Human Wreckage True Crime

Who did this to Amber Berbiglia?

• Thomas W

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Who savagely beaten, strangled, excited bride to be Amber Burbiglia in broad daylight under a busy South Carolina overpass, with her car still running nearby? On a warm South Carolina afternoon, traffic flowed as usual beneath a busy overpass. Engines roared, horns blared, people drove past, unaware that only feet away, a young woman lay dying, brutally attacked in broad daylight, hidden in plain sight. Her name was Amber Berglia. She was 26 years old, she was newly engaged, and someone beat and strangled her to death, then vanished. More than a decade later, the case remains unsolved. A life on the verge of beginning. Amber Berbiglia was described by family as vibrant, ambitious, and deeply excited about the future. She had recently become engaged and was immersed in the kind of plans that mark a turning point in life, weddings, homes, and the promise of stability after years of hard work. She was close to her family, especially her sister, Amanda Berbiglia, who has since become one of the most vocal advocates for justice in the case. There was nothing in Amber's life to suggest she was in danger. She wasn't involved in criminal activity. She wasn't known to associate with dangerous people. There were no public signs of turmoil or fear. That's what makes what happened next so unsettling. The day Amber disappeared, on May 10th, 2010, Amber left her home in the Charleston area to run errands. It was the middle of the day, ordinary, uneventful, safe by all appearances. She never came back. Hours later, concern turned into panic. When authorities were alerted, a search began. What they eventually discovered would raise more questions than answers. Amber's car was found still running, abandoned near a busy overpass in North Charleston. The driver's door was open. Her belongings were inside. Nothing appeared stolen. Nearby, beneath the overpass, partially concealed from passing motorists, Amber's body was found. She had been beaten and strangled. A brutal and personal attack. Investigators quickly determined that Amber's death was not the result of a random accident or medical emergency. The injuries told a horrifying story. She was hit in the face with something so hard that the injury looked like a gunshot wound, said her sister Amanda. She wasn't sexually assaulted, she wasn't robbed. Those details would haunt investigators and family alike. No sexual assault, no robbery, no obvious motive. The violence was extreme, concentrated, and personal. Strangulation, in particular, is widely recognized by criminologists as an intimate and deliberate act, often requiring prolonged physical contact and sustained force. This was not a hit and run crime. This was not impulsive violence. Someone meant to hurt her. Broad daylight, busy road, no witnesses. One of the most disturbing aspects of Amber's murder is where it happened. The overpass where her body was found sits near a heavily traveled roadway. Cars pass constantly. People commute, shop, and move through the area every day, and yet no confirmed witnesses. No one has come forward saying they saw Amber being attacked, dragged, or restrained. No one reported a struggle. No one noticed anything out of the ordinary. How does a violent murder happen in such a public space without anyone seeing or reporting anything? Investigators believe the killer may have used the noise of traffic and the partial visual cover of the overpass to conceal the crime. The chaos of daily movement became the perfect camouflage. What wasn't taken may be more important than what was. Amber still had her valuables, her car was untouched, her purse was not emptied. That detail has fueled years of speculation. If this wasn't about sex, if this wasn't about money, then what was it about? Law enforcement has never publicly confirmed whether Amber knew her attacker, but many experts note that crimes lacking traditional motives often point to personal connections, rage, or targeted intent. Yet no arrests have followed, a case that stalled. Despite early investigative efforts, the case slowly grew cold. There were no public announcements of strong suspects, no dramatic breakthroughs, no DNA matches announced that led to arrests. For Amber's family, the silence was unbearable. They have repeatedly questioned whether critical leads were missed, whether witnesses were overlooked, or whether the case simply lost momentum over time. As years passed, memories faded, people moved, evidence aged, but Amber's family did not stop asking questions. The families fight for answers. Amanda Berbetia has spoken openly about the frustration and anguish of losing her sister in such a violent, unresolved way. To her family, the lack of resolution feels like a second injustice. One layered on top of unimaginable loss. They continue to believe that someone knows something. Someone saw a car pulled over, someone noticed a struggle, someone heard yelling beneath the overpass. Someone knows who Amber was meeting, or who followed her, and that person has remained silent. Why this case still matters? Amber Burbiglia's murder is not just a cold case, it is a reminder of how violence can unfold in ordinary places, at ordinary times, without warning. It raises unsettling questions. How does a killer operate in broad daylight without being seen? How many people passed by without realizing what was happening? Was the attacker someone Amber trusted? Was this crime planned or did it escalate suddenly? Why has no one been held accountable? Cases like Amber's challenge the assumption that visibility equals safety. They expose the gaps where crimes can hide, in noise, distraction, and routine, a plea for justice. More than a decade later, Amber Barbiglia's killer has never been named, but the case is not closed. Cold cases are solved every year, sometimes because someone finally talks, sometimes because new forensic methods uncover what was once invisible, sometimes because guilt becomes too heavy to carry. Amber was a daughter, a sister, a fiancee, a woman who deserved a future. And somewhere, the person responsible for ending her life knows exactly what happened beneath that overpass. The question remains, who killed Amber Burbiglia and why are they still free? If you or someone you know has information about the murder of Amber Berbiglia, investigators urge you to come forward. Even the smallest detail could finally bring justice to a case that has waited far too long. And so we end where Amber Bergiglia's story so cruelly paused. Beneath a busy South Carolina overpass in broad daylight, with traffic rushing by and a young woman's car still running, as if she were planning to return at any second. Amber was excited about her future. She was weeks away from marriage, building a life, making plans, and in a matter of moments, that future was violently taken from her in a way that still defies logic, motive, and justice. What haunts this case isn't only the brutality of what was done to Amber, it's the silence that followed. No robbery, no sexual assault, no clear reason, just a ferocious attack so violent that investigators initially believed she had been shot. Someone struck her with overwhelming force, strangled her, and vanished into a world that kept moving as if nothing had happened. Someone knows who did this. Maybe it's the person who was there that day and has lived with the weight of it ever since. Maybe it's someone who heard a confession whispered in confidence, a detail shared in anger, fear, or drunken honesty. Cold cases don't stay cold because the truth disappears, they stay cold because it's buried. Amber is not a statistic. She is not a headline from the past. She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, a bride to be, whose loved ones wake up every day still waiting for answers. Time has not softened the pain, it has only sharpened the questions. At Human Wreckage, we believe stories like Amber's deserve to be told again and again, not for shock, not for entertainment, but because attention matters. Memory matters, pressure matters. Justice often begins with someone refusing to let a name fade. If you have information about the murder of Amber Brabiglia, no matter how small, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please contact law enforcement. You may hold the missing piece that finally brings truth into the light. Because Amber deserves more than silence. She deserves answers. She deserves justice. I'm Thomas, and this has been Human Wreckage. Thank you for listening, and don't forget the ones the world tried to forget.