Missing Fairfield woman presumed murdered, Fairfield Police issue arrest warrant for boyfriend
FAIRFIELD -- In the span of just 11 days, a Fairfield woman has gone from missing to presumed murdered.
Erica Brown, 36, was last seen at her Fairfield home on Sunday, Aug. 20 and was reported missing to police on Friday, Aug. 25.
The Fairfield Police Department on Thursday, Aug. 31 announced an arrest warrant for Mark Randle, 45, a former boyfriend that Brown lived with at the time of her disappearance.
"Everything stopped. It just felt like everything was in slow motion," said Nikila Walker Gibson of that news.
Gibson says Brown has been her best friend since middle school, calling her a loving, hardworking mother who is deeply missed.
Her disappearance has been a shock.
"I still had hope and I still do have some hope for a miracle," said Gibson.
Fairfield Police announced Thursday in a statement that, "Information provided to detectives leads them to believe Ms. Brown is no longer alive."
Police did not say they have found her body.
"Although we hoped to safely return Ms. Brown to those who care for her, we felt from the outset that her disappearance was suspicious in nature, and have treated it as such. Our officers and detectives have been diligently working behind the scenes to resolve this case," Fairfield Police said in a statement.
"My biggest fear is that we will stop looking for her and she will remain one of 64,000 Black missing women and youth that are out there that she now represents," said Gibson. "My heart breaks when I read statistics like 1 out of 3 missing persons are a Black woman or child."
Gibson says passing the Ebony Alert bill would help missing Black women like Brown.
CBS13 asked Sacramento area defense attorney Mark Reichel how a murder case moves forward if Fairfield Police have not found Brown's body.
"You have to have proof that there is a crime there. Just the person being missing is not enough," said Reichel.
Reichel says police have to exclude all possibilities of where she could be and they need damning circumstantial evidence.
"They must have something strong. They have really good evidence but they just don't want to reveal it," said Reichel. "This is one of those cases where for reasons we don't know they are not going to disclose what they know right now. Once he is apprehended, I think that is going to change."
Friends and family want the focus to remain on Brown.
"I can hear her laugh. I can see her smile. It breaks my heart that her daughter won't be able to see that again," said Gibson.
She says friends are family are holding out hope while also demanding justice for the man on the run.
Randle also goes by the name "Tweezy" and has strong ties to both Fairfield and Vallejo. He was last seen driving a 2000s model black Mercedes sedan. Police are asking if you see him call 911 immediately.
Tips can be called in to the Fairfield police Investigations Unit at (707) 428-7600.
