SNL Writer's Sister: Boyfriend Arrested on Murder Suspicion
Two people were arrested on suspicion of murder in the disappearance and death of Christina Downer, sister of Saturday Night Live writer Jimmy Fowlie, nearly a year after she vanished.
Newsnibs Staff
- 2026-10-31
- Updated 1:00 PM UTC
(Los Angeles, United States)
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of murder in the death of Christina Downer, the sister of "Saturday Night Live" writer Jimmy Fowlie. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the arrests on Friday. Delorean Bijon Brandon, 41, who was Downer's boyfriend when she disappeared, was arrested in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Kaylee Nicole Markowski, 34, of Los Angeles, was arrested in Tarzana. Both are held at the Metropolitan Detention Center on $2 million bail each. Reports differ on whether the arrests happened Thursday or Friday.
Downer, 38, was last seen in Koreatown on November 26, 2025. Her ex-husband asked police to do a welfare check, and she was reported missing in December. Brandon told authorities then that she had moved out months earlier. One account says he told them she left her belongings behind, including her car and her dog. Fowlie said at the time that his sister was rarely without her miniature pinscher, Rex.
Detectives from the department's Robbery-Homicide Division took over after Downer's cellphone washed ashore at Santa Monica Beach, and they focused on Brandon. The LAPD says it believes Brandon and Markowski are responsible for her murder, for disposing of her body, and for concealing their involvement. No motive has been released. The division plans to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for filing consideration.
Fowlie has alleged that someone else used his sister's phone and social media accounts to solicit money and to build a false story that she had left her life willingly. A holiday message appeared on her Instagram account on December 14, weeks after her family last heard from her. It drew suspicion because it used a recycled photo. Legal documents also show restraining orders connecting Brandon, Markowski and Downer, which were dismissed after no one appeared in court.
In April, Fowlie posted that he believed his sister was "no longer alive." Reports from that month conflict. One says Fowlie announced the LAPD had told his family she was dead and the case had become a homicide. The LAPD quickly disputed that, saying she had not been located and the case had not been reclassified.
Accounts also differ on whether her body has since been found. One outlet reports it was discovered in April, another says that was unclear, and a third says detectives are still searching for evidence on how it was disposed of. Earlier this month, the Robbery-Homicide Division, K-9 units and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department searched an Airbnb property in the Joshua Tree area.
Fowlie joined "Saturday Night Live" in its 48th season and co-wrote the Netflix comedy "Roommates." As the case drew national attention, celebrities and entertainment industry colleagues publicly supported him and his family. The arrests came nearly a year after Downer disappeared.
Photo by Daniel von Appen on Unsplash
