Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 07/25/1985

Missing Since:

Missing Since 07/25/1985

Missing From:

Missing From Port St. Lucie, Florida

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Female

Race:

Race Black

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 09/06/1957 (67)

Age:

Age 27 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 5’6, 180 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Carolyn wears eyeglasses. Her ears are pierced. Carolyn’s maiden name is Walker. Some agencies may refer to her as Carolyn Denise Walker Brown and/or Carolyn Walker Brown. Her first name may be spelled “Caroline.” Carolyn has a gap in her front teeth.

Details of Disappearance:

In 1985, Carolyn and James Brown, teachers in Port St. Lucie, Florida, disappeared with their three children: Sheketah, Barry, and Brandon. Carolyn’s mother reported them missing in August after not hearing from them since early July.

Police found their house seemingly normal at first, but later discovered blood under fresh paint in one room and Carolyn’s cut-up ID in the garage. An unfinished meal was on the table. When the family didn’t show up for the new school year, they were officially declared missing.

James later contacted Carolyn’s sister, saying she could have their belongings and vaguely stating the family was “out there.” He then turned up in a Georgia hospital under a false name, claiming he’d been robbed and shot.

James confessed to killing his wife and children. He said he shot Carolyn and smothered Brandon, then dumped their bodies in Palm Beach County. He claimed he drove Sheketah and Barry to Georgia a few days later and killed them there, disposing of their bodies along I-95.

Despite his confession, James was acquitted of killing Carolyn and Sheketah. He was 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 health facility, he was released, only to be imprisoned again in 2005 for threatening someone during a robbery.

To this day, Carolyn, Sheketah, Brandon, and Barry remain missing. The exact locations of their bodies, if James’s confession is true, are still unknown.

Agency:

Port St. Lucie Police Department 561-871-5000

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