Crimes Against Innocence: The Brown Family Disappearance

 

In the summer of 1985, a quiet Florida town became the setting of one of the most chilling family mysteries in American history. Carolyn and James Michael Brown seemed to live an ordinary life in Port St. Lucie with their three children — ten-year-old Sheketah, six-year-old Barry, and the youngest, Brandon. Both parents were schoolteachers, well-respected, and known for their stability. But beneath the surface, something dark was brewing.

On July 25, 1985, the Brown family vanished. Weeks passed with no phone calls or letters, prompting Carolyn’s mother to contact authorities. When police arrived at the home, nothing appeared outwardly alarming — until they looked closer. Carolyn’s purse was discovered tucked away in the garage, and every piece of her identification had been cut to pieces. A full dinner sat untouched on the dining table. And one of the bedrooms had been freshly painted — a layer that would later be revealed to conceal bloodstains.

As the school year began and neither Carolyn nor James showed up to work, the family was officially listed as missing. The search turned into a mystery that only deepened when James resurfaced weeks later in Savannah, Georgia, using the alias Demetrius Jones. He had checked into a hospital claiming he’d been robbed and shot in the head. When his true identity came out, James confessed to something horrifying: he had killed his wife and children.

James told investigators he shot Carolyn as she slept, smothered little Brandon, and then drove north on Interstate 95. He claimed to have killed Barry and Sheketah days later near Brunswick, Georgia, disposing of their bodies along the highway. Despite extensive searches across state lines, no remains were ever found.

In late 1985, James was tried for the murders of Carolyn and Sheketah but was acquitted. He was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, committed to a state mental institution, and later released in 1997. But his violent tendencies resurfaced; by 2005, he was imprisoned again after threatening to kill a bank clerk during a robbery.

To this day, nearly forty years later, the bodies of Carolyn, Sheketah, Barry, and Brandon Brown have never been located. Their disappearance remains a haunting mystery — one that sits at the crossroads of mental illness, family tragedy, and justice delayed.

Did James Brown truly reveal what happened that night, or was there more to the story that died with his secrets?

Written by Danielle Fausz
Host of “Crimes Against Innocence” — uncovering the stories of those who never had a voice.