When I talked to Kading, it was clear she didnt know whether the case would ever be solved either. However, this case spurred the AGs Office to establish a Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit, announced in the last week, that is now the base for the AGs side of the investigation. During our interview, she did confirm rumors that she had spoken with the countys district attorney, Franklin McDonough, about the possibility of convening a grand jury to look into Toms death. Penny Meek: Yes. On January 9, 2019, human remains were discovered in an area near Lake Marvin Road.. Rachel Kading: We were told that he was home all night. True Crime Daily, Investigators detail how Thomas Brown was found, whats next, As public pressure mounts, Sheriff Lewis asks AGs office to take over Thomas Brown case. It took the Sheriffs Office almost one hour to respond to the emergency call when Tom went missing. It could be five years from today. So you can go get indictments, which are very easy to get, but to not have the trial evidence, its unethical and it doesnt serve the victim. This Thanksgiving 2021 will mark the fifth anniversary of the still-unsolved disappearance and death of CHS senior Thomas Brown. The outgoing teenager loved football and had been exploring theater as well. A death in Canadian the story of Tom Brown UPDATED, Jeff Caseltine (Michaels father) committed suicide, was fired from the Hemphill County Sheriffs Office. Chris had just joined the team. Were here to figure out how an eighteen-year-old died. A new Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit formed within the Office of the Texas Attorney General has been involved in its first case the unsolved death of Canadian teen Thomas Brown. His report about the video was not written until January 2018. They had run to the south side of that area but he had not gotten to the north side yet. How many states require vehicle inspections? So, lets just say, a hypothetical. If youve forgotten some of the details of this story, let me give you a brief recap. In 2016 a popular teenager disappeared in the . Youll recall that Klein is the outspoken private investigator who works for Toms mother, Penny. Chris was at work. He had been president of his class for two years. Produced and engineered by Brian Standefer, who also wrote the music. So you get somebody indicted for a homicide. . . Rachel Kading: When we kind of came to the end of the case and we really werent sure, still, what had happened, but we knew that people were lyingsomebody has to be lying in this casewe discussed having an investigational grand jury. One witness told investigators that a few months before his disappearance, Thomas Brown was seeking help with mental health issues. In early 2019, according to Kleins company, his remains were found near Lake Marvin about 19 miles east of Canadian. Following the months of conflict between the Sheriffs office and the Brown family, on January 26, 2018, Sheriff Nathan Lewis put in a formal request to the Texas Attorney Generals Office. Rachel Kading: Theres no evidence that the sheriffs office asked her for the passcode. The brothers shared an iCloud account. A witness in the vicinity of the Hemphill County RV Park reported having seen an individual alone at campsite in the park, and . The Hemphill County Sheriff's Office was put in charge of the investigation, but Thomas . And if she did have her sons phone, how exactly did she get it? Then, in October 2017, his phone was found in the same area during a search. Skip Hollandsworth: And what would they be indicted for? Urine was outside the truck area, not collected. The mother is right with her intuition. Thomas Brown was an 18-year old student at Canadian High School in November 2016. This page was created to raise awareness of Toms case and to spread the word throughout social media. But were not here, like I said earlier, to make you feel good. Then when the remains were discovered the man committed suicide because he couldnt face the truth coming out. Chris Meek? Rachel Kading: So, I dont know if the general public is really familiar with how polygraphs work, but theres usually a battery of questions. You might remember that only weeks after that fateful Thanksgiving eve, Penny had asked a couple of Toms friends if they knew the password to Toms phone, which was then still believed to be missing. Last week, two events shed new light on the case, and on the continuing dispute over what is fact, and what is simply conjecture or misdirection. This past Thanksgiving eve, on the fifth anniversary of Toms disappearance, Penny, Chris, Tucker, and a few friends gathered outside the district attorneys office. Theres been just a lot of conjecture in the case, and it harmed it, honestly. 0. Just about everyone assumed he would announce the names of the teenager and the father who were involved in the parking-lot shooting. John Spong writes primarily about popular culture. Per a representative from Facebook, removing a Facebook account can only be done with the account owners password, Phone was analyzed by the FBI, OAG Digital Forensics, and an independent digital forensics expert, The phone contains Thomas Browns data. Pyne Gregory (who searched for Tom and who coincidently discovered his remains). . Everybodys going to have an opinion. Tuesday marks the 5th anniversary of Thomas Brown's disappearance from Canadian. The rogue cop had it in for her son (whybecause he quit playing football??) Do you see any hope that new evidence is going to emerge? Chris Jones: I was like, Im not going to go to school in Canadian. Over at the Walking Bridge, I watched a freight train hurtle down the tracks. Thomas phone was plain gold. And then you go to trial for that homicide. One set of indistinguishable footprints also led up to the backpack. A private investigator hired by the family believed that Tom was possibly the victim of an accident; children playing around might have accidentally shot him in the head and later placed the body and car where they were eventually found. Phone records show a plug in/charging event earlier in the evening while Thomas Brown was at his house. No items found near the skeletal remains or the Durango that could be attributed to the method of committing suicide. Tom Brown's Body is a Texas Monthly production. Brandon Lawson The 911 call that led to a mysterious disappearance. They said all evidence had been analyzed and no ruling into Toms cause of death could be made. Part of the town thinks it could be an accidental death. For two years and two months, the entire town of Canadian, Texas . Penny Meek: And so, I guess peoplepeople are always going to think what they want to think, in every circumstance. Im the senior investigator from a company called Klein Investigations and Consulting and Texas Professional Bodyguards LLC out of Nederland, Texas. Philip Klein has also seen the photo and it was reported to exist in the Houston Chronicle. The circumstances surrounding the passcode created misinformation that HCSO had asked for the passcode in 2017. E. Tom was a good kid and Lewis knew this was not normal behavior for Tom. On the night before Thanksgiving, 2016, Tom went cruising around town with his friends. This included evidence related to manner of death, cause of death, or evidence of a specific suspect. The remains were found in an area that had yet to be searched by Klein Investigations. The phrase There is a killer among us had been cut out. Yet those rumors went nowhere. Took 45 minutes to respond to a missing person call? best caption for pic with celebrity. How does these investigations effect cases they worked on prior, during and after the investigation? Mr. Caseltines son was very good friends with Tom and Lewis knew that. This call is hard to hear, but youll get the gist. What was found in the car was very interesting though a blood droplet, an empty 25 caliber bullet casing and a debit card, belonging to Toms friend, Michael Caseltine. It could be the ten-year anniversary. None of the officers have admitted to being in the area that night. The witness name was Chris Jones. Our hope at that time was that if we did this, maybe the truth would come out. And let me tell yall something. You were certain of that? She told the police that it was possible Tom killed himself but added that he did not seem depressed on the day of his disappearance. Every victim is important, and this case is no different than that. Kading also asked Toms brother Tucker if he too would take a lie detector test. Skip Hollandsworth: And how many people are we talking about being indicted? Please look back to June 2015 when Nathan Lewis was not with Hemphill County Sheriff Office, but stopped Tom and friends while they were walking and made Tom get in the vehicle with him. Amarillo Mayor responds to concerns surrounding drag show. (yes, normally it is January abc February but due to the mild winter it was later) It was confirmed on January 15, 2019 that the remains that Gregory found were Tom. Philip Klein: Chris Jones is an integral part in the Tom Brown case. Im just wasting my time. At around 6 PM on November 23, 2016, Tom left home in his car to hang out with a few of his friends. Episode Nine: Another Day in Canadian.. that are what we call, in the business, antagonists. They are anything but that. Kading says thats not true. And he pulled a gun on me. Toms disappearance became the mystery of the Texas Panhandle. Tom's mother, Penny Meek, and brother, Tucker Brown, have been looking for answers regarding what happened in the 18-year-old's death. Items belonging to Thomas Brown located in various places miles away from where his vehicle and skeletal remains were found. The full Klein Investigations & Consulting briefing, as well as the full Office of the Attorney General Investigation Summary, can be viewed through this article. Former Hemphill Sheriff James Pearson has also been in touch with Penny to corroborate the harassment claims and. Rachel Kading: I always hope that that will happen, and Ill never lose that hope. For those of you that do not know Penny, Penny is the mother of Thomas Brown. The outgoing teenager loved football and had been exploring theater as well. Although it is not impossible the phone had been outside since November 2016, it is not probable. Okay. Deer did not shed antlers in Canadian, TX until March and April of this year. The Hemphill County Sheriff's Office responded to the report, and an attempt to locate Thomas was initiated. Chris Jones: Yeah, when he took the goggles off me. However, Toms family was worried when he didnt come home by his midnight curfew. This is just speculation. Fact. And he was like, if you dont do that, he was gonna kill me. J. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. If thats the opinion you want to have of me, then, I guess, so be it. The petition received over 10,000 signatures and the case was turned over to the Texas Attorney General in February 2018. I asked Penny how she was doing, living in a town where everyone talks about her. Skip Hollandsworth: Tucker was asked by you to take a lie detector test. Penny did tell me that Kading had told her that she suspected the family had found Toms body after he killed himself, and that out of a sense of shame they had moved his body, hoping no one would find him. Canadian, Texas (population 2,649) is a small, prosperous town in the Texas panhandle. Contents 1 Background 2 Last known whereabouts 3 Discoveries 4 Publications 5 References Digital forensic evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the battery case was on Thomas Browns phone the night of his disappearance. Go downam I going to go find Rachel in Austin and say, you know, what? But who? Why is that? Please explain why it took a deputy an hour and fifty minutes to respond from the time dispatch was called to arriving at Toms mothers home. Or Hospital Scapegoat? Skip Hollandsworth: Well, good luck on that. Tucker Brown, Thomas Browns brother, rode with former HCSO Deputy Pyne Gregory from around 4 a.m. until 6 a.m. on the evening of Thomas Browns disappearance. Thomass school-issued laptop computer was still inside, but hadnt been used. Officials from the state attorney generals office were so disturbed by Kleins comments that they finally agreed to allow their lead investigator in the case, Sergeant Rachel Kading, to sit down with me for an interview. Philip Klein: I see it; I hear it. The 18-year-old was described as having a funny and lighthearted personality. A bit of background on Thomas' case: Thomas was a high school senior when he went missing the day before Thanksgiving in 2016. 0:55. Indeed, as the meeting began, Klein teased that he was ready to reveal everything. Volunteer searchers on Lake Marvin Road allegedly found bones in a bucket (!) The lack of answers in the case has been a point of contention throughout the investigation. So I asked Kading, what did she think happened on Thanksgiving eve 2016? So, lets find out more about what happened then, shall we? Welcome to AAB aka All about American Braids Vehicle was returned to Toms mom, Penny around 5 pm on that same day. He didn't do it. You might remember from earlier episodes of the podcast that I spoke to various people about Toms personal struggles. When I had talked to Tucker more than a year ago, he had told me the reason he wouldnt sit for a polygraph examination was because such tests are very unreliable. Philip Klein: Here you go, folks. Philip Klein: . Im your writer and host, Skip Hollandsworth. It was on the other side of a barbed-wire fence along the road that leads to Lake Marvin. Choosing her words carefully, she explained to me why there had been so much uncertainty around calling a grand jury. So the door is always open at our office for any information, for anything that will bring resolution to this case. Even if it didnt lead to a conviction in a trial? Thomas Kelly "Tom" Brown, 18, of Canadian went missing on November 23, 2016. There has been no record of this being investigated. It had an indention in the ground where the backpack was sitting. Would you want someone like me investigating it? Our focus is Thomas Brown. Klein knew that there were plenty of people in the audience who were suspicious of Penny, who is a longtime elementary school teacher in Canadian. Brown was last seen on Wednesday evening November 23, 2016, at 11:40 p.m. at a gas station inside the town of Canadian, Texas. . Evidence from Thomas Browns phone showed he frequently joked about suicide or dying to his friends. I was simply bewildered. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Toms family enlisted the services of a private investigator, Philip Klein, from Klein Investigations. Woman: You should stop throwing splatter at a board, or at a wall, okay? Chris Jones: Hes the one who told me, he told me that I had to go play football for Canadian. . Laugh-out-loud fast-food chain Twitter beefs, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Soil sample taken from apparent wet spot near drivers side of the vehicle, Testing by the University of North Texas yielded no results, .25 caliber casing found on floorboard of front passenger side, No forensic evidence provided by the casing No latent prints could be identified and casing could not be tested further for DNA per DPS lab, Nothing of forensic value found on laptop, Forensic testing by DPS no profile could be obtained from hair samples in the case, Records from Apple, Inc. indicate Thomas Browns iCloud account did not contain data commonly backed up, such as iMessages and photographs. The investigative team has confirmed that HCSO did not ask the family for the passcode in 2017. The Texas Attorney General later took over the investigation into the case in 2018, and the remains were found in January 2019. There are no suspects or persons of interest in the case, as far as I know, and no cause of death has been released. Skip Hollandsworth: But youre not going to go public with it. All in-car camera data was obtained. On August 21, 2019, Penny released a statement with questions that she would like answered in regards to the handling of Toms case: Justice Failed The Texas Panhandle on August 21, 2019. Penny Meek texted a witness in January 2017 asking if their child knew the passcode to Thomas Browns phone and clarified it was a four-digit number. We have kept that very silent, and were going to kind of go through that tonight. A group of protestors marched outside the 31st District Attorney's Office this morning in hopes of putting the case in front of an investigative grand jury. Skip Hollandsworth: And what was the result of his answers? Philip Klein: All rightgood evening, ladies and gentlemen; my name is Philip Klein. Cant answer that? But Chris was also a troubled kid. . We dont go down to the Poke and Run and have coffee. Theres been a lot of stories. Chris Jones: . Rachel Kading: I dont think we can go there. Brown's remains were found in January. The nearby 63-acre Lake Marvin was surveyed with sonar. Which, impossible. So in one of the batteries of questions, it was about the possibility that Tom was deceased. No evidence was established that any HCSO employee was involved in Thomas Browns disappearance or death. They did learn that Tom searched for information regarding a suicide hotline at around 9:11 PM on November 23, 2016. We hope for that every day. Cassidyy Published: March 7, 2019. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Additional production on this episode by. Rachel Kading: He did not. It's impossible, there is no way in the timeline for him to do it," added Klein. Chris? When Penny Meek was first interviewed by HSCO, she stated that she believed her son had committed sucide by playing the choking game.. Thomas Brown is an 18 year old male missing from the Texas Panhandle town of Canadian, Texas. You may remember that a debit card belonging to Michael Caseltine was found in Toms car after he disappeared. That doesnt mention where abouts for the 3 hrs before they showed up at Toms house in response to the first report of Tom missing. Thomas Brown, a teenager in Canadian, went missing the night before Thanksgiving in 2016. The two 25 caliper spent shell casings from Toms truck and the shell casing from the teathers suicide should be compared. I want you to see these folks not as people of. And former deputy Pyne Gregory has a gun to Tom Browns head. Skip Hollandsworth: But in a lie detector test that Penny agreed to give, you wrote that she, quote, showed signs of deception on questions regarding Tom Browns location. What do you mean by that? We get out there with our water bottles, and we get our butts out there in the streets and we find out whats going on. His brown hair was brushed over his forehead, and he was giving the camera a gentle smile. And did she, months later, plant the phone by Lake Marvin Road, where it was found? Where was hehmmmhmmmmhmmmm He is arrogant and his stories just arent making sense. and the hours-long Wednesday presentation from Private Investigator Phillip Klein left a glut of allegations and evidence to sort through in the case of Thomas Brown. At around 6pm, he told Penny that he was going to go and hang out with his friends Kaleb King and Christian Webb. . Rachel Kading: There is no evidence that he went to the football parking lot. Thomas Kelly Brown was an 18 year old boy from Canadian, TX who went missing in November 2016, and was subsequently found dead in January 2019. No evidence other than blunt force trauma found on the skeletal remains, but unconclusive without further evidence to support the trauma happened before death. Philip Klein: Penny, would you please stand up? . And he wasnt even close to Chris in any way. Skip Hollandsworth: Your report also says that Chriss whereabouts on November twenty-fourththe early morning hours of Thanksgiving Daywere unknown or uncorroborated. In early 2018, the states attorney generals office in Austin took over the investigation. This one isthe latest shared by Philip Klein and his team of investigators last night. So how can you accuse me of doing something to my son when I dont even know where he was? and you are not able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that that person is responsible for that homicide, you can never try that person again. In November 2019, Klein Investigations released another update: In November 2019, Nathan Lewis resigned from his post as Hemphill County Sheriff. The first break in the case came when Toms friend Christian Webb and her father spotted his vehicle from the air while doing a helicopter search of Canadian. Texas Monthly Is Nominated for Two 2023 Media Awards by the James Beard Foundation. by. Murder Under the Friday Night Lights: Where is Tom Brown? chronicles the unfortunate death of Tom Brown, a young student with his whole life ahead of him. These remains were found about 19 miles away from Canadian. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. Rachel Kading: No; its irresponsible to do so. Read More Here. It was said he had been murdered, stuffed into a wood chipper by a notorious methamphetamine dealer. Not Philip Klein. And one of the questions was, Do you know the current location of his body?. The overview of the Thomas Brown case and evidence reported by the AGs Office included the following, noted as verified through multiple sources of forensic data: Partial skeletal remains found in January and February 2019, Evidence supporting cause or manner of death. Ive never seen a suicide be reported so quickly to the media. I think youre going to need it. Tom and his family were looking forward to spending time together for Thanksgiving in 2016 when things went awry. The Attorney Generals Office noted in its introduction to the published report that this investigation has reached an impasse, and would be suspended until additional reliable evidence may be added to the case. Thomas was reported to have missed his curfew and was subsequently reported missing. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. The truck had been abandoned on a dirt road that leads to a water treatment facility. Rumors flew that he had run away. Penny further stated that her son was not into guns, and none of the firearms at their home were missing. Where is the photo that Lewis showed Penny of Tom pumping gas? Were the only people that have found anything. Penny Meek: Um, I dont know. Read more from the Tom Browns Body Series: Chapter 3: Evil Has Come to Canadian, Texas. If you go through a grand jury and you have an indictment, but you dont have enough to convict somebody at trial, its just not ethical to do that. Chris told her that Sheriff Lewis had come to see him before the 2016 football season began. Had Penny taken the phone from Tom the night he disappeared?
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