Her body still missing, Erica Brown's boyfriend found guilty of her Fairfield murder
FAIRFIELD -- A Fairfield man who went on the run for weeks when his girlfriend was first reported missing last year was found guilty of killing her in Solano County court Thursday, July 25.
Mark Randle, 45, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, Erica Brown, 36.
The verdict came swiftly in a trial that lasted nearly three weeks, even though to this day Brown's body has never been found.
"At the end of the day we are still on a mission to find her," said Megan Armstrong, one of Brown's friends, through tears.
Armstrong and Nisha Criff, a childhood best friend of Brown's, say they will continue to fight for justice.
"You have to take it day by day knowing it's a possibility we will never be able to find her, to bring her to rest," said Criff. "We wouldn't want her to think for one moment we've ever forgotten her."
No body, but strong evidence
Prosecutors Mary Nguyen and Elaine Kuo had the odds stacked against them when they started building a case to prove Randle murdered Brown.
With no body, no autopsy, and no cause of death they dug for other clues that could prove Randle killed Brown.
She had last been seen at the couple's Fairfield home on Aug. 20, 2023, and was reported missing to police on Aug. 25.
Randle was on the run for several weeks when she was reported missing before he was found and arrested in the Sacramento area by Fairfield Police on Sept.15, 2023, charged with her murder.
Prosecutors tell CBS13 the main evidence in this case included Brown's blood and DNA found in a burnt-up car linked to Mark Randle. Blood was also found inside the couple's home.
Two vehicles, both stolen, were linked to Randle and contained incriminating evidence.
"A Chevy Malibu was found burnt in Richmond. We were able still to collect Erica Brown's DNA and blood off of the door. A black Mercedes was eventually found abandoned in Vallejo. His fingerprints were found inside that car. In the trunk of the black Mercedes were three empty, but used, gas cans," said Nguyen.
Key testimony during the trial came from Randle's mistress, Jan Agacinski, who was charged with accessory to murder after the fact.
She made a deal with prosecutors that her case would be dismissed if she testified truthfully against Randle.
Agacinski was at the couple's home the night that it is believed Randle killed Brown.
"She testified that when she came over, Erica was already injured and Mark admitted to her that they got into an argument about infidelity and that he hurt Erica. She left the scene. But when she came back a second time, Erica was deceased," said Nguyen.
Randle told other friends, who testified in court, that he thought Brown was cheating on him.
He gave differing, incriminating statements ranging from admitting that he killed Brown to only admitting he injured her to his friends and Agacinski. None of those stories matched the conflicting accounts he gave Fairfield Police, which were ultimately proven by prosecutors to be untrue thanks to evidence they had collected.
At a neighbor's home, Ring doorbell camera captured what prosecutors were able to prove was Randle and Agacinski staging the Chevy Malibu to load Brown's body into it.
"She testified that she insisted on moving a blue tote out of the way in the car so that he could load the body. On the camera you could clearly see her moving this blue tote. We eventually found that tote in Rio Vista, his cell phone pinged to Rio Vista after the crime," said Nguyen.
Though a thorough search was conducted on the ground and from the sky, Brown's body was not found in that location.
Agacinski testified in court that Brown's body had been leaning against the car door of the Chevy Malibu. Brown's blood was found in that exact spot by investigators.
Prosecutors were also able to introduce some evidence of Randle's prior domestic violence convictions in previous relationships.
Randle's defense team unsuccessfully tried to argue that Randle did not kill Brown, that she instead died by drug overdose. Their argument was that he panicked and then tried to hide her body.
"Quite frankly it was just a wild card for them. There was no witness testimony that she used any type of drug within one year of her death. Her employer testified she was a very good employee, never appeared under the influence and she was doing so well he was about to promote her to a manager," said Nguyen.
After only five hours of deliberation, the jury found Randle guilty of first-degree murder.
Remembering Erica Brown: "She was always smiling"
Nisha Criff spent most of her life, since the third grade, with Brown by her side.
"She was my best friend. To hear that happened to her it was really devastating because she didn't deserve any of it," said Criff.
Criff says she will miss the simple phone calls and spending time with Brown just sitting on the couch talking the most.
"She was always smiling, the life of the party. She was just a sweet spirit, a sweet person to be around and you're blessed to have her in your life," said Criff. "She lived her life to the fullest. She lived every day like it was her last."
Criff says Brown was also a devoted mother to her "twin" of a daughter and a hard worker.
Though much of her last days remain a mystery to law enforcement and those who loved her, Criff described Randle as antisocial and controlling of Brown.
She and other close friends did not know about the violent tendencies he had or how he treated Brown behind closed doors.
"To actually sit there for the trial and hear and see evidence of what was done to her was really hard. We kind of just kept our faith and held it together to hear what she went through," said Criff. "It's like living a real-life horror film."
Criff, Armstrong and Brown's family want answers as to how she died and where her body is hidden.
"It's hard to think that the trial is over, everything is over, everyone is moving on and she's still just out there somewhere. That's the hardest part for me," said Armstrong.
Loved ones have held a candlelight vigil to honor Brown but their wish is to give her the dignity in a funeral and final goodbye that she deserves.
"To be able to speak over her and send her away with those well wishes. To look at her and know she was receiving that would be the most closure anybody could get, I think," said Armstrong.
Criff says she hopes while Randle rots in jail he finds the decency to admit where her body is.
"Yes, justice is served. He was found. But her life is gone," said Criff.
Randle will be back in court Aug. 23 when a judge is expected to set a date for his sentencing hearing.
The prosecution is pursuing 25 years to life in prison.
