Left: Britney Andrus. Right: Tyler Best (Highland County Sheriff).
A Florida woman is headed to prison for the rest of her days for murdering and robbing her husband”s 88-year-old great-grandfather so she could run off with her boyfriend to Michigan.
Britney Andrus, 29, was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison for the 2020 beating death of James Little at his Sebring home. She was found guilty of second-degree murder, burglary and grand theft of a motor vehicle in July. Her boyfriend, 25-year-old Tyler Best, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges and reportedly testified against Andrus at her trial. He was sentenced in January to 15 years in prison.
The victim’s grandson, Joshua Little, spoke at the sentencing hearing where he said his grandfather “loved helping people.”
“He was 88 years old when his life was stolen from him during the golden years of his life,” Joshua Little said, according to a courtroom report from the Highlands News-Sun. “I know this is a case of 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.”
Andrus’ defense attorney reportedly said his client has suffered from mental health issues since childhood, precipitated in part by when she found her murdered mother’s body at age 5.
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.”
