Hey y’all, it’s Julie Mattson, and in this week’s episode of Pushing Up Lilies, we’re diving into a case that is as heartbreaking as it is unsettling. She was 28 years old. She was pregnant. She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and someone deeply loved. In August 2025, the body of Brittany Furr Storms was reportedly discovered in a wooded area in Ohio, sealed inside a plastic storage tote. The circumstances surrounding her death immediately raised devastating questions, not only about what happened, but how someone so young, carrying new life, could vanish without answers. In this episode, we walk through the known details of Brittany’s case, the timeline leading up to her disappearance, and the unanswered questions that continue to linger. Beyond the headlines, this is a story about a woman whose life mattered and the ripple effect left behind for those who loved her. As investigators work to determine what led to this tragic discovery, we examine the human impact, the search for truth, and the haunting reminder that behind every case file is a life, a family, and a future that should have been. * Listener discretion is advised.
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00:06
Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I'm your host, Julie Mattson. Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine-tingling, unusual, and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner.
00:24
Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Hi, welcome to another episode of Pushing Up Lilies. I wanted to tell you about a podcast that I was a guest host on. It's called Denton County Unsolved, and this is a new true crime podcast from Denton County Crime Stoppers.
00:47
So, they talk about real stories and victims and helps you give a chance to help them bring justice. My friends Lori Nelson and Aaron Smith are the hosts. I was on episode two, and this story was about an 18-year-old who was found murdered here in the Denton area back in August of 2023.
01:12
They're just trying to find out if anyone knows anything. If you get a chance, please take a listen to their podcast. They would love to have new listeners and they are my friends. I think you would love it.
01:26
I want to talk this week about something that unfortunately happens every day. But again, we always talk about real cases and real victims and the truth behind the headlines. This is one reason why I have not really covered anything on the Guthrie case as of yet.
01:50
There's so many speculations and rumors, and I don't like to report all of those. I like to report facts. And at this point, no one knows what's fact and what's not. And so, I'm trying to kind of stay away from that story for a reason.
02:06
And hopefully you understand. I will eventually cover it, but I just want to wait until they muddle through all of this to kind of find out what the true story is. But anyway, today's story is really about fear and addiction and neglect.
02:24
It's about a young pregnant woman whose life ended without anyone fighting for it. Her name was Brittany Furr Storms, and she was 28 years old. And at the time of her death, she was pregnant. She was a daughter and a sister and a friend.
02:42
But in August of 2025, her body was found sealed inside a plastic storage tote in a wooded area in Ohio. She wasn't found because someone confessed. She wasn't found because someone turned themselves in.
02:59
She was found because a stranger noticed something out of place. I always wondered what that would feel like to find a body. Now, me in my field and probably you as a true crime listener think that it would be kind of cool.
03:16
I mean, it probably would for us, but could you imagine like a child finding a body? I know several times I have had cases where children were fishing and found the body in the water. That would be devastating to them.
03:30
Now, to us, it would probably be the highlight of our year because we love that kind of stuff. But I've had people that committed suicide on a golf course found by kids walking to school. So those kind of things devastating and could be life-changing for those people.
03:46
But before Brittany became a news headline, she lived a life shaped by family and relationships and not without struggle. So, she grew up in Ohio, I think in Butler County. She attended local schools.
04:01
She remained close to relatives even through adulthood, which a lot of us don't. Family members described her as sensitive and super affectionate and really attached to the people that she loved. So, she loved music and social media and being with people, being with her friends.
04:23
She often talked about wanting stability and she wanted a better future, and she wanted to be healthy. Again, she was young, 28, vibrant, pregnant. But Brittany also lived with substance abuse as many people do.
04:38
Her addiction followed a pattern of recovery and relapse and renewed effort. Records show that she entered treatment programs more than one time. She tried to stay sober. She had setbacks, just like everybody else does.
04:56
Addiction kind of isolated her from support systems and put her in high-risk environments, which is what happens. People who struggle with addiction, eventually their friends kind of don't want to be around them.
05:09
Their family gets aggravated that they're not doing more to help themselves. They eventually have no one, which just increases their depression and increases their anxiety and increases their isolation and forces them to be with people that are unsafe to be around.
05:30
But by 2025, Brittany had returned to using drugs. She remained connected to people who also struggled with substance abuse. Now, in early 2025, Brittany learned she was pregnant. She was conflicted about that in the beginning, but hopeful.
05:50
She talked about wanting to do better for her baby and she went to prenatal appointments, and she asked relatives and friends about baby supplies and what she would need. And she talked about a name for the baby, and she talked about wanting to rebuild her life.
06:08
The pregnancy placed her under physical and emotional strain and increased her vulnerability. During the summer of 2025, she spent increasing amounts of time at a residence in Butler County. This residence was connected to multiple men involved in drug use and small-scale distribution.
06:31
Now, one of the men was James Rothenbusch, and court records showed that he had a prior criminal history related to drugs and property crimes. And a lot of other men frequently stayed in this house. Neighbors said that there was a lot of foot traffic and late night activity.
06:51
And inside the residence, drug use was constant. Methamphetamines, fentanyl, and heroin circulated regularly. Multiple people sleeping on the couches, the floors, makeshift beds. There was really no structure.
07:08
There was no supervision. There was no concern for safety. Witnesses later described the environment as chaotic and unsanitary. There had been many overdoses that occurred there before emergency services had responded to the address on multiple prior occasions.
07:27
And that's one thing as a death investigator that we always asked the police when we were called on to a scene is if there were previous emergency service calls to the residence. Now in early 2025, Brittany arrived at this residence, and she began using drugs with the other people there.
07:46
And she ingested a combination of opioids and stimulants. Now later that evening, she did become unresponsive. And witnesses said that she actually slumped over and then wouldn't respond verbally to anyone.
08:03
As happens, her breathing started to slow down, her skin became pale, her lips started to turn blue, and of course, no one called 911. No one administered an Narcan. No one started CPR. Instead, people in the room waited.
08:23
They shook her. They tried to wake her. And when she did not respond, they panicked. A lot of people talked about it. Like, should we call for help? Should we call 911? They discussed calling for help.
08:36
And other people were like, no, we're going to get in trouble. We're going to get caught. We're going to get arrested. And some of them had outstanding warrants and drug charges, and they were afraid of prison.
08:50
And so, they chose silence. And at some point, Brittany stopped breathing entirely. Her heart stopped, and she died on the floor of that house. She died while people sat nearby, and she died while help remained one phone call away.
09:10
After realizing that she was dead, the group moved her body into the bathroom, and they put her in the bathtub. And they just closed the shower curtain and shut the door. When other people came or people that were there that were unaware of what had happened asked questions, they told them that she had left and they continued to use drugs in the same house where her body was.
09:36
Now for four days, Brittany remained in that bathtub. And during that time, we all know what happens. We've talked about decomposition before. Her body bloated, gases formed inside, her skin blistered, her fluids leaked, the odor intensified.
09:54
And witnesses later say that they just sprayed air freshener. They burned incense. They opened the windows. And they just tried to mask the smell. No one contacted her family. No one contacted medical authorities.
10:10
No one reported her death. And so, during that time, her unborn child died. Now, from a forensic standpoint, this delay destroyed critical evidence. Early toxicology samples were degraded. Tissue breakdown complicates the time of death estimation, which I think we talked about.
10:34
We don't really try to do that much so much anymore. Insects entered the residence and laid eggs on the body. Environmental exposure because they opened the window, altered decomposition patterns, and all of this interfered with scenery construction.
10:54
Eventually, the smell became impossible to hide. Neighbors noticed, and we find this a lot in apartment complexes. The first thing that triggers a 911 call is the neighbor smells something coming from someone's apartment or the neighbor sees insects on the inside of the window.
11:18
Visitors commented because they came into the house and she was still in the bathtub. And so, the group decided to remove the body. They needed to do something to get rid of it, to get rid of the smell so people quit asking questions.
11:34
They purchased a large plastic storage tote from a local store and cameras, y'all, surveillance footage later confirmed this purchase. They returned to the house. They wrapped Brittany's body in trash bags and blankets, and they folded her into the container and filled it with duct tape and loaded it into their car.
11:56
Now, late at night, they drove into a remote wooded area in Jackson Township. The location actually was near a rarely traveled service road. Every once in a while, this road was used by hikers and hunters, but they dragged this tote into the thick brush and covered it with leaves and branches, and then they left and they went home and they returned to their daily life like nothing had happened.
12:24
For several weeks, Brittany's family searched for her. They filed missing persons reports posted on social media. They visited shelters. They called her friends. They called hospitals. They called the jail.
12:37
They left voicemails and sometimes never received an answer. On August the 28th of 2025, a man walking his dog in that wooded area noticed a large blue container partially covered by leaves. And the container, of course, looked out of place.
12:58
The odor was strong. So, he contacted the police. When deputies arrived on scene, of course, they took photographs of the outside. They noticed there were insects on the container. They smelled the decomposition, the odor of decomposition.
13:18
They opened it and inside they found Brittany's remains in advanced stages of decomposition. Now, investigators, of course, this is suspicious, but the container showed signs of deliberate sealing with the duct tape, wrapping materials.
13:39
Forensic teams actually transported the body into the medical examiner's office. Fingerprints and dental records that were obtained from the family that matched hers confirmed her identity. The autopsy, of course, revealed severe decomposition.
13:57
Internal organs showed advanced breakdown. Toxicology detected opioids and methamphetamines. The cause of death was ruled acute drug toxicity. But the manner of death remained undetermined due to post-mortem interference.
14:15
I mean, she obviously died first and was stuffed into this tote, which was taped together and dumped. So even though no one physically killed her, they definitely had something to do with not calling 911 and stuffing her in here and hiding her body.
14:37
Investigators reconstructed Brittany's final days through digital evidence. So, her phone records placed her at this residence. Text messages showed that family members had attempted to reach her. GPS data from vehicles matched the dump site.
14:54
Store receipts confirmed the purchase of the tote and surveillance footage captured multiple suspects entering and leaving the residence. So of course, everyone is interviewed. Several people lied. Stories were changed.
15:12
Timelines were conflicted. Eventually, one witness cooperated. He described the overdose, the bathtub, and the disposal, and his testimony actually matched the physical evidence. So federal prosecutors became involved due to interstate communication and obstruction.
15:33
James Rothenbusch admitted to helping conceal the body and transport it, and he pled guilty to evidence tampering and obstruction of justice. In February 2026, he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
15:49
And the judge cited cooperation and lack of direct involvement in drug distribution as mitigating factors. So that's one reason why he only received 30 months. He also ordered restitution for funeral expenses.
16:06
Britney's family, of course, reacted with anger and grief, and they spoke in court about unanswered calls and sleepless nights and preparing a nursery for Brittany's baby that would never be used and a grandchild that they never met.
16:24
And 30 months just felt meaningless compared to the loss that this family suffered. Other defendants faced state charges for abuse of a corpse, obstruction, and drug offenses. Some of them accepted plea deals.
16:42
Others fought the charges. And as of now, proceedings remain ongoing. But from a forensic nursing perspective, this case highlights a lot of failures in the system. Fear of bystanders, lack of the presence of Narcan, the criminalization of addiction, poor education.
17:09
And when people fear arrest more than death, obviously lives are lost. Ohio's Good Samaritan law protects individuals who call for help during overdoses, but none of the defendants used it. They chose self-preservation over human life.
17:30
One phone call, y'all, would have changed everything. One call to emergency services, one dose of Narcan, just one act of courage would have been all that it took. But instead, Brittany became evidence.
17:48
So, this case kind of exposes the stigma. Society treats addiction like a moral failure, but this is actually a medical condition. This stigma isolates victims and it discourages intervention and it normalizes abandonment.
18:11
It makes it seem normal for people to walk away to avoid the possibility of them getting in trouble because they might be accused of involvement. But Brittany deserved treatment. And that baby, she deserved safety and prenatal care and honesty.
18:32
And she didn't get any of that. I guess coming from someone with a family member who struggles from substance abuse, a lot of families struggle with this and there is help. But the reality is that recovery takes time.
18:52
And just because someone relapses does not mean that they are not worth the time it takes for them to recover. And supporting that person could actually save their lives. And you know, I was thinking about this the other day.
19:10
Saving their life could in turn save other lives because I know that the camaraderie that people who struggle with addiction have in rehab facilities actually helps people who were on the verge of giving up.
19:31
It helps people because they hear other people's stories and they may think that their story is the worst. But when you hear someone else's story, sometimes you realize you've had it pretty easy, but definitely requires a lot of support.
19:52
And I know that a lot of people in recovery do not have support. A lot of people in rehab have nowhere to go when they get out. Brittany, it sounds like, had a loving family. I don't know that much about them, but from what I've read, it sounds like she had a very loving and supportive family who looked for her and who cared about her and were looking forward to the birth of her child.
20:21
If nothing else comes from this, just know, it is okay to carry Narcan. It does not mean that you support drug use. It means that you are willing to help someone if needed. And if you witness an overdose, call for help.
20:39
You're protected by laws. Lives actually depend on you. People depend on you and families depend on you. And that fear that you feel initially for being accused or involved or present is going to fade, but the death will not.
21:01
And Brittany was more than her addiction. She was more than her last moments. She was more than a plastic container in the woods. She was a human being, and she mattered and her child mattered and they deserved remembrance.
21:20
And so, I like to talk about stories like this because addiction sucks. There are a lot of people who struggle with it. And I know that it's controversial, but here in our town, they just put in a Narcan vending machine.
21:41
It's been very controversial. Many people have said that it promotes drug use, that it encourages people to use because they know that there's Narcan nearby and they know that someone will help them.
21:59
The fact is, it may not save them, but there are going to be 112 machines deployed across Texas by Naloxone Texas. I mean, we know that Narcan reverses overdose, and a lot of cities actually supply Narcan in their AED boxes at their facilities.
22:25
But hopefully with increased accessibility to Narcan and opioid overdose education, everybody will kind of come together and make it a little more safe. Because the fact is, you know, addiction is a disease and it's going to continue to be a disease.
22:45
There are drugs that we can give people to make them want alcohol and drugs less, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to work. That does not keep people from hanging around with the wrong crowd and getting involved in drugs, even when they never have before and thought they never would.
23:07
Curious, what are your thoughts? Do you think that the Narcan vending machine actually encourages drug use? Because I know that it was posted online locally on Facebook. A lot of people said, you know, oh, great.
23:22
You know, there were a lot of comments about it. I don't see the big deal personally. Like if it's put there and it saves one life, it was worth it. It's a free machine. The machine here in town can save a life.
23:40
And you know what? Go get a vial and put it in your purse. If you saw someone passed out on the side of the road and you thought they had overdosed, would you use it on them or would you walk? That's a question I think we should all ask ourselves.
24:03
I know that years ago, I was at Mardi Gras in Galveston with some friends, and we saw a young man passed out on the side of the road sitting there all by himself. He was breathing. I mean, of course, the nurse and me, first thing I did was walk up and check his pulse.
24:18
He was breathing. He had a pulse. But poor guy had just drank too much. I don't think he had drugs on board. He might have. I don't know. He didn't know either. But all of his friends just left him. They left him there.
24:31
He didn't even know where his hotel was. He didn't know where he was staying. And so luckily his cell phone was in his pocket. And I called somebody on his cell phone, and someone came and got him. I just remember thinking, that is so sad.
24:49
That kid could have died there. And I don't know anything about his background. I don't even remember his name. It's probably been 10 years since that happened. I didn't have Narcan. I don't know that that would have helped him, but I didn't have it with me at the time.
25:07
But it doesn't hurt to stick one in your purse. You know, just have it with you just in case, because imagine how great you would feel if you saved a life. I mean, even if it's a life that you think is not worth saving, someone loves that person.
25:25
And so, I really think that that's something that we should think about. Instead of looking at opportunities to help people as a nuisance or a chore or something that we hope we never have to do. Why don't we try to look at that a little bit differently?
25:43
Try to look at that like, how good would it feel to save a life? And how good would it feel to allow that person happiness? How good would it have felt to save Brittany's life? And how easily could this entire scenario have changed if one person had Narcan or if one person had called 911?
26:09
If you're ever in a situation where you're surrounded by drug use and something like this happens, please, please, please, please, please, please step up. You can call anonymously. You can step outside. No one has to know you're on the phone.
26:24
Make that phone call and get help for that person because two lives were lost here and her family's lives will never be the same. I appreciate y'all listening. This story kind of hits home. Again, I have a family member who struggles with addiction and I feel it.
26:44
I completely understand. I am ever so grateful for the people who surround her and love her and help her. I can't imagine if her tribe wasn't there. I mean, you can't control what they do. Brittany was 28.
27:03
You can't tell her what to do. She's an adult or was. Thank you so much for listening. Again, don't forget at our blended table inside the McCart Street Mercantile in Krum, Texas, we're having a meet and greet.
27:20
I will be there. True Crime Club is going to meet and we're going to talk. We're going to play an episode. We're going to share in some snacks. We're going to hang out. So, it's going to be a lot of fun.
27:34
I really hope if you're in the area and local that you will come and join me. My murder merch booth will be open. So, there will be merchandise there to purchase. And I would love to have you. Thank you so much for listening.
27:50
We are up to about 85,000 subscribers. I would love for you to share. Go on, if you don't mind, subscribe, share, of course, but go into my YouTube channel. I haven't really started doing videos yet, but I'm about to start.
28:08
So, I want to build my audience. Go on to Brains, Body Bags, and Bedside Manor. That's my YouTube channel. Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. Share that, please, because I'm about to start doing live videos and I think y'all are going to absolutely love it.
28:25
Lots of fun events coming up. You can go to my website, pushinguplilies.com under events and see where I'm going to be. A lot of great presentations, a lot of opportunities for education for people just interested in true crime, but also for people who really want this to be their career.
28:43
I get emails daily and I love them. I will try to answer every one of them. I'm a little bit behind. Meeting someone for coffee next week who wants to talk about being a forensic nurse. So, I love it.
28:56
I love to educate. That's why I can't wait to get my educational program up and going. I'm here to answer questions, here to help you learn what you need to know to get started in this career. I'm just here for support and also just to break the silence in some of these cases.
29:14
Appreciate you listening so much. Love you guys, and I will talk to you next week. Bye, y'all. Thank you so much for joining me today on Pushing Up Lilies. If you like this podcast and would like to share with others, please do me a quick favor and leave a review on Apple Podcast.
29:32
This helps to make the podcast more visible to the public. Thanks again for spending your time with me and be sure to visit me at pushinguplilies.com for merchandise and past episodes.