Brenda Ledbetter bio

Brenda Elizabeth Ledbetter was the only child of Roger and Elizabeth Baker on September 3, 1975, in Oxford.

Roger worked as a carpenter, building homes and installing wood floors, while Elizabeth was a homemaker. The couple was ecstatic when Brenda was born and strove to protect their daughter from the world and everything bad in it.

Elizabeth was a very proper, old-fashioned woman and raised Brenda to be the same way. As Brenda got older, her mother assigned her more chores so she would be well-prepared to be a good wife someday.

Throughout her school years, Brenda was attentive and did her schoolwork accurately and promptly, making her one of the teachers' favorites, which led to other students calling her names like "mama's girl" and "teacher's pet."

In her teen years, Brenda's favorite subject was history. After high school, Brenda decided to go to college, much to her mother's chagrin. Because of her academic excellence, she was offered a full scholarship to the University of Mississippi, where she studied history.

At Ole Miss, Brenda didn't want to be known as the geeky girl anymore. She changed her appearance, wearing more makeup and figure-flattering clothes and dyeing her hair regularly. The changes helped Brenda make a couple of friends, including her roommate at the dorm. She also turned a few heads, but she still wasn't very interested in men.

During college, Brenda worked at a local supermarket to build up a nest egg. She wanted to leave Oxford after graduation and try for a career at The Met in New York or maybe even the Louvre in Paris. However, soon after she got her degree, Brenda's plans changed.

Barely out of college, Brenda met Kevin Ledbetter when he came into the supermarket where she worked. She thought he was the most handsome man she had ever seen, and Kevin was instantly smitten with her, too.

They dated for several months and married in the spring. Soon after the wedding, Brenda took a job at the University of Mississippi museum. She expected she and Kevin would be starting their family soon, but it was years before she became pregnant. Brenda gave birth to her and Kevin's only daughter, Jasmine, in the spring of 2005.

At that time, Brenda reverted to what her mother had always taught her. She quit her job and devoted herself to loving and protecting her precious child.

Brenda's laser focus on Jasmine eventually put a strain on her marriage, and Kevin complained that she was ignoring him. She told him she was just being a good mother and chastised him for being selfish. They were at an impasse, and Kevin filed for divorce. Brenda was hurt and angry, and to cope, she turned all of her attention to Jasmine.