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Left: Britney Andrus. Right: Tyler Best (Highland County Sheriff).
A Florida woman is set to spend the rest of her life behind bars after being convicted of the brutal murder and robbery of her husband’s 88-year-old great-grandfather, which she carried out to escape to Michigan with her boyfriend.
Britney Andrus, 29, received a life sentence on Wednesday following her conviction for the 2020 killing of James Little at his home in Sebring. In July, a jury found her guilty of second-degree murder, burglary, and grand theft of a motor vehicle. Her accomplice and boyfriend, Tyler Best, 25, had earlier admitted to the same offenses. He testified against Andrus during her trial and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in January.
At the sentencing hearing, Joshua Little, the victim’s grandson, shared poignant memories of his grandfather, who he described as a man who “loved helping people.”
“He was 88 years old when his life was stolen from him during the golden years of his life,” Joshua Little recounted, according to a report by the Highlands News-Sun. “I know this case is about homicide, but it is also about theft. Britney stole his life and his dignity. In his final moments, I can’t imagine how alone he felt, calling out for my grandmother who was no longer there.”
During the trial, Andrus’ defense attorney highlighted her troubled past, noting that she has long struggled with mental health issues, which were exacerbated by the trauma of discovering her mother’s murdered body at the tender age of five.
But prosecutor John Kromholz said the case was not about her past history but about her brutally murdering an elderly man as he lay in bed while she was high on drugs.
“That’s why she’s a danger,” he said, per the News-Sun.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Andrus and Best were living in the mother-in-law suite attached to Little’s home. Her husband was in jail at the time of the murder. In the days leading up to the slaying, Andrus and Best hatched a plan to steal from Little’s home, including his car and jewelry that had belonged to his wife who had died just a month earlier, cops wrote in a probable cause arrest affidavit. They planned to travel to Michigan to live with her grandmother, cops said.
Shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 22, 2020, Andrus ran to a neighbor’s house and claimed she had just found Little unconscious in his bedroom. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died five days later.
Although it took a year to arrest Andrus and Best for the slaying, investigators suspected them almost immediately.
Little’s bedroom was in disarray with open drawers and missing jewelry boxes. His car and wallet with some $1,500 in cash inside also had been stolen. In addition, there was a missing safe that was hidden and that only close family members would have known about, cops noted.
“Based on the scene, it was evident the victim was awoken by an intruder(s), was struck multiple times, and laid hurt in the residence for some time before EMS and law enforcement being notified,” detectives wrote in the affidavit.
There was also “blood evidence” throughout the room, the affidavit said. An autopsy concluded Little died of blunt force trauma to the head. The suspects struck Little 12 times with an unknown object and left him to die while they ran off with his possessions. Best used some of the money from Little’s wallet to buy methamphetamine.
Detectives cobbled together surveillance videos of the couple driving around town in Little’s car and spending his money. Investigators also spoke with some of their friends who said Andrus showed up with blood on her shirt. Andrus said “I don’t know what I did” and that the blood on her shirt was not hers. She then stated “It was like he was asking for it anyways.”
Best testified against Andrus, saying killing Little was her idea, the News-Sun reported.
“I told her I wanted nothing to do with it,” Best reportedly testified. “It was a big argument, I packed a suitcase and left.”
The items in the suitcase were stolen from Little. They then went to a friend’s house where Andrus admitted to killing Little, Best told the jury.
“She said, ‘I did it, I did it.’ I thought she killed this man. I saw blood on her collar,” he said.
Little’s son told the News-Sun he was pleased with the outcome of the case.
“I am extremely gratified by the verdict,” he said. “It was something the family was waiting for for five years.”