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(left to right) a photo of Odette, Liana, Vivie, and Marlene, taken by their father, four hours before their disappearance Vivie: March 13th, 1965 - August 19th, 1977 Liana and Marlene: April 23rd, 1969 - August 19th, 1977 Odette: November 10th, 1971 - August 19th, 1977
SOLVED
Vivie Lisa Barlowe, Liana Amaya Barlowe, Marlene Penelope Barlowe and Odette Josephine Barlowe were four American sisters who went missing in June and by August, were found dead.
All four girls were born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa by their mother, Lucie Barlowe (now Brant). Vivie, Liana and Marlene all shared the same father; Maximus Brant. He and Lucie didn't get married but had a passionate relationship for many years before splitting in 1970. Maximus, of course, stayed in contact with Lucie, due to the whole three daughters thing. Meanwhile, Odette's father, Jacob Nathaniel, was a very abusive man with an alcohol addiction who had raped Lucie. After finally being able to get away from him, Lucie moved back in with Maximus and gave birth to Odette there. Odette was raised to believe that Maximus was her father.
"I never could bring myself to tell her the truth," Lucie told Artie Hart, the host of our sister podcast, Gone But Not Forgotten. "Because I knew she would ask questions. And how do you tell your little one that you were raped? I probably would have told her when she was older, but, just...god."
Lucie moved into her own apartment in Summer 1973. All four sisters grew up very close with another and got along very well. Vivie was always described as an exceptional big sister. Liana and Marlene, being twins, were just a tad bit closer than they were with Vivie and Odette. Odette was a rowdy little thing, but, then again, she was also only five at the time of her death.
On June 7th, the sisters were at their father's home, where they usually spent their time during the summer, since he had a pool. The sisters were playing in the woods behind the house while Maximus watched them. He told them to stay where he could see them and they all obeyed that, Vivie also helping to keep her sisters out of trouble. At 5:01PM (CST time), Maximus went back inside the home to use the bathroom and get a can of beer. At 5:08PM (CST time), he went back outside and didn't see the girls anywhere. He wondered if they were just hiding from him. He went into the woods, searched for several minutes, calling their names, and found no trace of them.
"It's the age old saying; the worst things happen when you turn your back for just a second." Maximus told Artie. "And, I don't know, hindsight isn't fun, but, maybe if I'd told them to come back inside while I was in there, they'd still be alive. My daughters would still be alive. Odette included, Odette was my daughter, even if not by blood, I am the man that raised her, loved her and didn't carelessly slaughter her."
Maxmimus called Lucie. The girls weren't there. He asked around the neighborhood, Lucie asked around her own, they asked around nearby neighborhoods, they called the homes of the girl's friends. Vivie, Liana, Marlene and Odette were nowhere to be found in Cedar Rapids. A missing persons report was filed for all four.
On August 19th, 1977, at around 5:13AM (CST time), two teenagers, Alexis Meyers and Jasper Hart, were walking through trails behind a park in Des Moines, Iowa, trying to find a place to have sex quietly. Both had snuck out of their homes. Well, while walking through the woods, they found four naked bodies of four young girls.
Alexis screamed, naturally, and the teens went back to Alexis' home, which was closer by. Alexis' parents were initially angry, of course, but upon hearing the whole "we found four dead girls" and seeing two incredibly shaken teenagers, they called the police and then Jasper's parents.
The bodies were quickly identified as the missing Barlowe sisters.
All had bruises in various places through their bodies. All had evidence of sexual assault. Vivie's cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma, while Liana, Marlene and Odette all had the same cause of death; multiple stab wounds to the chest.
The girls were taken home and buried in Cedar Rapids.
A month later, the case was solved when a man walked into a Des Moines police station. The man introduced himself as Jacob Nathaniel. He admitted to kidnapping and killing the girls. Jacob had planned it for months in advance, after finding out where Odette would be staying for the summer. He says her sisters were just 'collateral damage'.
What had happened was Jacob had been hiding in the woods, just waiting for a moment where Maximus turned his back. So, when Maximus went inside, he grabbed Marlene and held a gun to her head. She was soon found by her sisters and he took them home to Des Moines, where he held them in his basement, repeatedly beating and raping them. He also, of course, told Odette that he was her father which, he said, "Little Odie denied it to her core." He also spoke of Vivie, how she tried to protect her sisters. In his confession, he said, quote;
"Ah, little Vivie. She was a great big sister, very protective. Tried to take the hits. Really, I wish she'd just stayed back, let me do my thing, you know? Saying nothing would have been the best way to protect her and her sisters."
In the early morning of August 19th, 1977, he went into the basement, and Vivie tried to protect her little sisters. So, Jacob grabbed a baseball bat and beat Vivie to death with it. He claims he hadn't meant to kill her, but, "It's just how it happened". Afterwards, he just decided to finish off Liana, Marlene and Odette. He then dumped their bodies in a park, where they'd be found just two hours later.
Jacob died in prison in 1985 after a heart attack. He never gave any reason as to why he confessed, especially considering he didn't seem remorseful at all.
Lucie and Maximus Brant got married in 1979. They had three more children; Steven Brant, Caleb Brant and Ellie Brant.
At the time of their deaths, Vivie was twelve, Liana and Marlene were eight, and Odette was five going on six.
