Los Angeles County prosecutors have charged the boyfriend of Christina Downer, the 38-year-old sister of “Saturday Night Live” writer Jimmy Fowlie, with her murder. A second suspect is accused of helping cover it up. Delorean Bijon Brandon, 41, faces one count of murder, and Kaylee Nicole Markowski, 34, faces one felony count of accessory after the fact, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Nov. 2. Downer’s body has not been found.
The LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division arrested both suspects Oct. 29, nearly a year after Downer disappeared. The arrests marked a major turn in a month-long investigation that began with a welfare check and moved to homicide detectives after Downer’s cellphone washed ashore on Santa Monica Beach.
Christina Downer Case: What Police and Prosecutors Have Said
LAPD detectives said Brandon and Markowski were responsible for Downer’s murder, the disposal of her body and the concealment of their involvement, according to an Oct. 30 department statement. Both were initially booked on suspicion of murder, with bail set at $2 million each.
Prosecutors allege Brandon killed Downer on or about Sept. 19, 2025, according to the criminal complaint. Brandon also faces two felony counts of injuring a spouse or cohabitant tied to separate 2022 incidents involving another woman, NBC Los Angeles reported. If convicted as charged, Brandon faces a potential life sentence and Markowski up to three years in county jail, according to the DA’s office.
“Although Ms. Downer has not been located, we are charging two individuals today who are accused of playing a role in her death and disappearance and we will hold them accountable for their actions,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
Police arrested Brandon in the 6000 block of Garvanza Avenue in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. They arrested Markowski separately in the 6000 block of Tampa Avenue in Tarzana.
How the Suspects Are Connected
The DA’s office identified Markowski as Brandon’s girlfriend. Court records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times point to a turbulent history between the two. Brandon petitioned for a restraining order against Markowski on Sept. 2, 2025, just weeks before prosecutors say Downer was killed. Downer had sought her own restraining order against Markowski in September 2024, Oxygen reported.
Background on the Disappearance
Downer was reported missing Dec. 18, 2025, after her ex-husband requested a welfare check because he had not heard from her for an extended period, according to the LAPD. Fowlie said he last heard from his sister Nov. 26, and police said she allegedly texted a friend Dec. 10.
At the time, Brandon told police that Downer had moved out of their shared Koreatown home several months earlier and had left behind her belongings, her vehicle and her dog, according to the LAPD. The case escalated when Downer’s cellphone washed ashore on Santa Monica Beach, and the Robbery-Homicide Division took over the investigation.
On Oct. 9, LAPD detectives searched an Airbnb property in Joshua Tree for evidence related to Downer’s disappearance, with help from K-9 units and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, NBC Los Angeles reported. Los Angeles Fire Department personnel also assisted, according to KTLA and SFGATE.
Fowlie’s Public Statements
Fowlie posted on Instagram April 29 that the LAPD had told his family Downer was no longer alive and that the case had become a homicide investigation. Police publicly disputed that characterization at the time, saying they were still investigating her disappearance.
“Our prayers for her to be found safely have transformed into prayers for the truth to be revealed and for those responsible to be held accountable,” Fowlie wrote.
In the same post, Fowlie said the family believed Downer’s phone and social media had been compromised in the weeks before she went missing. “The individual(s) in possession of her phone used it to hide the fact she was gone, to ask for money, and to create a false narrative that she was going ‘off the grid,’” he wrote, per NBC News.
What’s Next
Brandon and Markowski are scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 29, according to court records reviewed by Oxygen. Jail records list Brandon’s bail at $3.13 million, while no bail amount was listed for Markowski. Neither has entered a plea, and their attorneys did not immediately respond to Oxygen’s requests for comment. Both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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