MI MI - JAMES C BROWN, Backpage Killer, Sterling Heights, convicted Feb 2014

[mysteriew]

Victimology shows more commonalities


Two of the four victims were about to celebrate their birthdays. All four women were in their 20s. And three of the four women had children, with Natasha Curtis, the last victim to be tentively ID'd, just a few weeks into her third pregnancy per her boyfriend of nine years, Cortez Wingfield.
http://www.examiner.com/criminal-pr...rs-me-id-s-another-body-women-had-more-common

The article also points out some things that weren't common in the two sets of murders.

 

[Reader]

Interesting article, mysteriew...thanks!


I've been checking the Detroit news and haven't seen any report about 2 women being killed together or in cars/trunks on NYE or tonite.

Hope the LE can make progress on the case and make an arrest soon.

 

[mysteriew]

Authorities identify fourth woman in murders; all four victims found in car trunks

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region...re-victims-were-found-in-trunks#ixzz1iT7rdRPW

It was Natasha Curtis

 

[mysteriew]

Spokesman Dennis Niemiec says more test results are needed before the causes of death can be determined for all the women.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/5c18618714d740bdbc069623303ca13d/MI--Trunk-Bodies-Escort-Ads/

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I was unaware of this Serial Killer forum and have been posting updates about the Detroit women on the Kalisha Madden thread on the Missing forum. Rather than selectively moving my posts and putting them here, I'm providing the link to that thread. There might be some media reports that aren't posted here.

[ame="http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156191"]MI MI - Kalisha Madden, 27, Detroit, 27 Nov 2011 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community[/ame]

 

[mysteriew]

Thanks BetteDavisEyes! She went missing Nov. 28. Do you know who her friend that went missing is? And when did the friend go missing?

Pamela Johnson, Madden's mother, said the 26-year-old mother of six was last seen leaving a club on the 6600 block of Michigan Avenue. After her daughter disappeared, Johnson said she learned that another dancer -- one of her daughter's friends -- also went missing.
http://www.freep.com/article/201201...-mom-of-6-other-women-working-in-sex-industry

 

[mysteriew]

This is from missing person Kalisha Madden's case. Note that Madden has not been associated with this case as yet. But in the previous article Kalisha's mother indicated that one of Kalisha's friend's are missing too.

"Witnesses state that she was seen leaving with a gentleman named Benny. They say he walks on crutches. There was a tall guy that had individual braids. My daughter had partied with them all night. She was comfortable," Johnson explained.

Madden hasn't been seen since.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/new...ng-detroit-dancer-case-go-nowhere-20120103-ms

Incidently the article also indicates that Madden's family has been told that the leads in her case haven't panned out or led anywhere so that her case is being put onto a back burner.

This thought has crossed my mind. The other women were found in the trunks of their vehicles. I wonder if anyone has thought to even run the licene plate numbers for these two women? It is entirely possible that for some reason these women were in the trunk of a vehicle that was illegally parked and was towed to an impound lot.

 

[Reader]

This is from missing person Kalisha Madden's case. Note that Madden has not been associated with this case as yet. But in the previous article Kalisha's mother indicated that one of Kalisha's friend's are missing too.



Incidently the article also indicates that Madden's family has been told that the leads in her case haven't panned out or led anywhere so that her case is being put onto a back burner.

This thought has crossed my mind. The other women were found in the trunks of their vehicles. I wonder if anyone has thought to even run the licene plate numbers for these two women? It is entirely possible that for some reason these women were in the trunk of a vehicle that was illegally parked and was towed to an impound lot.

That's a good idea, mysteriew, I hope that LE has or will do that...also to not be linked to the case for these 4 women, I guess neither of them had any ads on Backpage or other escort sites?

BTW, in this article before Natasha Curtis was identified, it does state the 2 women were found in McCrary's vehicle (I think this was a question asked):

http://www.freep.com/article/20111230/NEWS01/111230015

"The medical examiner's office has not yet positively identified Curtis using dental records, but loved ones say they believe it is her because the women were found in McCrary's 1997 Buick LeSabre parked in a garage in the 14900 block of Lannette."

 

[mysteriew]

Woman Finds Herself in Bogus Escort Ad on Backpage.com

A local woman was shocked to find a bogus online ad promoting her as a prostitute, complete with private photos published for all to see.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/new...f-in-bogus-escort-ad-on-backpage-com-20120110

Sounds like someone is angry with her. And I would guess that that someone is about to be arrested.

 

[fran]

They did positively identify Natasha Curtis.

fran


Authorities identify fourth woman in murders; all four victims found in car trunks

Read full article: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region...re-victims-were-found-in-trunks#ixzz1jgnCcOt4

 

[mysteriew]

Looks like they have found another commonality for the victims and another murder, and with that came another possible victim.

On Jan. 17, 2012 news about yet another Detroit woman's murder began making headlines when it was learned that she, too, had been at the Blackberry Bar and Grill, where two other women in their 20's had last been known to be before being found dead on Detroit's east side of town.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Detroit car trunk murders: Backpage link now joined by Blackberry Bar and Grill? - National Criminal Profiles | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/criminal-pr...ned-by-blackberry-bar-and-grill#ixzz1jvP1sdBz

It seems so iffy to me. Two of the women had been seen at the bar shortly before their death. This new victim had also been seen at the bar before her death. She was later found shot, and not in a car trunk.

 

[fran]

I'll hold judgement on if the last woman was connected to these trunk murders. I think it was just a crime of opportunity and coincidence she had just left the same bar as two of the previous victims.

OTOH, trying to tie the bar to the two known victims seems like grasping at straws, imho. After all, they were together, so yeah, they were both last seen at the same location alive, before they were later found again together, murdered in the trunk.

I think whoever wrote this article was just trying to write something about the case and made this up. It's not factual, IMHO.

JMHO
fran

 

[mysteriew]

Detroit Police seek public's help to solve murders of women linked to escort site

Police on Friday urged the public and those who've used the Internet site backpage.com for escort services to come forward with information in the unsolved murders of four women whose bodies were found in car trunks on the city's east side in December.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...s-help-solve-murders-women-linked-escort-site

 

[mysteriew]

Detroit police are narrowing their search for two women who have been missing for a week, after being abducted from their Hamtramck home.

snip...The two best friends haven’t been heard from since Conaway sent a text message saying they were locked in the trunk of a car.
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/03/06/police-search-for-any-sign-of-missing-women-from-hamtramck/

Police probe report of gunshots, burned car in missing Hamtramck women case
http://www.freep.com/article/201203...breeya-Brown-Ashley-Conaway-missing-Hamtramck

Car found on Detroit’s west side connected to missing women from Hamtramck
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...from-Hamtramck/-/4714498/9199158/-/smex5ez/-/

Burned out car tied to kidnapping of two Hamtramck women

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region...tion-to-missing-hamtramck-women#ixzz1oN0RPyDb

 

[mysteriew]

One of three men sought by police in the reported kidnapping of two Hamtramck women has been charged in an earlier shooting.

snip.....A friend of 18-year-old Abreeya Brown and 21-year-old Ashley Conaway said Cain allegedly got upset when the women left his home on the city’s westside on Feb. 8. Detroit Police say it’s alleged that Cain ordered a known black male to fire shots at the women. One of the bullets grazed Conaway in the head.
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/03/02/man-linked-to-missing-women-charged-in-shooting/

So this case may or may not be related to the others. It could very well be a copycat to coverup the abduction of his girlfriend.


Citizens Join Search For Kidnapped Women
Meantime, as the anxious families await word on the missing women, some community groups are taking matters into their own hands.

Community activist Brenda Hill was part of a small but determined group who gathered in Hamtramck to help in the search.
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/03/01/citizens-join-search-for-kidnapped-women/

 

[bessie]

I just heard about this case. I haven't read all of the articles yet, but this is horrible.

 

[mysteriew]

Two Detroit women who were abducted last month may have revealed their captors' identities by text-messaging relatives from inside the trunk of a car, as authorities confirmed Monday that their bodies were found in a shallow grave.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/2...allow-grave-likely-to-be-two-missing-friends/

 

[Reader]

Thank you, mysteriew, so very sad, two young lives lost to cover up an earlier crime, how stupid and I hope these men rot the rest of their lives in prison. From your link:

Witnesses say the two housemates were forced into a car trunk at gunpoint nearly a month ago, and they were found dead Sunday gagged and bound with duct tape. Both were shot in the head, Blackwell said. Their bodies were clothed when they were found.

The cause of death was homicide, Blackwell said.

Brown and Conaway were grabbed Feb. 28 from their front porch by two men who traded bullets with Brown's stepfather before getting away, according to relatives. In what may have been a final, frantic act, Conaway texted relatives an hour later, saying they were trapped in the trunk of a car. They were never seen again.

Relatives said the women named their abductors in the text messages, and police have zeroed in on two men who have been named as persons of interest.

One, Brian Christopher Lee, 24, was to appear Monday morning before Judge Roberta Archer on attempted murder charges from a Feb. 8 incident in which he allegedly shot and wounded Conaway, but that hearing was postponed unti Friday.

Lee, along with Brandon Cain, 26, Conaway's ex-boyfriend and a co-defendant in the Feb. 8 shooting, are persons of interest in the disappearance of the two women.

"We should not lose our daughters to evil and nasty men," Latrina Conaway, mother of Ashley Conaway, told the Detroit News. "Two beautiful young women who never had the opportunity to grow, to have families, to have life. It's just a shame. Everyone should be touched by this traumatic thing.

I also wonder if the previous crimes were something similar...to cover up something the women knew about that was dangerous for somebody?

 

[fran]

5 men charged in slayings of 2 Michigan women

story at link .............http://news.yahoo.com/5-men-charged-slayings-2-michigan-women-142716866.html

 

[Reannan]

What a sad case!!! These women were trying to 'do the right thing', and they tried to let someone know where they were after they were abducted. Two brave women - FIVE spineless excuses for humanity arrested for taking their lives. For these five outstanding citizens, I hope they get everything plus some coming to them in prison. :furious: