Two arrested in Christina Downer murder investigation

Officers took Kaylee Nicole Markowski, 34, and Downer’s boyfriend, Delorean Bijon Brandon, 41, into custody on October 29. Both were booked on suspicion of murder and remain in custody at Los Angeles’s Metropolitan Detention Center, with bail set at $2 million each. The investigation remains ongoing, and detectives intend to submit the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for a decision on charges.

Downer, 38, was listed as missing on December 18, 2025, after her ex-husband asked police to check on her welfare. Police said Brandon had told authorities she moved out several months earlier, leaving her belongings, including her car and dog. Detectives took over the investigation after authorities discovered Downer’s cellphone on the shoreline at Santa Monica Beach.

Police said investigators identified Brandon and Markowski as responsible for Downer’s murder and for disposing of her body and concealing their involvement. Downer has not been located. Earlier in October, investigators searched a Joshua Tree-area Airbnb with K-9 units and assistance from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Downer’s brother, Jimmy Fowlie, said in an April social media post that the family had been told she was no longer alive. He also said the family believed her phone and social media accounts had been compromised before her disappearance, and that they may have been used to seek money and suggest she had gone off the grid. Police have not publicly confirmed that allegation.