Jessica Barnes loved children and was studying to become a teacher at a technical school near her home in Pendleton, South Carolina.
But when the 20-year-old started dating Brandon Barnes, 21, her life turned upside-down.
After she married him and moved in with him and two roommates, she lost her job at a diner, left college and became distant from her large, close-knit Romanian family. Then ― shortly after her family says she discovered her husband having sex with one roommate ― she disappeared.
On Oct. 2, Brendan Barnes was charged with Jessica’s murder, while roommates Kendall Mims and Victoria Tippett, both 20, are accused of aiding him. According to police, after Brendan strangled his wife on Aug. 2, Mims and Tippett helped him conceal her death and move her body to a wooded area miles away, where it was found on Sept. 20.
In an interview with HuffPost, Troy Styles of Blunt Force Media, who is acting as a spokesperson for Jessica’s family, revealed new details about her relationship with Brandon and the warning signs her mother saw as a fellow domestic violence survivor.
“There’s actually a thing that Jessica wrote in her Bible, and it listed off, like, I don’t know, 20 things that she was willing to give to Brandon, and at the end, it listed one thing that she wanted back, and it was just to be loved,” Styles said. Her family described her as a “bubbly,” creative young person.
Jessica and Brandon met after they matched on Tinder, Styles said, and though he presented himself in a variety of ways on dating apps, he had a pattern of choosing Christian girls. Styles said Brandon would talk about God, giving them an expectation of safety.
But Jessica’s family members said he was abusive and would leave Jessica bruised, Styles said. Her mother objected to the relationship, but eventually, she moved in with him.
At the time, Jessica believed Mims was Brandon’s sister, but in reality, she was someone Brandon had previously had a sexual relationship with, Styles said.
Records in Anderson County Probate court revealed Brandon married Mims in July 2023, just months before he married Jessica in January of the following year. Crosby told independent news outlet FITS News that Brandon and Mims were never divorced, but the agency does not plan to pursue bigamy charges due to the weight of the other, more serious charges.
Barnes also had a child with Mims, Pendleton Police Chief Robert Crosby confirmed.
Jessica Barnes learned the truth of her husband’s relationship with Mims when Mims gave birth to his child, according to Styles. Along with Tippett, the three lived together in an 1,100-square-foot pool house on Brandon Barnes’ grandfather’s property.
Styles said Jessica’s family was desperate to keep their relationship with her, but they mostly communicated by text. Jessica would ask her mother for encouragement and prayer because she wanted to be a devoted wife to Brandon.
In March 2024, Jessica had a stillbirth. But she remained in the relationship because she still hoped to build a family around Brandon and, as a Christian, to save him and their roommates, Styles said. She would stay home to take care of Mims’ child while her husband and her roommates worked.
But on July 31, she caught her husband having sex with Tippett, Styles said, and she decided to leave the relationship.
Brandon Barnes dropped her off at her mother’s home, but was “vile” towards his wife’s family and they called police for assistance, Styles said. When officers arrived, they found Jessica having a “panic episode,” Styles said, and first responders took her to a hospital.
The next day, Barnes “caught up with her” and, after picking up some items at her mother’s house, took her back to the pool house, Styles said.
Police said Brendan Barnes strangled Jessica Barnes to death on Aug. 2, according to arrest warrants obtained by HuffPost. Both Mims and Tippett allegedly helped cover up the killing, and Styles said her family received text messages from her phone that they didn’t believe were written by her. On Sept. 10, her mother reported her missing after her phone was disconnected.
As her family members posted missing flyers and organized a prayer vigil, Styles interviewed Brandon, who at that point had not been named a suspect. In the video, Brandon says he believes Jessica will would still return home.
“I would tell her how much I love her and I wish I never went to work everyday and ignored her,” Brandon Barnes told Styles when asked what message he would like to give her.
In arrest warrants, police said Brandon Barnes, Mims and Tippett confessed after being read their Miranda rights.
A spokesperson for the South Carolina Commission of Indigent Defense told HuffPost their office has opened cases for Brendan Barnes and Tippett, but the two have not yet been assigned attorneys. It’s unclear if Mims has an attorney representing her.
They were ordered held without bond as they await their next court dates. Meanwhile, Jessica’s mother has launched a fundraiser to allow her to take time off from her job as an Uber driver to be in the courtroom and seek justice for her daughter.
“Jessica was a bright, compassionate young woman with a beautiful spirit and endless potential,” the GoFundMe reads. “She had dreams, aspirations, and a profound love for her family and friends.”
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline.
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