MI MI - Francis "Pat" Brown, 17, & Sheldon Miller, 14, fatally shot, Detroit, 3 Jul 1964
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With the many interviews and the intense investigation done by police in this case, it seems likely that answers are contained in the investigation files.
The subsequent records of any potential suspects (or persons in the park on the night of the murders) could be checked to see if anyone was later involved in serious crimes of violence.
Who was the unnamed 17 year old boy who claimed to have seen a possible suspect? What has his record been like in the past 58 years?
Just what statements were given to police by the 28 persons identified as having been in the park that evening?
The subsequent records of any potential suspects (or persons in the park on the night of the murders) could be checked to see if anyone was later involved in serious crimes of violence.
Who was the unnamed 17 year old boy who claimed to have seen a possible suspect? What has his record been like in the past 58 years?
Just what statements were given to police by the 28 persons identified as having been in the park that evening?
TWilliams5
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I have read much on this event and was a friend and classmate of Pat Brown. What IVe not seen are reports of fingerprints lifted from the spent shells or the unused bullet. If they were ejected at that site, likely they were not wiped clean. Fingerprint databases were thin in 1964 but are far fuller today from many sources. Today, even DNA may have been recovered from those shells. Has this ever been pursued?
TWilliams5
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Richard. Thank you for your note. It gave me another perspective. I was Pat’s classmate and one of the pall bearers at his funeral. I’ve always thought of Pat and Sheldon and this tragic event. I’ve been a detective for over 50 years working numerous homicides and other crime cases and have many ideas as to additional avenues to pursue. Technology of today could be helpful perhaps.Dark Impulse Dark Action by Frederick Gibson
''I am writing this to attest to the respect and admiration I have for the author of this book, Frederick Gibson. Though I have never met Mr. Gibson, I never met anyone quite like him. I am Richard Brown, brother of Pat Brown. He was murdered along with his friend Sheldon Miller July 3, 1964. For 47 years I have tucked these murders away in a dark place never really realizing the pain I was in. Then, early this year, 2011, I went to the Detroit Police Dept. in an effort to learn if DNA, unavailable in 1964, could be helpful in solving these murders. This same year, as I was discouraged, thinking nothing could ever be done to help solve this case, Frederick Gibson’s book "Dark Impulse Dark Action: The murders of Sheldon Miller and Pat Brown" was brought to my attention. Amazingly, unknown to me, Frederick had doggedly been pursuing the killer of Sheldon and Pat for years. This year he was interviewed on television at the sight of the murders by a prominent local reporter. My family found me and told me how this amazing author has been pursuing the killer of Pat and Sheldon. Fred was there! Fortune sent him out of the park not long before the murders. I have to assume he could have been there for the "fireworks" and died himself. His tenacity is unequaled in any of my lifetime experiences. The results of his efforts are astonishing. He has made clear to me the number of lives this case has touched. I thought it was long since forgotten.... Not so.... I have talked with Fred at some length, filling in what details I could and more keeps surfacing. Whatever the outcome, my brother and his good friend Sheldon are not and will never be forgotten.
I am proud to know Mr. Frederick Gibson! Read this book; there is true humanity in this world as you will be reminded.
Richard Brown''
Dark Impulse Dark Action
Sheldon Miller Francis Brown murdered July 3, 1964. Detroit Michigan UNSOLVED COLD CASE - Newspapers.com
Good question regarding spent casings and intact cartridge recovered at the scene. This case received a lot of attention in 1964-65, and was investigated intensively. However, the case seems to have gone cold quickly without resolution.
DNA was unknown in 1964 and it is only in recent times that it has become a primary source of evidence. If those casings still exist in evidence, it might be possible still to check them for DNA and for fingerprints, however after so many years it might be difficult. If fingerprints were found on the casings in 1964, they did not match with any suspects on record. Maybe today a hit might be possible on any fingerprints in subsequent print data bases.
This case was brought to the attention of the Michigan Cold Case Task Force in March 2020 at the same time I first posted it here on Websleuths. At that time, it was NOT being actively investigated, but hopefully it is being looked into now.
Detroit Police investigators probably determined the exact type of .22 9-shot revolver used to murder Pat Brown and Sheldon Miller, but only mentioned two basic models to press reporters in the days following the murders. One was the Hi Standard Sentinal/Double Nine and the other was a Harrington & Richardson 922.
They initially decided that these two basic models were likely because they found 8 fired shell casings and one intact cartridge in a tight group some distance away from the boys' bodies. The conclusion being that all were emptied from the gun's cylinder at the same time (thus a 9 shot weapon).
Although both types of revolver held 9 rounds in their cylinder, the Harrington and Richardson required removal of the cylinder pin and cylinder and then individual ejection of the casings. This would have possibly spaced them out a bit on the ground if the shooter moved about. It would also require him to be able to reload and reassemble the revolver in the dark since the shooter is known to have returned to the boys to shoot them again.
The Hi Standard Sentinel and similar Double Nine revolver could be more quickly and easily unloaded and reloaded in the dark, as the cylinder simply swings out and an ejection rod pushes all cartridges out at the same time.
Each individual cartridge would have been handled separately by the shooter between his thumb and forefinger when being loaded into the cylinder.
A 1964 advertisement for the Hi-Standard Sentinel Revolvers:
They initially decided that these two basic models were likely because they found 8 fired shell casings and one intact cartridge in a tight group some distance away from the boys' bodies. The conclusion being that all were emptied from the gun's cylinder at the same time (thus a 9 shot weapon).
Although both types of revolver held 9 rounds in their cylinder, the Harrington and Richardson required removal of the cylinder pin and cylinder and then individual ejection of the casings. This would have possibly spaced them out a bit on the ground if the shooter moved about. It would also require him to be able to reload and reassemble the revolver in the dark since the shooter is known to have returned to the boys to shoot them again.
The Hi Standard Sentinel and similar Double Nine revolver could be more quickly and easily unloaded and reloaded in the dark, as the cylinder simply swings out and an ejection rod pushes all cartridges out at the same time.
Each individual cartridge would have been handled separately by the shooter between his thumb and forefinger when being loaded into the cylinder.
A 1964 advertisement for the Hi-Standard Sentinel Revolvers:
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Here is an image from a 1963 advertisement showing how a 9 shot .22 Hi Standard revolver would eject its shell casings.
As can be seen, the cylinder opens to the side and with a single push on the rod forward of the cylinder, all 9 shells (whether spent or still live) would be ejected together in a tight grouping.
A tight group of shells (which included one unfired round) some 78 feet from the bodies is what initially led investigators to believe that the killer used a revolver similar to the one depicted here, and that he shot both boys at close range, walked away, reloaded, and then approached them again to shoot each boy in the head.
As can be seen, the cylinder opens to the side and with a single push on the rod forward of the cylinder, all 9 shells (whether spent or still live) would be ejected together in a tight grouping.
A tight group of shells (which included one unfired round) some 78 feet from the bodies is what initially led investigators to believe that the killer used a revolver similar to the one depicted here, and that he shot both boys at close range, walked away, reloaded, and then approached them again to shoot each boy in the head.
Amazon.com: Dark Impulse Dark Action (Dark Impulse Dark Action Part One Book 1) eBook : Gibson, Fred, Brown, Richard: Kindle Store
Dark Impulse Dark Action (Dark Impulse Dark Action Part One Book 1) - Kindle edition by Gibson, Fred, Brown, Richard. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Dark Impulse Dark Action (Dark...
www.amazon.com
by Fred Gibson (Author), Richard Brown (Foreword)
''I am writing this to attest to the respect and admiration I have for the author of this book, Frederick Gibson. Though I have never met Mr. Gibson, I never met anyone quite like him. I am Richard Brown, brother of Pat Brown. He was murdered along with his friend Sheldon Miller July 3, 1964. For 47 years I have tucked these murders away in a dark place never really realizing the pain I was in. Then, early this year, 2011, I went to the Detroit Police Dept. in an effort to learn if DNA, unavailable in 1964, could be helpful in solving these murders. This same year, as I was discouraged, thinking nothing could ever be done to help solve this case, Frederick Gibson’s book "Dark Impulse Dark Action: The murders of Sheldon Miller and Pat Brown" was brought to my attention. Amazingly, unknown to me, Frederick had doggedly been pursuing the killer of Sheldon and Pat for years. This year he was interviewed on television at the sight of the murders by a prominent local reporter. My family found me and told me how this amazing author has been pursuing the killer of Pat and Sheldon. Fred was there! Fortune sent him out of the park not long before the murders. I have to assume he could have been there for the "fireworks" and died himself. His tenacity is unequaled in any of my lifetime experiences. The results of his efforts are astonishing. He has made clear to me the number of lives this case has touched. I thought it was long since forgotten.... Not so.... I have talked with Fred at some length, filling in what details I could and more keeps surfacing. Whatever the outcome, my brother and his good friend Sheldon are not and will never be forgotten. I am proud to know Mr. Frederick Gibson! Read this book; there is true humanity in this world as you will be reminded.
Richard Brown''
It is sad that this case seems to have been filed away and forgotten since about 1965. It remains unsolved and there seems to have been no official re-opening of it.
Extensive investigative and forensic work was done on this double murder case in 1964, and those records and files probably contain viable clues to the identity of the killer.
Interviews of the 28 persons identified as being in the vicinity of the killings that fateful evening would still exist and might be the basis for locating and re-questioning witnesses today. Most of them were teen agers at the time and today would be in their 70's. As seen in the book by Mr. Gibson, some of those memories are very sharp today.
In particular, the teenager who claimed to have seen a person in the area and later tentatively picked a man out of a line-up - along with the person he picked out - would be persons of interest to interview again.
Forensic evidence could still be in the files in the form of fired bullets and shell casings. The actual type of pistol used could be determined and bullets might be compared to bullets in evidence in other similar cases.
Extensive investigative and forensic work was done on this double murder case in 1964, and those records and files probably contain viable clues to the identity of the killer.
Interviews of the 28 persons identified as being in the vicinity of the killings that fateful evening would still exist and might be the basis for locating and re-questioning witnesses today. Most of them were teen agers at the time and today would be in their 70's. As seen in the book by Mr. Gibson, some of those memories are very sharp today.
In particular, the teenager who claimed to have seen a person in the area and later tentatively picked a man out of a line-up - along with the person he picked out - would be persons of interest to interview again.
Forensic evidence could still be in the files in the form of fired bullets and shell casings. The actual type of pistol used could be determined and bullets might be compared to bullets in evidence in other similar cases.
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Detroit Free Press newspaper coverage of the murder of Pat Brown and Sheldon Miller on the night of 3 July 1964.
LINK:
Sheldon Miller and Francis Miller murdered in Detroit July 3, 1964. UNSOLVED COLD CASE 1 - Newspapers.com
Clipping found in The Detroit Free Press published in Detroit, Michigan on 7/5/1964. Sheldon Miller and Francis Miller murdered in Detroit July 3, 1964. UNSOLVED COLD CASE 1
www.newspapers.com
There has been some advertising on various book selling sites about a book or books titled, "Pat Brown and Sheldon Miller: The Secret Death".
Strangely, the book is attributed on different sites separately to three different authors and when you try to view the advertisement, two out of three sites have nothing on it, while the third only has a photo of a book cover with nothing more about the murders, the author, or the book.
This is the only awkwardly worded review available on the one site:
"This same year, as could not be done to help solve this case, then this book was brought to the attention. Amazingly, the author had doggedly been pursuing the killer of Sheldon and Pat for years. This year he was interviewed on television at the sight of the murders by a prominent local reporter. He was there... Read this book, there is true humanity in this world as you will be reminded."
I had absolutely nothing to do with this so called book(s), however I wonder how much of my writing was taken from this site and put into it?
Strangely, the book is attributed on different sites separately to three different authors and when you try to view the advertisement, two out of three sites have nothing on it, while the third only has a photo of a book cover with nothing more about the murders, the author, or the book.
This is the only awkwardly worded review available on the one site:
"This same year, as could not be done to help solve this case, then this book was brought to the attention. Amazingly, the author had doggedly been pursuing the killer of Sheldon and Pat for years. This year he was interviewed on television at the sight of the murders by a prominent local reporter. He was there... Read this book, there is true humanity in this world as you will be reminded."
I had absolutely nothing to do with this so called book(s), however I wonder how much of my writing was taken from this site and put into it?
Bet it happens frequently, not necessarily with these titles. imo. rbbm
Pat Brown And Sheldon Miller
The letter attests to the respect and admiration which you will have for the author of this book. Stories of the death of Pat Brown and his friend Sheldon Miller on July 3, 1964, however, were secret.This same year, as could not be done to help solve this case, then this book was brought to the...
www.google.ca
Pat Brown And Sheldon Miller
The Secret Death: The Death Of Pat And Sheldon
By Gayle Swetland · 2021
''The Murders Of Sheldon Miller And Pat Brown
True Humanity In The Crime World: Sheldon Miller
By Elois Plaas · 2021''
Bet it happens frequently, not necessarily with these titles. imo. rbbm
View attachment 429426
Pat Brown And Sheldon Miller
The letter attests to the respect and admiration which you will have for the author of this book. Stories of the death of Pat Brown and his friend Sheldon Miller on July 3, 1964, however, were secret.This same year, as could not be done to help solve this case, then this book was brought to the...www.google.ca
Pat Brown And Sheldon Miller
The Secret Death: The Death Of Pat And Sheldon
By Gayle Swetland · 2021
View attachment 429427
''The Murders Of Sheldon Miller And Pat Brown
True Humanity In The Crime World: Sheldon Miller
By Elois Plaas · 2021''
Exactly. And here is yet another listing of this same so called book and a different author:
Pat Brown And Sheldon Miller: The Secret Death by Edison Bracamonte
It looks to me like a Scam and I would urge anyone to not waste their money.The "book review" that I quoted in my previous post sounds like something out of the Peace Loving People's Democratic Republic of Communist Red China.
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Following the link, it says that book is only 57 pages. Good grief.
Those reviews don't seem to be written by anyone familiar with the English language. It would be a shame if someone is publishing books that came from research and analysis done by WS members. It wouldn't surprise me, either. There are a lot of unethical people out there who take advantage of work done by others to make a fast buck.
Notice that the last sentence in the "review" was stolen word for word from the introduction of the book "Dark Impulse Dark Action" quoted in post #108 of this thread.
Wow, it really is the same. Crazy. Is anyone buying these "books"?
I remember reading Fred's book on Kindle. Its twice as long as these copycat books.
cenazoic
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I suspect these ‘books’, like many others in the true crime genre listed on Amazon, are ChatGPT and human-written opportunism at work.
See also:
www.reuters.com
See also:
Focus: ChatGPT launches boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon
Until recently, Brett Schickler never imagined he could be a published author, though he had dreamed about it. But after learning about the ChatGPT artificial intelligence program, Schickler figured an opportunity had landed in his lap.
The photo in the newspaper (post # 110) of the boy squatting down with his arms out and speaking with three detectives, is probably Arthur Waldman, age 16. He and his friend David Budson were the two boys who discovered the bodies of Pat and Sheldon shortly after midnight on 4 July 1964.
ifindedout
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BBM
IMO it is not even written by a human. It is machine-generated.
JMO, AI is overrated. Remember when 3D printers were going to build and manufacture everything in the future?