Name: Carolyn Denise Brown
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: July 16, 1985
Location Last Seen: Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County, Florida
Date of Birth: September 6, 1957
Age: 27 years old
Race: Black
Gender: Female
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 180 lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Carolyn Walker Brown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Wears glasses.
Dentals: Available/gap in front teeth
Fingerprints: Not Available
DNA: Available
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Glasses
Carolyn and her three children, Barry , Brandon , and Sheketah , were last seen at their home on July 14, 1985. They are missing under suspicious circumstances. Foul play is suspected.
Carolyn's husband, James Michael Brown, was initially missing with his family, but he resurfaced in the Port St. Lucie area several weeks afterward. James told authorities that he shot Carolyn while she slept inside their home during the night of their disappearances. James said that Brandon was sleeping beside his mother; he claimed that he smothered the child with a pillow, then buried both of their bodies in Belle Glade, Florida. James told investigators that he drove Sheketah and Barry to Georgia along Interstate 95 on July 17, three days after Carolyn and Brandon were murdered. James said he shot Barry in the head and his daughter in the face, then disposed of their remains along the highway.
A jury acquitted James in Carolyn and Sheketah's deaths in late 1985. He was never charged with Brandon and Barry's homicides, as authorities were not certain of the location of the presumed murders. Extensive searches of the areas produced no evidence as to the family's whereabouts.
A court-appointed psychiatrist diagnosed James as a paranoid schizophrenic. He was committed to a Florida mental health facility after the court's decision in 1985. He was moved to a halfway house in 1996 and released from the program in 1997. James has been under investigation since his release for psychotic episodes. Carolyn, Sheketah, Brandon and Barry have never been located.
Agency Name: Port St. Lucie Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Det. Richard Giaccone
Agency Phone Number: 772-871-5000
Agency E-Mail: PSLPD@cityofpsl.com
Agency Case Number: 8508339
Agency Name: Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Agency Contact Person: Government Analyst Robert McNeal
Agency Phone Number: 850-410-8448
Agency E-Mail: mepic@fdle.state.fl.us
Agency Case Number: N/A
NamUs Case Number: 10492
NCIC Case Number: M-164975477
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 12/2/23 - By: hb
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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