Case Details
- Photo URLs:
-
- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 07/25/1985
- Missing From:
- Missing From Port St. Lucie, Florida
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Male
- Race:
- Race Black
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 12/19/1983 (41)
- Age:
- Age 2 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 2’0, 30 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes.
- Details of Disappearance:
- In 1985, the Brown family – James, Carolyn, their daughter Sheketah, son Barry, and young son Brandon – vanished from their Port St. Lucie, Florida home. Carolyn’s mom contacted the police in August after not hearing from them since early July.
Police initially found nothing suspicious at the house, except Carolyn’s cut-up ID in her purse and an unfinished meal on the table. Later, they discovered freshly painted walls hiding bloodstains.
James eventually resurfaced in Georgia, claiming robbery and a gunshot wound. He confessed to killing his wife and children, saying he shot Carolyn and smothered Brandon, then disposed of their bodies in Palm Beach County. He claimed he drove Sheketah and Barry to Georgia a few days later and killed them, dumping their bodies along I-95.
James was acquitted of killing Carolyn and Sheketah, but never charged with the deaths of Brandon and Barry because their bodies were never found. Experts diagnosed him as paranoid schizophrenic. After a period in a mental hospital and a halfway house, he was imprisoned in 2005 for robbery.
Despite extensive searches, the bodies of Carolyn, Sheketah, Brandon, and Barry have never been found.
- Agency:
- Port St. Lucie Police Department 561-871-5000
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 07/25/1985