When a man is raised in the desert by violent, drunken parents who eventually abandon him, the results can be catastrophic. As he grows older, he becomes uncontrollable and violent, following a life of constant crime. After years of getting away with his misdeeds, receiving little more than a slap on the wrist, he becomes emboldened, eventually committing unthinkable acts.
This is the story of a serial killer you’ve probably never heard of. His crimes, while known, are rarely discussed in detail or only shared with close family members. Through interviews with his family, who have chosen to remain anonymous, this article aims to shed light on his terrifying journey.
Brody Barstow: The Beginning
Barstow is a small city in San Bernardino County, California, located deep in the Mojave Desert. It’s a dry, desolate place, where summer temperatures can reach up to 120°F. Rocky hills and abandoned mines dot the landscape, with only around 20,000 residents. This is where our story begins, back in the 1940s.
A married couple, Earl and Blanche Brody, moved from Texas to Barstow. Earl worked for Santa Fe Railroad, performing manual labor in the scorching desert heat. Using the money he earned, the couple began building their home on 36231 Ramirez Road, constructing adobe walls using railroad ties. After years of hard work, their house was finally complete, and they spent the rest of their lives there, raising their family.
The Son: Bill Brodie
Earl and Blanche had a son named Bill, who served in the Vietnam War during the late 1960s. After four years in the U.S. Army, he returned home in 1970 and quickly became involved with a married woman named Susie, who was almost ten years his senior. Despite her being married with four children, Bill and Susie started an affair, which led to Susie leaving her husband.
Bill and Susie eventually moved into a small duplex near Bill’s parents’ home, and two days after her divorce was finalized, their son, Scott William Brody, was born. However, their relationship, built on infidelity, was chaotic from the start, fueled by drugs, alcohol, and constant violence.
A House of Abuse
Bill became notorious for abusing Susie’s children from her previous marriages, beating them with objects like belts, cords, breadboards, and even dog leashes. Susie was equally abusive but was protective of Scott, her only biological child with Bill. If she tried to discipline Scott, Bill would turn on her and beat her instead. The abuse in the household wasn’t limited to physical violence. It extended to sexual abuse, with one of Susie’s daughters accusing Bill of assaulting her. Another victim, a friend of one of the daughters, faced the same fate when she spent the night at their home.
The stepchildren eventually left Bill’s home to live with their fathers, but Scott remained. The marriage between Bill and Susie crumbled, and Susie eventually left, taking Scott to live with Bill’s parents, Earl and Blanche.
Scott Brodie: A Troubled Childhood
Scott, left in the care of his grandparents, was raised by two people who were respected in the small community. They were devout churchgoers, attending the First Baptist Church of Barstow, and provided a stable environment. However, Scott’s deep emotional issues were already apparent.
From an early age, Scott displayed violent tendencies. He had frequent outbursts at school and even killed his neighbors’ pets. He exhibited classic signs of a budding serial killer, although such behavior wasn’t well understood at the time. By the age of five, Scott had already hurt a friend by hitting him in the eye with a tree branch, an incident that he claimed was an accident.
When Scott’s behavior became too much for Susie to handle, she permanently left him with his grandparents, abandoning her son. Despite this, Scott continued to idolize her, building an image of her as a loving and caring mother, even though she was largely absent from his life.
Scott’s Teenage Years: The Descent into Crime
As Scott grew older, his behavior worsened. In his mid-teens, he was caught stealing a car, and when police apprehended him, they found drugs in his possession. This marked his first serious punishment, landing him in juvenile hall and a reform program called Outward Bound. After completing the program, Scott returned home and graduated from Central High School in Barstow at the age of 19.
Scott’s adult life was largely uneventful for a time. He continued living with his grandparents, but his criminal tendencies remained. He met a woman named Catherine and began a relationship with her, treating her with the same violence and control he had learned from his father. Catherine described Scott as violent and expressed fear of his disturbing sexual fetishes, which included bondage and masochism.
After Catherine was hospitalized due to her declining mental health, Scott took the opportunity to leave her, taking all her belongings with him. He quickly moved on, meeting another woman named Carolyn in the early 1990s. They married and had two children, Haley and William, while raising a daughter from Carolyn’s previous relationship.
The Cycle of Abuse Continues
Scott’s behavior in his new marriage mirrored his father’s. He abused his children, both physically and sexually, while his wife, Carolyn, turned a blind eye. One of Carolyn’s daughters escaped the household, moving in with her biological father, but the rest of the children were trapped in a cycle of fear and abuse.
Scott’s violent tendencies were not limited to his family. In 1995, when the Oklahoma City bombing occurred, Scott expressed support for Timothy McVeigh, stating that everyone who worked for the government was an enemy. His extreme views and growing violent tendencies would eventually lead him down an even darker path.
A Meth-Fueled Crime Spree
By the mid-1990s, Scott was heavily using methamphetamine, which only fueled his violent fantasies. One night, while staying at his mother’s house, Scott went for a walk and encountered a young man withdrawing cash from an ATM. Seizing the opportunity, Scott attacked the man, took his car keys, money, and kidnapped him. Scott drove the victim into the desert, where he raped him repeatedly.
Eventually, Scott nodded off behind the wheel and crashed the car into a gas station. The victim managed to escape and called the police, leading to Scott’s arrest. While the young man was too ashamed to report the sexual assault, Scott was sentenced to 15 years in prison for kidnapping.
The Killings Begin
While in prison, Scott learned how to be a more effective criminal from seasoned inmates. Upon his release, he began picking up male prostitutes, drugging them, and taking them into the desert, where he would rape and eventually murder them. He disposed of their bodies in the many abandoned mine shafts scattered throughout the Mojave Desert.
Scott’s ex-girlfriend, Catherine, later admitted she knew about these crimes but was too scared to speak up. By this point, Scott had already killed multiple men, and his family feared he would continue to escalate his violence.
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Family Murders and the Final Descent
In 2010, Scott’s father, Bill, was diagnosed with cancer. Seeing an opportunity to inherit the family property, Scott accelerated his father’s death by giving him an overdose of medication. He repeated this act with his grandfather, Earl, ensuring he would inherit the family home, land, and money. Despite his confessions to family members, authorities never investigated the deaths due to the victims’ advanced age and poor health.
Scott Brodie’s life was a twisted tale of abuse, violence, and murder. After years of evading serious punishment, his crimes finally caught up with him. He was arrested for the murder of Robert Whitnack, a fellow criminal, and remains in prison today.
