrea Canning: Maggie, that was more than 20 years ago, and there have been no arrests in the murder of your daughter, which is – has to be just so excruciating for you to know that that person is still out there. How do you cope with this perpetual state of limbo that you’re in with the not knowing?
Maggie Zingman: Well, it does make me angry. It does make me sad, but also, I’ve learned early on that if I crumble and fall apart, then her memory does. And I just can’t let that happen because I have really found healing in knowing that in the same way that Brittany would’ve changed lives because she was studying to be a cancer researcher – that she’s now changing lives. And I get that from everybody I meet. They see her face from the car, they learn of her story. You know, these meetings that I’m having with families now, we’re all having similar stories, but they’re also saying, you know, learning of Brittany and learning of what I’m doing, you know, some of them have done the same, and some are just getting the encouragement to do it. So you learn to live in spite of, and because of, and in honor of. And letting myself grieve. You know, every day I walk into my car and I sort of look at her face, somewhat through a veil of tears, you know? But because I look at her face every day, I’m not gonna let her killer take my life.
Andrea Canning: And people who wanna talk to you can catch up with you at CrimeCon. You’ll be there and eager to meet lots of people.
Maggie Zingman: Yes. CrimeCon has gifted me with a table this time. CrimeCon is very — for important to come and learn about how families have survived.
Andrea Canning: Anyone who’s there should definitely come and say hello to you, including our own Josh Mankiewicz. I hope that you two, uh, bump into each other.
Maggie Zingman: I hope so. I hope so.
Andrea Canning: Thank you, Maggie.
Maggie Zingman: Thank you. You all have a place in my heart.
To keep up with Maggie Zingman’s journey, you can find more information on her website or follow along on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.
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