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ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (BFMG) — Amid speculation of his guilt in the town and online, Jessica Barnes’ husband sat down with Blunt Force Media’s Troy Styles for his first interview since her mysterious disappearance from Pendleton, South Carolina, where she has been missing since Aug. 1.
Pendleton Police Chief Robert Crosby told Blunt Force Media on several occasions that Brandon Barnes has not been named a suspect or person of interest in the case. Jessica Barnes, 20, disappeared on the evening of Aug. 1, 2024, from the town of fewer than 4,000 residents where she has not been seen or heard from since.
A recent search of the couple’s home on Laurel Drive, where they lived with roommates, and allegations from a previous relationship involving domestic violence have drawn online speculation about Brandon’s involvement in her disappearance. However, Brandon said he did not initially report Jessica missing because he believed she would return, as she had done before.
Blunt Force Media has been on the ground this week, helping to raise awareness about Jessica’s disappearance. On Tuesday night, Brandon Barnes and their roommate, Victoria Tippett, arrived at Pendleton Square to post a missing persons flyer near one of Jessica’s favorite spots. Both Brandon and Victoria agreed to speak with Blunt Force Media about Jessica and the ongoing investigation into her disappearance. The duo left for a short while and returned with the ashes of the couple’s stillborn baby, ready to share.
We asked Brandon if he could share a message with Jessica, what he would say to her. “I would tell her how much I love her and I wish I never went to work everyday and ignored her. I ignored her voice, told her she was fine when I knew she wasn’t.” “I was young and stupid. I was always focused on getting more money and more work.”
He continued, “We never felt like we had hope in life. Always felt down, depressed, miserable, alone; seeking for help, hiding from help. Never accepting it when it came. Childhood trauma, being abused as a kid blaming people for things we regret or done.”
Brandon began to read a letter out loud to us that was written to him by Jessica on July 4, 2024, the couples one year anniversary. He tells us he wasn’t supposed to find the letter for ten years but found it sometime after her disappearance in a Bible Jessica left behind. The letter reads:
We have been through so much in the first year of our life together, and I am so grateful that I met you. I love you so much, baby. Thank you for sticking by my side and letting me in. It's hard to love me, but we had a son and got married—best choice I ever made, by the way.
We even went through a stillbirth and came out the other side stronger and more motivated, knowing we can stick together through anything. God put you in my life for a reason, and I will never let you go. I plan on writing these letters—ten of them—for the first ten years of our beautiful life together. I could never picture starting a life with anyone else. You are my rock, and I love you so much.
I am so blessed to be your wife. A year ago today, I asked you to be mine, and I am so happy you love me through all of my imperfections and flaws. You call me beautiful when you know I feel low and hold me tight in my sleep. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I won't let you slip away.
When you get this letter, you will be thirty-one. Today, you are twenty-one and working two jobs every day in fast food. I wish I had more time with you, but I know you are working hard for us, our future children, and even Kendall. Even though she doesn't always show appreciation, I know she is grateful too.
You amaze me with your strength to keep moving forward after our angel passed, never giving up on our family. You are the smartest twenty-one-year-old when it comes to investing and saving because you're always thinking about your future self, and I admire that. My love for you is so deep. Even when I am mad, I still love you, and I will love you more every day.
Today has been hard because it's our one-year anniversary, and it's already 3:18 p.m., and I've only gotten to see you for a few minutes. One day, you'll see that I appreciate small, heartfelt things, but for now, I put up with the heavy burdens you carry, like working and taking Kendall with you, even though she admitted she treats you poorly on purpose. I'm extremely mad today, but you know that, and you're still putting up with me.
Brandon says that if Jessica returns and wants to rebuild their relationship, there is nothing he won’t do for her. “I wasn’t raised proper. I wasn’t taught, ‘Hey, this is wrong, this is right.’ But I grew up knowing what I knew was wrong or right. I wasn’t disciplined growing up very much,” Brandon said.
He added, “It’s just nasty—all the comments and the ‘M’ word and all the other stuff. I could physically never do something like that.”
Both Brandon and Victoria are concerned about becoming homeless, so Blunt Force Media has shared resources with them. Pendleton Police Chief Robert Crosby confirmed that the investigation remains a missing persons case, and no suspect or person of interest has been named. Crosby said the department is continuing to work hard to find answers.
As the case reaches its third week since being reported by her mother, Cecilia Varvara, Jessica has now been missing for 56 days. Her mother grows increasingly desperate to bring her daughter home but continues to trust in God’s plan for Jessica’s story, regardless of the outcome.
