All She Wanted

Aphrodite Jones

This story is one that is HORRIFICALLY unimaginable. It was written by TRUE CRIME author, Aphrodite Jones. In this ACCURATE account, Aphrodite recounts the telling of the 1993 brutal rape/murder of Brandon Teena in Falls City, NE.

Originally from Lincoln, growing up Teena was a straight tomboy through and through. When it came to dating boys, she wasn't overly interested. Somewhere along the line, Teena changed her name to Teen. When she had reached puberty, while w/ a friend "sharing stories", Teena went into detail of abuse by a relative male. Teena was a tough girl. After an incident and living w/ her older sister, Tammy for awhile Teena wasn't really TEENA anymore. After secretly examining herself and 2 pairs of socks inside her pants, she felt the thrill to feel like a boy.

Billy

After turning 18, Teena was beginning to change: cutting her hair short and binding her chest to hide her femininity. While passing herself of as a man, "Billy Brinson", Teena was involved with a girl, Heather, while his mother, JoAnn Brandon, very concerned for her daughter's safety, did everything to bring her daughter home. In the time that they were together, not knowing if he should tell Heather about JoAnn's report to the police, not really CARING  about what sex "Billy" really was.

Being everyone's dream guy in a way, he knew how a woman wanted to be treated. After moving in w/ Heather, Billy changed his name to Brandon. Three months after going out, Brandon bought Heather a promise ring - sort of a pre-engagement. Not one to pressure for anything, discussing marriage/kids after discussing each others stories of sexual abuse. Brandon went on to say, after these revealing stories, that confessing rape was his BIGGEST fear.

Retelling his history, Brandon explained that he was once female but now he was a hermaphrodite. After JoAnn would call and get Heather's mom, Ruth, on the phone and spilled the beans about Teena. Naturally after telling Gina, another girlfriend, certain people began to wonder the truth.

Brandon's mugshot

Brandon was also stealing and writing checks from those he stayed with for exorbitant amounts and forging signatures. Along w/ writing checks, he was also stealing from the ATM.When he was questioned about it, Brandon relayed good intentions for doing it. Ruth called the authorities and after being tracked down, Brandon was charged with 2nd Degree Forgery. After all of the legalities were over, Teena Renae Brandon was put on probation and more. In 1992, Brandon moved out of Ruth's house and Heather received letters  of Brandon's being sorry. But by then, the relationship crumbled.

It was through in-patient therapy, after Brandon tried to kill herself, that JoAnn learned EVERYTHING, from the abuse and more that Teena and Tammy were hiding. When JoAnn found out where his living situation was, she realized it was a high school acquaintance, Reanna. JoAnn asked for Brandon to be sent home, telling them the whole story. After Brandon was confronted and denied it, no matter what, he manipulated/fooled ALOT of people to think he was a guy.After Brandon had moved out, Reanna tried to avoid him at all costs. It was after that Brandon became involved w/ Gina Bartu.

Brandon and Gina fell for each other pretty quickly, just the nature of the relationship. But as things were beginning, Brandon's past caught up w/ his criminal activities, catching up to 18 crimes, mostly forgery and failure to appear again. Of course, Brandon didn't see any wrong doing in it, he thought of it as he was being a giver. Brandon didn't understand and grew tired of being a sex object. He made a big deal about girls using him for money and they seemed to have liked that.

But on 5/23/1993, Gina  had to post bail for forgery charges Brandon ranked up, confronting the name Teena Rae Brandon for the first time. Brandon retold the costs of the surgery as to why he hadn't gotten it yet. Almost at a breakup, Brandon proposed marriage. Gina was told but had said yes. One year after the proposal and nothing was being done, in Sept. Brandon was in jail again for more forgery charges after stealing a credit card and charging $454.00 and seen what Brandon had REALLY done. Even though Gina felt like pressing charges, she just couldn't do it. Although Brandon promised to do whatever to reimburse, the damage was done.

Afraid to push her away but also wanting contact, JoAnn contacts Brandon and asks about the charges. She also began to see her daughter shift into high gear; weight lifting and becoming more of a he on the exterior. After a fight ensued, Brandon and Daphne, someone he hooked up with, left for Humbolt, NE. There they crashed w/ Lisa Lambert, a friend of Daphne's.

After Brandon's 20TH birthday party, he asked to be dropped off at Lana Tisdel's house, someone Brandon had met a week prior. Brandon had popped into a local bar and seen Lana - he just had to meet her and after looking him over and how clean he was, she gave him a chance.Going back to her house to party, he met Lana's mom, Linda and 2 of Lana's friends, John Lotter and Tom Nissen.

After previous letters/excuses to the court, Teena was a wanted felon and appeared before the judge, but on 12-16-1992, the jig was up. Teena Ray Brandon was hauled in for 2ND Degree Forgery and thrown in jail. Meanwhile, things were starting to click for Lisa and another girl, Kelli to where it could be possible that Brandon was actually a female.

Brandon & Lana

Breaking down with call-waiting, they took the call and decided to bail Brandon out of jail, but chose not to out of being furious.After being jailed and going to court, his fine was $200.00 and had called Lana for bail. With a blank check from her dad to get a perm, instead Lana used it for Brandon's bail, but since Lana was underage, she had Tom Nissen do her a favor. It was in a past army life that Tom and John had officially met, came from and lived in Falls City, NE. Besides the army, one commonality they both had were bad upbringings. But it was late Nov. that Tom, John, Lana and, Brandon all "officially got to hanging out!"

But, soon enough Lana was catching up to Brandon and all of the lies after he was allowed to move in w/ Lana and Linda. When Brandon was in jail, Lana got to see, while in visitation, that Brandon did indeed have a female chest, stating that he was in the "process". The same night Brandon was bailed out, Linda read a note from Lana that she had written and after that Linda was FURIOUS and hopped in the car to Lana's location, found Brandon and grabbed him violently by the neck and forced him into the bathroom wanting a confrontation, "Are you a male or a female?" Not exactly wanting to prove anything to Lana, she just wanted her daughter back, thinking this was the way to do it! Lana was certain to take Brandon into the bathroom and exam him as reassurance. But then Linda went to call Lana's ex-husband, Leland and confess the whole story. Leland then went to get Tom Nissen's address. It was also known about the $250.00 for Brandon's bail.

Concerned for her daughter's FULL well-being, She allowed John &Tom to get involved. It was Dec. 14TH when Brandon had bonded out of jail, which was the same day Phillip DeVine arrived in Nebraska. Christmas Eve was the beginning to a devastating end when after early and later drinking that John started again with Brandon's sexuality. After some punches were thrown, long after Lana had left the intended party, Brandon went into the bathroom to check the damage and then John and Tom barged in, depantsing Brandon for what they were wanting to know.

It was when they had been alone : Tom, John & Brandon while continually violent w/ him that they left and went stopping at a farmhouse, where they BOTH physically sexually assaulted Brandon, after it was over and they returned to the house and ordered for Brandon to clean up. Brandon then escaped through a window and went to Lana's house, who in then took him to the hospital where he was questioned/examined. During the interview, Sherriff Charles Laux of the Police Department was VERY Graphic and CRUEL with his line of questioning. It was like Brandon had been assaulted all over again - this time verbally.

Lisa Lambert

After Brandon's initial statement and co-operation w/ filing charges, about 5 days after the initial investigation, Lotter and Nissen went about "taking care" of this "problem". After they able to obtain a gun & a hunting knife, Tom and John went to the farmhouse residence of Lisa Lambert and ended the lives of Brandon Teena, by shooting him and stabbing him, with 2 single shots killed Phillip DeVine and Lisa Lambert. Almost killing Lisa's then 8-month son Tanner just before leaving the scene.

As news stories/articles were surrounding the Humboldt murders, LGBT communities began looking at Brandon Teena as a martyr and symbol of a hate crime, imploding this story throughout the national news media. As far as it came for the trial, Tom only seemed to show emotion when Kandi, Tom's wife, stood for the prosecution. Much to everyone's surprise, while they waited  2 1/2 days for a verdict, Sherriff Laux was voted out of his job.

Tom Nissen was found GUILTY on the following: First Degree Murder for Brandon's murder and 2ND Degree for both murders of Philip and Lisa. As these stories and demonstrations on 20/20, it was showing ONLY focus on the hell/horror that Brandon's murder indicated; flat out ignoring the other 2 victims who also lost their lives. When it came to Lotter's trial, some jurors/spectators sensed some deja vu. As the prosecution drew to a close, Tom rolled over and cut a separate  deal to save his own life. John Lotter was found guilty of First Degree Murder w/o the possibility of parole.

Brandon's story was seen through an Oscar-winning film starring Hilary Swank in 1999 entitled Boys Don't Cry  w/ Hilary as Brandon and Chloe Sevigny as Lana Tisdel. A 2hr documentary was filmed in 1998 with the REAL  people called 'The Brandon Teena Story'.



Here's My Opinion:

Brandon's story just shows you the humanity and compassion that is missing to be seen in today's society.