OCTOBER 5, 2023: “He found out his best friend was a murder suspect — and then wore a wire for the FBI“
OCTOBER 11, 2020: Police arrested Brodey Ian Murbarger, 24, on October 7, 2020, for the murder of Megan Nichols.
FEBRUARY 4, 2018: The body of Megan Nichols was found on December 26, 2017, and later identified as belonging to Megan Nichols. May she finally rest in peace. 🙁
This is a newer case – from 2014. I have one main reason for writing it. I want more exposure to Megan because I don’t feel her case is getting the attention it deserves.
On July 3, 2014, 15-year-old Megan Nichols vanished from her Fairfield, Illinois home and has not been seen since. Her mother, Kathy Jo Hutchcraft, last saw her daughter around 10:30 p.m. at their home, which Megan also shared with her step-dad, Jerod Hutchcraft. At 11:15 p.m., Kathy headed to bed and decided to walk into Megan’s room and give her a kiss goodnight.
Megan wasn’t there.
Kathy reported her daughter missing at 1:00 a.m. on July 4, 2014.
Kathy later found a note from Megan saying she would never be happy at home and that she had to leave. She also instructed her family not to look for her. In addition to the note, Megan’s cell phone was still at home and wiped clean.
Police collected surveillance videos from local businesses and discovered Megan had withdrawn money from a local bank while on her bicycle before her disappearance. This led authorities to believe Megan ran away from home initially. However, Kathy insists Megan was happy at home and would not do something like that.
Early in the investigation, police believed Megan might have gone to Oklahoma to meet her biological father, Jackson Nichols. However, after interviewing him, they do not believe he knows of Megan’s whereabouts.
There have been several sightings of Megan since she went missing, but she has not been found.
Police Agency:
Fairfield Police Department
618-842-2151
Case #: 0704201401232
or
the NCMEC at 1-800-The-Lost
NCMEC Case # 1234891
True Crime Diva’s Thoughts
I do not believe Megan is a runaway. Most teens run away because of an unhappy and/or abusive situation at home. This was not the case for Megan. I think that if she had left on her own accord, she would have made contact with her family by now, and she hasn’t. Megan had many friends and was close to her family, so there really isn’t a reason for her to run away unless she was hiding something she was ashamed of, like pregnancy or sexual assault. Maybe she was; we don’t know.
Megan withdrew money, but left her phone and clothes behind? What about her purse? Any other personal belongings?
So she withdrew money. Big deal. Yes, it does make me wonder why she did that, but it doesn’t mean she would run away from home. Maybe she was going to make a purchase. Maybe that cash is tied in somehow with someone who took her. For example, maybe Megan met someone online and used the cash to see him. Or she was going to buy something from a person she met online.
And the note? You can’t rule out that she could have been forced to write it. The note itself doesn’t sound like Megan. According to her mom, she was very happy at home. I think people who knew her the best would know.
Megan’s phone was left behind and wiped clean. This could be because she was receiving strange calls and messages from an unknown person. If she did not leave of her own free will, the abductor could have cleaned up the phone for her.
Even if she did perform the factory reset on her phone herself, that alone does not delete everything from a phone. She would have to encrypt the phone first, assuming she had an Android, and then perform a factory reset. At least that’s how it was when Megan disappeared. Would Megan have known to do this? I doubt it. If she had an iPhone, that includes hardware encryption, making it harder to recover data. Seeing how she was initially labeled a runaway, did the police even bother to check her phone with forensic software?
Most kids have access to a computer or tablet at home. Did LE check any such items at Megan’s house?
Like with all missing person cases, the rumor mill goes out of control. Some people think her boyfriend at the time knows where she is, even though he’s denied that this whole time. Others believe her biological dad knows her location. In one forum, a poster said that her biological father, Jackson Nichols, was a sex offender, so I checked it out. He is a non-compliant child sex offender in Illinois, resulting from an incident when he was 18. His victim was 14. I looked him up online, and he is now a comedian or entertainer. I don’t think he has anything to do with Megan’s disappearance, but you never know.
Some also think her own mother knows more than she’s saying; however, I do not believe that at all.
Here’s my theory on what happened to Megan. I think it’s possible that Megan was in contact with someone online who was posing as a “friend” to lure her offline. This person could be a human trafficker or just some lone individual.
I personally think it could be a sex trafficking case.
At the time of Megan’s disappearance, she was slim, had blonde hair, and was only 15. Prime taking for a sex trafficker. Blonde American girls sell for quite a bit of cash in the human trafficking market overseas. If Megan had blue eyes instead of hazel, she would sell for even more.
A website called backpage.com is a hub for traffickers to post ads for people looking for girls. It’s like craigslist, only sleazier. I checked it out and noticed there is a Carbondale section. Carbondale is not very far from Fairfield. Maybe Megan met someone through there for a modeling gig or something like that. Traffickers are also known to approach young girls on the streets, even in smaller communities, posing as a modeling scout. Maybe something like that happened to Megan.
I just hope Megan is found soon. But if she is a victim of human trafficking, that will probably never happen. Part of me hopes she ran away. At least then, there’s a better chance she’s still alive.
17 comments
As of this week there has been an arrest in this case!! Now hopefully justice will be served and he is charged with all 6 counts! Megan’s boyfriend or x boyfriend Brody Ian Marbarger is who they arrested! The person that everyone in Fairfield thought killed her. I wouldn’t doubt it if there’s more arrests in this case! You can Google Megan Nichols and read about the arrest! Megan’s remains were found a few years ago in a remote location south west of Fairfield called Boylston bottoms. The fbi was called and they took over the case. Nothing has been said at all since then until the arrest this past week! Just wanted to give you all an update on this precious little girl. She can hopefully rest in peace now.
That is fantastic news!!!! Thank you for letting me know!! I’ll update the post today!!!
There is a person who claims she seen Megan and her bio dad about 6 months before she disappeared and Megan was dressed in appropriately! Like an escort. There is a profile of an escort in Tulsa (where her dad is from) & Houston (not far from Tulsa) that I feel looks like Megan. Her face is blurred out but she has a scar on her knee and also a birthmark above her buttocks. This escort is high dollar.
I think she was intrigued by the life her dad lives as an entertainer. & I believe her lured her away with a promise of a “modeling job” as an escort. I have turned in my findings to ff police.
Good! I hope something comes from it. I hate to see that happen to her, but I think it did, sadly.
I’ve just read this case, and checked out some of her family’s online activity. This means no disrespect to the family, I know that’s impossible to prevent though. However her Aunty has a folder of shots with Megan and her family, cherishing her ability to be a great model and subject in family pics. Of course I’m not linking Aunty to anything. No way. But if Megan was good in front of a camera, someone evil could have exploited this talent. The author thinks it’s a trafficking case… blackmail is a possible angle by which offenders may lure their targets.
Very true! Nothing can be ruled out at this point because Megan is still missing. Great insight on this case! Thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
The first thing that struck me as odd about this case is that her mother went in to kiss her good night around 11:15pm but did not report her missing until 1am—WHY? This makes no sense to me. And yeah I have to wonder if the cell phone was investigated to see whom Megan may have been in touch with up to that point. BTW—how in the world did Megan go up to her room, and face an intruder, and then be forced to write that note WITHOUT anyone else in the home hearing a commotion going on? If Megan went to her room at 10:30pm and was noticed missing at 11:15pm then that is only a 45 minute window for an intruder to break in (unnoticed) and force her to write a note and then get her out of the house. Something just isn’t right here.
The only thing I can think of is that the mother was searching for Megan on her own first before calling the police. Maybe she wanted to find her to convince her to come home. I honestly do not know.
As far as the note goes, if it is a sex trafficking case, the person in charge could have told her what to write without forcing her. They also could have cleaned up her phone. I do not believe an intruder was in the house but maybe someone was nearby. Hard to say. Just a weird case in a way.
Just watch the missing case on crime watch. Is so sad. I have a 15 year son and I would go insane if he is missing. I go crazy when i dont hear anything from after school. You know what’s strange? this is the first I heard about her case why? There should be billboards and more news. Sorry for her family 🙁 I will pray for them & Megan to come home safe!
Somebody should try to get her story to John Walsh American Most Wanted. A lot of people watch it! It could help, n
I was recently in Chicago and saw a young lady sitting on the corner of North. Dearborn and Washington Ave. that resembles the picture of Megan I see here. She was wearing a drab light green Hoodie sweatshirt. I don’t wish to prematurely get anyone’s hopes up but it might be worth having the Chicago police keep an eye on that area. Hope you find her.
I hope you reported it to the police o r shared it to the Facebook group Prayers for Megan Nichols…
I also believe that is where Megan is or was at in Carbondale.if I had s car and license I would go look for her.i knew her and her mom.good people.loving.
Hi Michelle! They do seem like good people. It’s heartbreaking! I just hope Megan is found one day soon.
Hello my name is Colin Clayton,I am from United kingdom (Europe)..a.For many years i have investigated and researched into various topics including the occult/Nazi’s/annunaki/serial killers and much more….For many years from the seventies when i was a teenager growing up i never really knew what was going on behind the scenes in the film industry,i was in many films myself in the sixties,seventies and eighties….I was born psychic,I always sensed something was not right and that something was going on but could not put my finger on it,i watched various horror films some that my mother was in “The devils rides out”, “rosemary’s baby”…she did crowd work as what they call an extra…She is a healer and not at all into any form of witchcraft or satanism…But we have had long discussions about children who go missing or are murdered….The possibilities of why these children are murdered or go missing can be one of many reasons….It could be an individual who is a pedophile,a relative who wishes them out the way due to inheritance,A group of people who are an organized syndicate involved in child prostitution on a global scale or they could be abducted by occultists…I like you am very concerned about children who go missing,not just kids but people as well…In this world there are some very sick individuals who seem to enjoy making others suffer…And it is up to good people like us to stop any of this…So this website is a great place for us to discuss these topics,theories…Before the internet started back in the seventies/ eighties my mother told me that there was something not right about the film industry,she found out that mia farrow was into black magic when she was in the film “rosemary’s baby”….Satanic activity goes on in secret,I’m not saying that this girl was abducted by Satanists but it is a possibility….Since the 2000 i have been researching much more information online about the occult and various other subjects but i’ve also been interested like you in finding out the truth about where these people have gone especially children because now we live in a world where certain people don’t see others as people,they see other human beings as products/objects…
Some of these people who do things to children are sick in the head…I found this site by accident but i’m glad i did….Maybe i might be able to get some pictures from seeing the photo’s of these missing people and get help from my guides in spirit….You might think this is unreal but i have proved to myself more than anyone else that i can communicate with spirit…My friend was in shock once when i told him i saw his sister who showed me where she died in the grand canyon….And this was in The united kingdom,I never knew he had a sister or that she went to the grand canyon..But i then saw his grandmother and she showed me something else which proved to him and myself that i was not imagining all this…As i’ve said i was born with this ability and some of the things that i have seen in my life (I am now 52) have proved to me that there is an after life,I can also see aura’s……I would like to help find any children and adults who have gone missing and maybe i might pick something up we shall see..God bless…kind regards Colin
I have always been interested in psychics, especially since my mom passed away and I haven’t found any closure from that or my childhood. I certainly hope and pray that you can help find some of these missing people. Good luck to you and thank you in advance for trying to find closure for these families.
God bless
Hi Colin I really need to contact you about this case. I think you are right and I believe I know the people who did this. I am on Twitter as Bridgett Nicole Austin.