Brian Brewer owned a small trucking concern in Memphis, Tennessee, which specialized in removal jobs for construction sites. Gina Brewer worked mornings as the company manager while her mother watched the boys.

Because of the sixty-second difference in their ages, John and Anthony were assigned their fate almost from birth. John, the oldest son, would go out and make a better life for himself. Anthony, the youngest son, would stay and eventually take over his father's company.

Both brothers appeared to have resented the arrangement and fought constantly throughout their childhood. The two were so disruptive whenever they were in close proximity that, by the time they reached the fourth grade, John had to be enrolled in a private boarding school.

Without his brother to fight, John allegedly turned his anger towards the other students. He was accused numerous times of sabotaging various school projects, but there was never enough evidence to justify a suspension.

By high school, John had learned how to better channel his emotions. He graduated at the top of his class and then set his sights on Harvard University, where he earned an advanced degree in half the usual time. John was quickly hired to head the business school at the University of Mississippi, the position he still holds.

Anthony, meanwhile, had dropped out of high school to drive one of his father's trucks. According to Gina, Anthony was determined to upstage his brother by aggressively expanding the range of services offered by the trucking company. If Anthony couldn't have smart, he'd settle for rich.

The biggest deal Anthony ever worked on was when he pursued the trash removal contracts for multiple counties in western Tennessee. Before he was able to close the sale, his body was discovered one night in the trunk of his car. The murder is still unsolved.

John took a leave of absence and spent six months in Memphis. The detectives assigned to the investigation finally suggested he return to Oxford. "It was touch and go whether we were going to arrest him for interfering with an officer in the course of his duty. The man simply did not know how to back off."

The Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs says that John was changed by his brother's murder. "Of course one expects that the death of a twin would prove traumatic, and we have been more than understanding, but John's behavior was significantly impacted."

Specifically, John has been involved in a number of parking lot incidents which required the intervention of Campus Police. He has also reportedly pressured female faculty members under his control into compromising positions and has reduced more than one female grad student to tears.

The situation seems to have only worsened during the recent Barbara Dubois murder investigation. John was obsessed with the case and talked of almost nothing else. Repeated calls to the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department, asking for updates put him on a suspect list, but John was removed after a cursory investigation uncovered an ironclad alibi during the time of the murder. Once the case was solved and the perpetrator brought to justice, John became morose.

When a janitor placed an emptied trashcan on the wrong side of John's desk, John hurled the offending object through his office window. The student struck by the falling glass was convinced that pressing charges would not be good for his academic career.

Staff members learned to stay out of John's way. The exception, as usual, was Kristi Waterson who continued to cross swords with her supervisor.

Kristi had been hired over John's objections, which he stated in writing but finally withdrew. John often assigned Kristi the least desirable class schedules and the two fought openly during department meetings. During one such exchange, Kristi referred to John as "Grandpa." He replied that he only wished he was her grandfather so that he could "bend her over his knee and take a paddle to her."

One week before Kristi's death, the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department responded to a 911 call placed by a pizza delivery boy parked in John's driveway. When the officers arrived, they discovered the delivery boy cowering in his car, John circling the vehicle with a baseball bat he was using to threaten the delivery boy and his car. Apparently, John had requested "no mushrooms” on the special deluxe and was upset when the pizza arrived with mushrooms. John surrendered the bat to the officers and the situation was resolved peacefully.