It was March 18th, 1990 in Augusta, Georgia. Dannette and Jeannette Millbrook, 15 year old twin girls, had spent their Sunday with family. After lunch, the twins went to visit their older sister and godfather, making the trek on foot through the different neighborhoods. Just before heading back home, the girls stopped at the local Pump-N-Shop gas station to pick up some chips and soda. The cashier gave them their change, glanced away, and turned back around. The twins were gone, not visible in any direction. This was the last confirmed sighting of Dannette and Jeannette Millbrook.
Who were Dannette and Jeannette Millbrook?
Dannette Latonia Millbrook and Jeannette Latrice Millbrook were born on April 7, 1974 to Mary Sturgis (better known as Ms. Louise) and John Millbrook. Sources say that the twins had a total of 8 siblings, however, not all are active during unofficial investigations. Shanta Sturgis was the twins’ younger sister by 2 years. She remembers her sisters as being fun and happy, just like normal kids. She recalls afternoons that they spent picking pecans and blueberries. Jessica Logan, another sister, vividly remembers all of them putting music on the television and everyone would stand in a line. They’d take turns saying their names and shaking their hips. They’d often play in the backyard, making up dances and cheers. Jeannette was the shorter of the twins, with a lighter complexion. She was the bolder of the two, always making sure that no one picked on her twin. Dannette was darker skinned, taller, and the peacemaker of the two. Their sister remembered that the girls were nicknamed “night and day.”
When the twins were around 2 years old, Ms. Louise made the difficult decision to leave her husband, John. While they’d been sweethearts for some time, John was abusive and cruel, and she was worried that he might start to take out his aggression on the twins. The girls were scared of him, even at a young age.
At the time of their disappearance, the twins were freshmen at Lucy C. Laney High School in Augusta. Their family had recently moved from a neighborhood called Bethlehem, to a new home on Cooney Circle. Bethlehem was riddled with gang activity, violence, and drugs. Augusta, Georgia is said to be essentially separated by Broad Street. This street roughly marks the line drawn between poverty and the more affluent residents. Augusta is home to the Masters Golf Tournament, and has been since 1934. This tournament, which lasts one week, takes place every year in April. This brings golf fans from across the world to Augusta, to see this tournament. The city does what it can to keep a prosperous and welcoming image to its visitors, tucking the small, impoverished neighborhoods like Bethlehem, away from their view.
Physical Descriptions:
Jeannette is an African-American female, who was 5’4 and 125 lbs at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen wearing a blue pullover, white turtleneck, beige skirt, white tights, and white sneakers.
Dannette was 5’6 and 130 lbs at the time she disappeared. She was last seen wearing a white Mickey Mouse shirt, white jeans, and black sneakers. She is slightly bow-legged.
Both girls had pierced ears and a small scar near their navel and had their hair styled in shoulder-length Jheri curls at the time.
Day of the Disappearance
March 18, 1990 was a sunny Sunday in Augusta. The twins and their family woke up, got dressed, and took the church’s van to attend their morning church service. Afterwards, the pastor gave Ms. Louise some extra cash to get her and the children lunch. Because the family did not have a vehicle, they had limited options for lunch. Dannette and Jeannette took the money and walked for approximately 15 to 20 minutes down the road to Church’s Chicken, where they picked up lunch for the whole family. When the twins returned home, Jeannette mentioned that there had been a man in a white van following them. The girls didn’t make a big deal about the van, so the family quickly dismissed it and enjoyed their lunch.
Afterwards, the girls discussed with their mother on how they were going to get to school that week. Their recent move had pushed them out of their high school’s district, and while they were being allowed to finish the school year there, the school bus was unable to pick them up. After speaking to their godfather, Ted, on the phone, he promised to help them out with money to take the city bus to school this week. While Ms. Louise wasn’t a fan of the twins walking back to their old neighborhood, she figured that one trip was better than the girls having to walk to and from school all week. Shanta begged to walk with the girls, but they said no, likely wanting only the “big girls” on their long walk. Around 3PM, the twins set off on the 40 minute walk to their godfather’s house, located in their old neighborhood of Bethlehem.
After getting cash from Ted for their bus rides for the upcoming week, plus a little extra for a treat on the way home, the girls walked the short distance to their cousin, Juanita’s home. They asked her if she wanted to spend the night, a normal occurrence for the girls, but Juanita’s mom said no. She was concerned that the girls would still be walking when it got dark out. The twins continued on their trek a short way to visit their older sister, Aceander Millbrook. Aceander had recently given birth and was still recovering. The twins asked her if she could walk home with them. This was an odd request from the girls. Ms. Louise said that the twins often walked places (as many kids did in the 90’s). Aceander said no, due to her still not feeling great. After this quick visit with their sister, the twins headed back towards home, making a stop at the Pump-N-Shop to grab a snack.
The clerk, Ms. Gloria, was familiar with the girls. The convenience store was close to the twins’ old home so they were frequently in the shop. She recalled them buying chips and sodas. She asked them how their mother was and how they liked their new home. She did not notice anything abnormal in the girls’ behavior. Ms. Gloria handed them their change, glanced away briefly, and when she turned back, the twins were gone.
The Investigation (If you would even call it that…)
Ms. Louise became increasingly worried when the twins had not returned by nightfall. This was incredibly out of character for the girls. She and Shanta went out and began walking the streets, looking in bushes, alleys, and wooded areas for the girls. With no sighting of them, Shanta and Ms. Louise returned home, where she called the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department. The dispatcher advised her that the twins must be missing for 24 hours before they could take a report. Recalling the night, Ms. Louise said, “It felt like somebody ripped my heart out.”
**THIS IS WHERE EVERYONE’S GOING TO START GETTING PISSED**
24 hours passed and there was no sign of Dannette and Jeannette. Ms. Louise called the police department again, hoping for help in locating her daughters. She was transferred to Detective Jim Shipp. Before meeting with the family, knowing any background about the twins, or doing any investigation, Shipp stated that the girls were probably runaways. This was the beginning of decades of frustrating, anger, and hopelessness that the family of Dannette and Jeannette will go through.
Shanta recalled that about a week after the twins disappeared, the PD sent out an investigator to talk with them, as well as a street officer. This was when the first (and possibly ONLY) incident report was filled out by officials. Still considering the twins to be runaways, Shipp did not investigate. Police never spoke to Aceander, Ms. Gloria at the Pump-N-Shop, or possible witnesses from the gas station or streets that the girls were walking on. Members from the family’s church helped put up flyers around the neighborhoods and the family spoke to the last person who was known to have seen the twins. Ms. Gloria said that from where she was standing behind the counter, to not be able to see the twins so shortly after they left, they would’ve had to do one of two things: either walk off in the opposite direction of their home or get into a vehicle.
April 8, 1991: just over a year after the twins disappeared
Shanta remembered an investigator coming to their house. Hopeful that they were bringing news about her sisters, she and Ms. Louise were quickly disappointed. The investigator told the family that they were closing the case regarding Dannette and Jeannette’s disappearance. Due to the fact that the girls would have just turned 17 years old, even if they were found, police said that they could not force them to come back home.
In 1993, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) spoke to Ms. Louise, informing her that they’d been told that her children had been found. Ms. Louise denied this, as the girls obviously hadn’t been located. NCMEC said that they had been told by a detective involved with the case that the girls were located, and that they should be taken off of their files.
It was later found (during an investigation into this entire case and how it was handled) that Detective Shipp was the one who made this call to NCMEC. When asked why, he said that through various second and third hand accounts, he believed that the twins had been seen. One of these “sightings” was from the principal at the twins’ high school. Shipp reported that he’d said that he’d seen the girls and tried to get them to come back home. As of 2019, the principal is deceased and this story was never confirmed.
NOTHING HAPPENED IN THIS CASE BETWEEN 1993 AND 2013.
In 2013, the first EVER African-American sheriff was elected to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department, Richard Roundtree. He said that he grew up in the area that the twins went missing from, and that he knew there had been “institutional racism” present in Augusta in the past, and that there likely still presently was. He called the way that the disappearance was handled an “injustice” to the family and made the decision to reopen the case of Dannette and Jeannette’s disappearance. At this time, there was very little to no public information about the twins’ disappearance, no Wikipedia page, no documentaries, no news articles. Many people believed that the twins had been located (because that’s what the police reported). Shanta recalled that people would come up to her and ask her how the twins were doing.
In 2017, a series of podcasts were created about the girls’ disappearance. The Fall Line was able to interview Shanta and Ms. Louise and dig into the discrepancies that have plagued this case for years. In 2019, inspired by the podcast, there was an Oxygen Network Special called “The Disappearance of the Millbrook Twins.” Because of the lack of any investigation by the police department, these two sources have served as large suppliers of information about Jeannette and Dannette and what may have happened to them. In the Oxygen special, former federal prosecutor, Laura Coates and former homicide detective, Page Reynolds, set out to Augusta to find out exactly what happened.
Coates has the opportunity to speak with Detective Shipp, the original detective on the case. He did not want to be part of the Oxygen special and didn’t want to be on camera, stating he was hesitant about going public with what he knew. Coates met with him off camera. When asked if he remembered the girls’ disappearances, he said, “Oh yeah, those two runaways.” Coates asked him if he thought the twins were still alive to which he responded, “I don’t know any reason why they wouldn’t be.” She recalled that he started laughing before saying, “If you find two dead twins, you let me know.”
During this interview is when Coates said that Shipp admitted to calling NCMEC and telling them that the twins had been located. He said that other people told him that they’d seen the girls, though he had never actually laid eyes on them himself. When asked why he came to the conclusion that the girls were runaways so quickly, he responded by saying that “the Millbrook twins were known.” Coates pushed further, asking if the girls had a history of run ins with the law or juvenile cases. Shipp didn’t know of any issues the girls had with the police, but reiterated that the family was “known,” not elaborating on the statement. Coates asked him if he had ever walked around the Pump-N-Shop on the corner of 12th street and Martin Luther King JR blvd (the one that the girls were last seen at). Shipp said he wasn’t familiar with that location. He wrapped up the conversation by telling Coates that he spoke to Ms. Louise once every week or two when the case was active. When Coates asked him why Ms. Louise said that he only spoke to her once or twice, Shipp says, “I don’t know how to explain it, other than maybe her IQ.”
Theories
Due to the lack of evidence, witnesses, and information, there have been many theories about what happened to Dannette and Jeannette. Some have reportedly been investigated by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department, while others are still loose ends.
Runaways
The twins ran away: Shanta and Ms. Louise are both adamant that the girls were not the type of people to run away. Both girls were known to be homebodies, and had a great relationship with their mother and sisters. With only $20 on them, it’s unlikely they would’ve been able to execute such a disappearance. Also, Dannette had a seizure disorder that required daily medication that she did not have with her at the time. Some rumors say that one of the twins was pregnant, so they both decided to leave. However, neither girl had a boyfriend, and their sister Aceander was a young mom and still had a great relationship with Ms. Louise. “Nobody’s gonna make me believe they ran away from home,” said Shanta.
Serial Killer
Serial killer, Joseph Patrick Washington: Washington, also known as the Shaw Creek Killer, was a serial killer who lived in Augusta and worked at the local brickyard, not far from the twins’ old neighborhood. He was sentenced to seventeen life sentences in 1995 for several abductions of women between the years of ‘91 and ‘93. He sexually assaulted many of these women, claiming it was his revenge for an ex-girlfriend who transmitted HIV to him. He shot 3 of these women, however they all survived. He was also set to stand trial for the murder of two women that he’d killed in ‘91. He never faced a trial for these accusations though, dying, likely from AIDS, in prison in ‘99.
Washington had a distinct victim preference: young black women, ranging from teenage years to early 30’s, with short hair. Both twins fit this description. He was known to pull up to women in his vehicle, brandish a gun, and tell them to get in or he’d kill them. He had multiple vehicles at his home, and often borrowed vehicles from the brickyard. Washington was never initially connected to this disappearance largely due to the fact that their case was already closed. A still-unidentified body was discovered in 1993 in Aiken, South Carolina that was believed to be a victim of Washington’s. Her remains were skeletonized, but a facial reconstruction that was made bears a striking resemblance to Jeannette. Her family agrees and has pushed for DNA comparison, however no tests have been completed.
John Millbrook
John Millbrook, the twins and Aceander’s biological father was known to be heavily involved in gang and violent activity. Shanta noted that the girls still occasionally saw him at his house, which was either in or very close to their old neighborhood. Even after the twins went missing, he was not interested in talking about their case. He told Aceander that if police came to her house and asked about him, to tell them that he was dead. At the time of the Oxygen special, John Millbrook’s health had significantly declined. He was in a nursing home with dementia, and unable to communicate very well.
When he was younger, he had multiple run ins with the law, including involvement in drug crimes and murders. At one point, he was in prison for helping two of his friends, Reggie Cummings and Earnest Vaughns, hide the bodies of murder victims. When The Fall Line podcast reached out to Vaughns, who was still alive and incarcerated, he wrote them a letter back telling them that he might know where Dannette and Jeannette could be found. The podcast hosts brought this letter to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department, but in the two years between their show and the Oxygen special, nothing was done to confirm or deny Vaughn’s information.
Coates and Reynolds (from the Oxygen special) write another letter to Vaughns. He lets them know that he would be willing to talk to them. They make plans to be at Vaughns’ daughter’s house nearby for his next phone call. Coates and Reynolds wait with April, Vaughns’ adult daughter, hoping he’ll call and give them what information he may have. After several hours of waiting, they press April for information, knowing that her father may have told her something. April reluctantly admitted that Vaughns once told her that the girls were not alive, and that he was there when it happened.
The following day, Coates and Reynolds were able to speak to Vaughns over the phone. He said that he was there that night and knows what happened. Vaughns told a story about the night the girls went missing. He was 12 years old and selling crack. The girls came down to Third street to see their father, John. He recalls there being approximately 8-9 men in the house, all drinking alcohol and using drugs. Vaughns said that one of the girls started drinking and smoking weed, and that the guys in the house tried to take advantage of her. The other twin saw this and said something. Another guy hit her, causing her to fall and hit her head on the table. At this point, someone told everybody to leave. Vaughns wouldn’t say who this “someone” was.
After that, the girls were gone. He didn’t recall exactly where the bodies were buried, but suspected they were taken to the local brickyard, which is where dead bodies were often hidden. When asked if he knew anyone who had a white van at the time, Vaughns said that “Oodle Boy” had one and that Lil’ Cheese, Oodle Boy’s nephew, was at the house that night, and “had his way” with one of the twins. Vaughns thinks that knowing this and being a part of this is what drove John crazy. Shanta confirmed that she and the twins used to go to John’s house from time to time. It is not believed that John or any of his cohorts were questioned regarding the girls’ disappearances. The brickyard, where Vaughns indicates that the girls may be buried, is about 1.5 miles from where they disappeared. It’s an enormous plot of land (several miles), partially covered in cement, the rest in heavy brush. There are abandoned trailers, trash, clothing, boats, and small, broken-down structures.
Armed with this new information, Coates and Reynolds tell Ms. Louise and Shanta what they’ve learned. (Without really corroborating anything) They don’t seem to tell them in a “this could have happened” kind of way, it was more of a definitive, “we know this is what happened” way. Ms. Louise and Shanta were obviously upset. I’m not sure if they believe this is the definitive truth or not.
After Coates and Reynolds bring this information to Sheriff Roundtree, he sent investigators to the prison where Vaughns is being held to interview him. Mixed information was given to the family and Coates and Reynolds afterwards. Police said they were unable to corroborate parts of Vaughns’ story, and believe he may be remembering ANOTHER double murder. This is based on the fact that one of the people he recalls being in a wheelchair that night, was not in a wheelchair for another 2 years (due to a police shootout.) Coates and Reynolds also heard that Vaughns was “encouraged” by investigators to recant his story, however Roundtree firmly denied this. Roundtree knew of Lil’ Cheese and Oodle Boy, and knew that these guys were prevalent in the drug and violence scene during the twins’ disappearances, but it is unknown whether they’ve been questioned.
What’s Happening Now?
There has been quite a bit of attention drawn to Jeannette and Dannette’s case since The Fall Line series and the Oxygen special. As far as we can find, there have been no leads and no indication from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department that they are any closer to finding the girls or what happened to them.
If you have any information regarding Dannette or Jeannette Millbrook, please contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at (706)821-1096. If you google the girls, you can find age-progressed photos of what they might look like today. This is the ONLY case of missing twins that still have not been located.
