Authorities announce $20,000 reward in killing of Antelope Valley businessman who was featured on ‘Hoarders’

Glen Brittner was known as a generous man who offered strangers a meal or a place to stay at his home in Llano, about 20 miles east of Palmdale.

Detectives believe the 59-year-old’s kindness may have led to his killing last year, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Katz told reporters Wednesday, as the department announced a $20,000 reward in the homicide.

Brittner owned a local water business, and one of his employees found him at home on Aug. 18, 2015, his hands and feet bound with zip ties. He had been hit with a blunt object, and the home in the 26200 block of East Avenue W-8 had been ransacked.

Brittner remained in a coma for 10 days until he died.

“Learning that my dad was attacked in his home shattered our family,” Derek Brittner, 23, said with tears in his eyes.

The elder Brittner, who used a wheelchair, was described by his family as an Eric Clapton fan who enjoyed camping with relatives and liked working on motorcycles. In recent years, he had bonded with his only grandchild, Emmett, now 3.

“Being a grandfather was very special to him,” Derek Brittner said.

Authorities said physical evidence has been recovered from the scene, but they need help determining who may have been at the home. Brittner was last seen about 10 p.m. the night before the attack, and he was discovered at 10:30 a.m. the next morning. There was no sign of a forced entry into the home, and power tools, televisions and a coin collection were stolen, along with $2,000 in cash normally kept inside a safe.

A 30-year Llano resident, Brittner was known in the community for his water business, Domestic Water Delivery, which he took over from his father. If someone couldn’t pay for water, which came from a well on his property, he allowed them to work at his business to pay off what they owed or take water with a promise to pay him later.

“He always put his customers first,” said his older brother, Gary Brittner.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Brittner also suffered loss. His father committed suicide when Brittner was 18. And in 1998, Brittner’s wife died of massive heart failure when she was 39. In the wake of her death, he was featured in 2011 on the television show “Hoarders,” because he had amassed a collection of rats. With the help of the television show, Brittner got rid of 2,500 rats living on his property and made a full recovery, his son said.

Still, Brittner sometimes got lonely and would lend strangers help in the form of meals or letting them stay at his home.

“This man suffered a terrible and tragic death that shouldn’t have occurred,” Katz said. “I think someone took advantage of his trust.”

Derek Brittner called his father one of the “biggest-hearted” men he knew.

“He always helped people in need and put himself on the back burner,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

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