Brittany Marlowe Holberg was born on January 1, 1973, in Amarillo, Texas. Growing up, she faced challenges in her environment. At a young age, she was exposed to drugs, which played a significant role in her life. Reports indicate that she first encountered drugs at home when she was about 13 or 14 years old.

Holberg married as a teenager and gave birth to a daughter in 1993. After her marriage ended, she returned to Amarillo at the age of 20. However, during this time, she began associating with a group that led her to further struggles. She became addicted to drugs and started engaging in illegal activities to support her addiction. In the process, she admitted to scamming prescription medication from dentists alongside her aunt.

In 1996, Holberg was caught with drugs and completed a substance-abuse felony punishment program before being released from state custody. Her early life also included a traumatic experience where she was gang raped, severely beaten, and hospitalized due to the injuries she received during that incident.

Brittany Marlowe Holberg was convicted of the murder of 80-year-old A.B. Towery Sr. in November 1996. The incident happened in Towery's home in Amarillo, Texas. During the crime, Towery was stabbed nearly 60 times with various weapons, including knives and a fork. He also suffered blunt trauma to the head from a hammer. A lamp pole was shoved down his throat, causing serious injuries.

Holberg claimed that Towery attacked her first. She argued that he became violent after finding a crack pipe in her possession. According to Holberg, Towery struck her with a metal pan and threatened her with a knife. In response, she stabbed him with her own knife, and the situation escalated from there.

After the murder, Holberg washed herself and changed out of her bloody clothes. She took $1,400 from Towery's wallet before leaving the scene. Believing she had little chance of a fair trial due to her lifestyle as a sex worker and drug user, she fled to Tennessee after the incident.

Eventually, Holberg was arrested and put on trial for the murder of A.B. Towery. Her defense attorney argued that she acted in self-defense during the altercation. Despite these claims, she was found guilty and sentenced to death. Holberg's appeal was upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.

Holberg continued to maintain her self-defense claim in appeals and interviews over the years, often arguing that her background, addiction, and trauma were not fairly considered during trial.

In a major development in March 2025, a federal court overturned her conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct and suppression of exculpatory evidence during the original trial. The specific withheld evidence has not been fully disclosed publicly, but the court found it could have materially affected the outcome of the case.

As of 2025, Brittany Holberg is no longer on death row, and her case is undergoing legal review. It remains uncertain whether prosecutors will retry her, drop the charges, or negotiate a plea deal. Her status may change depending on the upcoming court decisions.