What Happened to Joe? 

JOE SHYMANSKI WAS INTENTIONALLY MURDERED ON SEPTEMBER, 3 2023 BY A MAN HE'D NEVER MET

 

Joe Shymanski was killed in the driveway of his Calvert County, Maryland home on Sunday September 3, 2023.  Brandon Ross Holbrook, a resident of Pennsylvania, was subsequently arrested, charged, and convicted of Joe’s murder.

 

Although Joe had never met Holbrook, Holbrook drove 204 miles to Maryland to kill Joe. After the murder, Holbrook loaded Joe’s body into his truck and drove all the way back to his home in Pennsylvania that afternoon. Once home, Holbrook dismembered Joe with a saw and attempted to burn his body to dispose of it.

 

Police were able to quickly identify Holbrook as the suspect, and arrested him in Reedsville, Pennsylvania on September 6, 2023. On April 9, 2025, he was convicted of first degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, and destroying and concealing physical evidence. His sentencing is scheduled for July 18, 2025. 

 

Holbrook was in a relationship with Joe’s ex-wife. Joe and his ex had recently divorced, and there were ongoing contentious issues regarding the logistics of how to exchange the children between Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well a monetary award that Joe appealed in court and won. Joe had retained primary physical custody of their two children, and he was doing everything in his power to give the kids a normal and happy life in the only home they had ever known in Maryland. Per the divorce settlement, holidays and most of the summer weeks were spent with their mother in Pennsylvania.  

 

Joe's ex-wife reported him missing on Labor Day evening when she returned to Maryland with the 2 children after they had spent the long weekend with her.  The 2 children, then ages 7 and 8, had already resumed the school year in Maryland with their father the week leading up to Labor Day weekend.

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Waiting for Justice

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We are grateful that the Calvert County, MD detectives were able to quickly find and arrest Holbrook, and that he was ultimately found guilty for his heinous crimes. During the trial to convict Holbrook, Joe's ex wife invoked her Fifth Amendment right declining to answer any questions or provide testimony about the case.

 

We believe that Joe's story needs to be told, both because shining a light on these tragic events can bring the truth and resolution for those who loved Joe, but also because this experience is one that almost all victims of such crimes must endure. Despite Holbrook's conviction, too many questions still exist. Only with the help of (and hope from) others will we find the answers. We need Justice for Joe Shymanski.

 

What We Know About the Crime

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Joe was last seen alive about 4 pm the afternoon of September 3, 2023 when he left a neighbor’s house to return to his home. While other neighbors heard what might have been gunshots sometime soon after that, they did not suspect that anything was amiss. Houses in the area are spaced well apart, with little clear sightlines between them. Given that it was not uncommon for target shooting to happen around the area, nothing was reported that day.

 

The following evening, on Labor Day Monday, Joe was reported missing to the Police by his ex-wife at approximately 7:30pm. She had driven to Maryland from Pennsylvania to return the children to Joe as part of their shared custody agreement. This was the first time Joe's ex-wife complied with the court order that required her to drive the children all the way to Joe’s home in Maryland instead of meeting at a halfway point. Joe’s wallet, phone and car keys were found in his house in the kitchen, and the flip flops he had been wearing were found inside the door. Police arrived and looked around the nearby area, then decided to return the next day as it was already getting dark.

 

The next morning when it was daylight, the police found evidence of violence, with human blood stains in the driveway. They interviewed Joe’s ex-wife, neighbors and Joe’s best friend and business partner, and in the process of their investigation, determined Holbrook’s truck had been in Calvert County on Sept 3 using license plate recognition technology. On September 5, with the assistance of local Pennsylvania police, Calvert County police went to Holbrook’s home. There they found evidence of human remains in Holbrook’s truck and other evidence around Holbrook’s home and property. Holbrook was formally charged the following day, Sept 6, and arrested.

 

Law enforcement conducted searches in the Reedsville, Pennsylvania area and discovered human remains in multiple locations near Holbrook's home. Joe’s body had been dismembered and burnt beyond recognition.​​