Murder suspect nabbed in St. Louis

Officers arrested a Cape Girardeau murder suspect Thursday evening in St. Louis.

Brandon L. Banks, 28, is accused of killing 40-year-old Marsha Ann Brown of Cape Girardeau, whose body was found Tuesday morning in rural Makanda, Ill.

Detectives from Jackson County, Ill., assisted by U.S. marshals and the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department, found Banks at the home of an acquaintance, according to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.

Marsha Brown

Banks was in custody in St. Louis County, awaiting extradition to Illinois, the release stated.

A motorist discovered Brown's body Tuesday morning in a ditch on the south side of Potters Road near U.S. 51 in rural

Makanda.

An autopsy was conducted on Brown's body Wednesday. By Thursday evening, neither Jackson County Coroner Thomas Kupferer nor the sheriff's department had released any information about the cause of death.

Earlier Thursday, the department reported Banks' last known address was 716 N. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau -- the same address where local police helped federal agents execute a search warrant late Wednesday afternoon.

Darin Hickey, public information officer for the Cape Girardeau Police Department, said Thursday the officers who surrounded the Brent House Apartments on Wednesday were assisting the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with a search warrant at the complex.

"We were just there to assist," Hickey said.

An officer at the scene Wednesday confirmed the police activity at the apartment complex was connected to the investigation into Brown's death.

Online court records show Banks has multiple previous offenses. In 2011, he was placed on five years' supervised probation for unlawful possession of a firearm.

In January 2010, he pleaded guilty to driving while his license was revoked and was placed on two years' probation, but that probation was revoked less than a year later, and he was sentenced to 120 days in jail.

In June 2007, Banks pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to two years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, and in September 2006, he pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property worth less than $500.

He was placed on two years of probation in the 2006 case, but his probation later was revoked, and in June 2007, he began a one-year jail sentence.

Authorities did not release any information Thursday about a possible motive in Brown's death.

An obituary from Ford and Sons Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau described Brown as "a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend" who "will be missed by all who knew her."

According to the obituary, Brown, who was born in Chaffee, Mo., had seven children -- two of whom are deceased -- and a granddaughter.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Potters Road and U.S. 51, Makanda, IL

716 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO