Police have arrested two people on suspicion of murder nearly a year after Christina Downer, the sister of a Saturday Night Live writer, disappeared.
Delorean Bijon Brandon and Kaylee Nicole Markowski were taken into custody Thursday in connection with Downer’s alleged killing, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Friday.
Downer, whose brother is SNL writer Jimmy Fowlie, vanished late last year. She was reported missing on December 15, 2025, after her ex-husband requested a welfare check when he could no longer reach her, authorities said.
At the time, Downer’s boyfriend, Brandon, told authorities she had moved out months earlier. However, her belongings remained at the property, including her car and dog.
Her cellphone was later discovered washed ashore at Santa Monica Beach. Police said Brandon and Markowski were identified as the people allegedly responsible for Downer’s death.
The LAPD also alleges that Brandon, 41, and Markowski, 34, disposed of Downer’s body and took steps to conceal their involvement.
Earlier this month, investigators searched an Airbnb in Joshua Tree as part of the ongoing effort to locate Downer, NBC Los Angeles previously reported.
According to the LAPD, investigators deployed K-9 units and carried out an extensive search across the California desert. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department assisted with the operation.
Delorean Bijon Brandon and Kaylee Nicole Markowski were arrested Thursday in connection with the alleged killing of Christina Downer (pictured), the Los Angeles Police Department announced Friday.
Downer, the sister of SNL writer Jimmy Fowlie (pictured together), disappeared late last year and was reported missing in December 2025 after her family was unable to contact her.
Police have not said whether anything connected to the case was found during the search. The investigation remains ongoing.
Brandon and Markowski are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. Each is being held on $2 million bail.
Downer’s disappearance followed an unusual social media post in which she appeared in a tight red top inside her Los Angeles apartment, pouting at the camera.
“Living at peace. If you wanna send me a Christmas treat, I’ll be waiting. Happy holidays, everyone,” she wrote on December 14, 2025.
She also listed her Cash App and Venmo usernames in her Instagram bio, allowing her roughly 700 followers to send her money.
Friends and relatives later told the Daily Mail in May that the playful post seemed unusual because they had not heard from Christina for weeks beforehand.
Her brother Jimmy said he believed she was dead. In a heartbreaking post shared in April, he wrote: “Our prayers for her to be found safely have transformed into prayer for the truth to be revealed and for those responsible to be held accountable.”
MORE STORY: Hollywood Honors Star Trek and X-Men Icon Patrick Stewart
Despite the murder arrests, police continue to classify Downer’s case as a disappearance. The LAPD also declined to confirm to NBC whether investigators were searching for human remains in Joshua Tree.
Downer disappeared after sharing an unusual social media post showing her in a tight red top inside her Los Angeles apartment, pouting at the camera.
The Daily Mail reported in May that Downer had led a double life as an adult actress and exotic dancer and, according to people who knew her, had struggled with her mental health in recent years.
The Daily Mail learned in May that Downer led a double life as an adult actress and exotic dancer and, according to people who knew her, had been struggling with her mental health in recent years.
Downer also had a tumultuous relationship with Brandon, a face-tattooed R&B singer, and filed a restraining order against his ex-girlfriend, whom she accused of stalking and harassing her.
Her ex-husband, Ryan Downer, told the Daily Mail in May that he phoned in a wellness check in December after not hearing from her for weeks.
Ryan and Christina married in 2015 in their hometown of Woburn, Massachusetts, not too far from where Christina danced at a local gentlemen’s club after giving up a career in adult entertainment. She went by the name ‘Chavon Taylor.’
The pair separated in November 2023, citing ‘irreconcilable differences,’ according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail. But it was amicable.
Ryan called authorities when she didn’t respond to him for weeks.
‘It just doesn’t make any sense why she would leave without telling anyone. That’s not like her. We just want to know what happened because none of it makes any sense.’
Earlier this month, police searched an Airbnb property in Joshua Tree as part of an ongoing search for Downer, NBC Los Angeles previously reported
When cops did a welfare check at her apartment in Koreatown, the place was clean and tidy with nothing out of the ordinary, Ryan told the Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail also learned in May that Christina had an on-and-off relationship with Brandon.
Ryan said that Christina and Brandon had a toxic relationship and she often left him voice messages complaining about their dynamic.
In September 2024, Christina filed a temporary restraining order against Brandon’s ex-girlfriend, claiming she had been harassing them for years.
The Daily Mail contacted the LAPD for comment.