On-and-off again boyfriend with long rap sheet charged in Coast woman’s killing
A South Mississippi man with a history of misdemeanor and felony domestic violence arrests has been arrested on two new felony charges, including one count of murder, in the killing of a Pass Christian woman.
Brett Huntley Keel, 37, of Pass Christian, is being held in the Harrison County jail on the murder charge and a second count of tampering with evidence in the case, according to Pass Christian Police Chief Daren Freeman Justice Court Judge Diane Ladner set Keel’s bond at a total of $1.5 million.
Keel is accused of killing Joyce Gomez, a 38-year-old mother of two from Pass Christian. Her cause of death is still pending an autopsy, Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer said.
According to authorities and friends, Gomez had been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Keel.
Keel is charged in Harrison County because the killing occurred there., though specific details about the location are pending.
A missing-person case
Gomez’s father reported her missing in the early morning hours of Saturday after she failed to return to her home in Pass Christian. Gomez lived with her father and her two children.
Harrison County sheriff’s deputies found Gomez’s body off a dirt path in a wooded area on W Wittman Road on Sunday.
Keel is accused of tampering with evidence in the criminal case as well, though Keel so far refused to provide information since his initial arrest Saturday night on an unrelated charge.
Hancock County authorities first picked up Keel on an outstanding warrant for misdemeanor simple assault domestic violence. In that case, the criminal affidavit says Keel, in October 2024, punched a man in the face and choked him with his hands. The alleged attack occurred in Bay St. Louis.
That case is still pending.
Arrests dating back to 2006
The Sun Herald reviewed court records and jail dockets to track Keel’s history of arrests in both Harrison and Hancock counties since the age of 18.
Keel has been in and out of jail on a variety of misdemeanor and felony charges.
As early as 2006, authorities arrested him in Harrison County on misdemeanor charges of vandalism, malicious mischief, and disorderly conduct, among other offenses.
Since then, he has also served time in the county jail and prison for misdemeanor and felony domestic violence and drug-related convictions.
In one case in October 2010, Keel was arrested on a felony charge of aggravated domestic violence for a crime against his own mother. In that case in Long Beach, Keel’s mom said she was asleep on a couch at home when her son hit her in the head and face with an iron.
After the attack, Keel’s mother reportedly ran out of the house, hid in a car, and called a friend to report the incident to the police, resulting in Keel’s arrest.
His most serious offense came this week with his murder arrest. He could go to prison for life for that crime, plus up to 20 years for the tampering offense.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published April 28, 2025 at 5:26 PM.
