Found Deceased TX - Thomas Brown, 18, Hemphill County, 23 Nov 2016

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A question for clarification of this theory please - is the suggestion that potentially 2 males (peers of Thomas) have colluded and are part of the cover-up, rather than a one-on-one confrontation? Am just checking I'm on the same page CST.

One more loose thread for me ... I had an idea that potentially 3 people of a peer group could well have 3 different curfew times. and that's why Thomas was dropped off at his vehicle at that particular time (eg that particular time may have been as a result that suited one of the other of the trio and not Thomas in particular).
Thomas was dropped off at his car by CW (driver). KK was in CW's vehicle at this time. Did CW then drop KK back home, or back to his vehicle?
It's the 3 vehicles caught on cctv at the church that currently keeps my attention.
The PI's timeline isn't detailed enough for me. Is there something more detailed than this attachment?
I have no doubt the friends all had different curfew times. As friends, I am sure they are fully aware of Tom's need to be home by midnight. As for two friends colluding, I don't think the confrontation started that way. I think one friend wanted to warn Tom away from a girl and the other was there as...mediator, peacemaker? I think LE was there at least for some of it. I'm not sure if the confrontation started at the gas station or moved to the stadium parking lot. I am wondering if both the gas station and stadium would ping on the exact same tower for the times between 11:28 and 12:10. I mean, it is a small town, I don't know that but it makes sense considering distance. As I understand it, CW dropped KK and TB off at their cars in the Middle School parking lot and they all left (3 cars seen leaving) and TB headed straight to Fronk's where he paid for his gas with Mom's card at 11:28. Again, this is my opinion and some of this cannot be substantiated with evidence.
 
No worries! Thank you for the link! I thought it might because I don't have fb. I just wanted to offer direct links in case I wasn't the only one. ;):)

Seems to be a very small town newspaper. It sounds like Tom's dad is coping by leaning heavily on his faith and taking his inspiration from Tom's life instead of focusing on his death.
We didn't get any new case info as far as I heard.

No new info in that part. But since we don't hear from his dad, I thought I would include it. The newspaper is also going to be sharing more of his interview in the coming days so maybe something new then?
 
A question for clarification of this theory please - is the suggestion that potentially 2 males (peers of Thomas) have colluded and are part of the cover-up, rather than a one-on-one confrontation? Am just checking I'm on the same page CST.

One more loose thread for me ... I had an idea that potentially 3 people of a peer group could well have 3 different curfew times. and that's why Thomas was dropped off at his vehicle at that particular time (eg that particular time may have been as a result that suited one of the other of the trio and not Thomas in particular).
Thomas was dropped off at his car by CW (driver). KK was in CW's vehicle at this time. Did CW then drop KK back home, or back to his vehicle?
It's the 3 vehicles caught on cctv at the church that currently keeps my attention.
The PI's timeline isn't detailed enough for me. Is there something more detailed (outside of our thread) than this attachment?

I agree on the different curfews. It dawned on me last night when my son came home early because his curfew was midnight and his friend had all 11pm curfew.
 
Tom’s Facebook account was hacked, which smells like teenagers were involved. Low Caliber gun is not a gun law enforcement would use so this too sounds more like teenagers were involved. And throwing items out the window driving down a road doesn’t sounds like a law enforcement move.
RSBM for focus

Welcome to WS, Texas Wind! You make some great points.

Earlier, I was thinking of a possibility of NL trying to frame MC for Tom’s murder.

In the Casefile podcast, Tom’s mom talks about the run-in he had with NL when he was still a deputy with Lipscomb County Sheriff's Office. Tom’s mom brought the incident to the attention of then Hemphill County Sheriff, who referred her to the Texas Rangers. After she filed a complaint with them, the assigned Ranger looked into the matter and determined there was no wrong doing on the part of then Deputy Lewis:
https://findingthomas.weebly.com/up.../pearson_letter_to_editor_re_deputy_lewis.pdf

Case 85: Tom Brown - Casefile: True Crime Podcast

So what if NL had a long-held grudge against Tom? Assuming that he did, here is a scenario (MOO):

NL starts following Tom after CW drops him and KK off (or maybe even before, but NL is waiting for Tom to be alone). As Tom heads home after getting gas, NL pulls him over somewhere near where the last ping from Tom’s phone came from (e.g. the parking lot at the high school football stadium).

According to Tom’s mom, during the incident back in 2015, NL placed Tom in his Lipscomb County Sheriff’s Office patrol car.

Perhaps NL does the same thing after he pulls Tom over or even gets into Tom’s vehicle himself. Then for whatever reason, NL shoots Tom with his own .25-caliber pistol.

NL notices MC’s debit card laying inside Tom’s vehicle. He decides he is going to make it appear as though MC is involved in Tom’s disappearance.

NL spends the next few hours driving around in the Durango, getting rid of pretty much everything found inside the vehicle, but the debit card. Some of the deputies help him in the cover-up.

He parks the vehicle by the water treatment facility. He has one of his deputies pick him up and drive him to his car.

Later, NL starts to feel guilty about potentially sending MC to prison for the rest of his life, and that’s when he starts to tell Tom’s mom and others Tom committed suicide, ran away, etc.
 
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Later, NL starts to feel guilty about potentially sending MC to prison for the rest of his life, and that’s when he starts to tell Tom’s mom and others Tom committed suicide, ran away, etc.

I am with you on most of your post, til the end. I think NL could have been diverting attention to suicide, run away, etc to take the heat off of having to 'solve' the case. If Tom had run off or suicide then there is no one dispute what really happened and no evidence to contradict NL version of events. I think if Penny had just accepted what NL said about run away, etc then this case would have been closed before Christmas that year.

This is only my opinion though.
 
Interesting scenarios. If others met him at Fronk’s it looks like that would be on surveillance video though. Maybe they met back at school. I just find it unlikely that both the law and kids jointly did this and it was kept quiet for so long. This case is so fascinating with all the different story lines behind each individual connected with this case. I feel that when the all the evidence is known and the person(s) are arrested it will all make more sense. Klein keeps saying this will shake up the political offices in Hemphill County and Canadian; makes me wonder what he knows that I don’t know. And the Durango could have been placed at the water treatment with someone who had an extra eye out for the coast is clear. I am thinking this involved more than one person too. Unbelievable how no one saw this when so many people were out searching. I am confused why the Sheriff office is still on the list of taking tips on this case if they were being investigated. It looks like there isn’t any evidence of wrong or surely they would be out of office already. So then I go back to why would SP, who Tom had mutually broken up with, send a text within moments of something bad happening to Tom asking if he was Ok? That is a really big coincidence. She said it was just a feeling. Perhaps she saw something on his social media. Tom’s Facebook account was hacked, which smells like teenagers were involved. Low Caliber gun is not a gun law enforcement would use so this too sounds more like teenagers were involved. And throwing items out the window driving down a road doesn’t sounds like a law enforcement move. I do think there is a possibility that some of the people who helped in the search for Tom were probably involved in this, whether it was LE or Teens. I just don’t think it is both. This case is like a puzzle with a ton of pieces. After the memorial, Penny said finding Thomas just gave her more questions. So many questions... I do feel for those who are innocent. I would hate to be in their shoes. And I want justice for Penny and hope the truth comes soon. All this is my very humble opinion btw!

What better red herring than to use a gun thats obviously not LE issue and to throw evidence out the window? IF I was a LE involved in a crime, I sure as heck wouldn't use my department issued gun to commit a crime. Instead, I would use a different caliber gun, that was probably bought on the black market or through a private dealer.
 
Does anyone else recall Penny discussing the people who was interviewed by an attorney on her behalf? Do we know who was interviewed and if everyone agreed to the interview?
 
I keep pondering about the text from SP just before something happened to Tom. If she was just touching base with Tom why ask "Are you ok" instead of asking "How are you"? Penny explained their breakup as being amicable but teen romances can be intense. I wonder if there was something about that relationship that angered someone so much that they confronted Tom? I agree with the person who said this town has a lot of secrets. I hope the AG investigates connections that NL may have with the circle of friends mentioned in this case.
 
RSBM for focus

Welcome to WS, Texas Wind! You make some great points.

Earlier, I was thinking of a possibility of NL trying to frame MC for Tom’s murder.

In the Casefile podcast, Tom’s mom talks about the run-in he had with NL when he was still a deputy with Lipscomb County Sheriff's Office. Tom’s mom brought the incident to the attention of then Hemphill County Sheriff, who referred her to the Texas Rangers. After she filed a complaint with them, the assigned Ranger looked into the matter and determined there was no wrong doing on the part of then Deputy Lewis:
https://findingthomas.weebly.com/up.../pearson_letter_to_editor_re_deputy_lewis.pdf

Case 85: Tom Brown - Casefile: True Crime Podcast

So what if NL had a long-held grudge against Tom? Assuming that he did, here is a scenario (MOO):

NL starts following Tom after CW drops him and KK off (or maybe even before, but NL is waiting for Tom to be alone). As Tom heads home after getting gas, NL pulls him over somewhere near where the last ping from Tom’s phone came from (e.g. the parking lot at the high school football stadium).

According to Tom’s mom, during the incident back in 2015, NL placed Tom in his Lipscomb County Sheriff’s Office patrol car.

Perhaps NL does the same thing after he pulls Tom over or even gets into Tom’s vehicle himself. Then for whatever reason, NL shoots Tom with his own .25-caliber pistol.

NL notices MC’s debit card laying inside Tom’s vehicle. He decides he is going to make it appear as though MC is involved in Tom’s disappearance.

NL spends the next few hours driving around in the Durango, getting rid of pretty much everything found inside the vehicle, but the debit card. Some of the deputies help him in the cover-up.

He parks the vehicle by the water treatment facility. He has one of his deputies pick him up and drive him to his car.

Later, NL starts to feel guilty about potentially sending MC to prison for the rest of his life, and that’s when he starts to tell Tom’s mom and others Tom committed suicide, ran away, etc.
I have envisioned this scene exactly as you described! Pearson’s letter in the local paper must of been humiliating to NL. He was scolded harshly and publicly for not following protocol and acting unprofessional. It’s likely he held a grudge, and with deputy GP, it could be a bad combination. There are way too many unprofessional aspects in how this case has been handled. This scenario makes the most sense at the moment. I am probably leaning on LE ,but honestly there is some aspects of MC that I haven’t ruled out another scenario of how the night played out.
 
I’ve watched this case since the beginning two years ago as well as the Unfound podcast. I’ve also read this entire forum all the way through. This is my first post, but I joined because I just wonder why nobody has ever focused on one big item in TBs life leading up to his murder?

This is just a thought in all of this: Canadian is a small west Texas town that is like every other small Texas town. It is all built on the schools and particularly they love their high school football team. Their team is one of the most highly successful programs in the state. TB as well as his older brother both played on state championship teams for Canadian. Fans from surrounding schools have claimed that Canadian recruits the best for years. If you have an athlete, they’ll make a job for you to get your kid on their team. Not positive how true, but that’s the claim. Bottom line is that high school football is king in the small west Texas town.

Just about three weeks before Tom’s disappearance, he lost his starting job on the team and he quit midseason. Like I stated earlier, this is not your common town when it comes to high school football. I have heard that some did not appreciate TB’s desire to quit on the team and pursue his drama hobby. I’m just curious to know if anyone else has thought along the lines that he could have bullied for this issue which is possible in football crazed towns. I’m not saying that someone on the team murdered him, but just throwing another theory out there. Where would the sheriff come into play in this one? He might not or one could see that NL had a role that way with all of the support the community gives to the team.

Just some thoughts
 
I’ve watched this case since the beginning two years ago as well as the Unfound podcast. I’ve also read this entire forum all the way through. This is my first post, but I joined because I just wonder why nobody has ever focused on one big item in TBs life leading up to his murder?

This is just a thought in all of this: Canadian is a small west Texas town that is like every other small Texas town. It is all built on the schools and particularly they love their high school football team. Their team is one of the most highly successful programs in the state. TB as well as his older brother both played on state championship teams for Canadian. Fans from surrounding schools have claimed that Canadian recruits the best for years. If you have an athlete, they’ll make a job for you to get your kid on their team. Not positive how true, but that’s the claim. Bottom line is that high school football is king in the small west Texas town.

Just about three weeks before Tom’s disappearance, he lost his starting job on the team and he quit midseason. Like I stated earlier, this is not your common town when it comes to high school football. I have heard that some did not appreciate TB’s desire to quit on the team and pursue his drama hobby. I’m just curious to know if anyone else has thought along the lines that he could have bullied for this issue which is possible in football crazed towns. I’m not saying that someone on the team murdered him, but just throwing another theory out there. Where would the sheriff come into play in this one? He might not or one could see that NL had a role that way with all of the support the community gives to the team.

Just some thoughts
I have considered football to have been the impetus for Tom's disappearance. It certainly could be. I don't know how great a player Tom was but he was replaced as starter by a junior recruited from somewhere outside Canadian I believe I read. I agree the school takes the sport VERY seriously. I would think if someone had an issue there would have been a "talk" much sooner than three weeks after quitting. As for NL, I think as sheriff of a small town with little crime, a large focus would be on protecting Canadian's interests. One big interest is keeping an eye on the players and keeping them out of trouble so they can be on field. Just my opinion
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I have considered football to have been the impetus for Tom's disappearance. It certainly could be. I don't know how great a player Tom was but he was replaced as starter by a junior recruited from somewhere outside Canadian I believe I read. I agree the school takes the sport VERY seriously. I would think if someone had an issue there would have been a "talk" much sooner than three weeks after quitting. As for NL, I think as sheriff of a small town with little crime, a large focus would be on protecting Canadian's interests. One big interest is keeping an eye on the players and keeping them out of trouble so they can be on field. Just my opinion
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Thats funny to see some seeing Football as a the center of this. I don't. Sure, Thomas was on the state winning team. But he wasn't an All-American player. And the player that took his spot was good enough to play in college. The reality is Thomas was replaceable. In this area, having a great personality and good heart doesn't make you an asset to the football team.
 
Thats funny to see some seeing Football as a the center of this. I don't. Sure, Thomas was on the state winning team. But he wasn't an All-American player. And the player that took his spot was good enough to play in college. The reality is Thomas was replaceable. In this area, having a great personality and good heart doesn't make you an asset to the football team.
I don't believe it is football related. I think Tom was hurt he was so easily replaceable. He has more reason to want revenge on someone than vice versa.
 
Thats funny to see some seeing Football as a the center of this. I don't. Sure, Thomas was on the state winning team. But he wasn't an All-American player. And the player that took his spot was good enough to play in college. The reality is Thomas was replaceable. In this area, having a great personality and good heart doesn't make you an asset to the football team.

It might sound a little weird, but I have lived in that area of the Texas panhandle for many years and Canadian is not your average town. Yes, Thomas was not a star but he had played all of his years growing up and had started on the previous year's state championship team as well as half of that season. It is not as though he was a scrub who just stood on the sidelines at a junior varsity game or two. From conversations that I have had with the locals, he had some individuals who did confront him about quitting on his teammates and not being a team player. It was not just like he quit and nobody noticed. Yes, the kid who took his starting position is now playing at Texas Tech so it's not as if the kid who took his spot was not any good either. I'm just stating that there is more to the end of his football career than most on here realize. Most kids who quit their team in the middle of the season to focus on drama would not be looked kindly on in towns like Canadian at least by the elect and some team members. High School Musical is not the real deal on how high school athletics generally play out. LOL
 
I am very familiar with the dynamics of Texas high school football and the aspects of trying to fit a busy senior year in how you want to spend it. There is nothing unusual about Thomas wanting to focus on Drama and grades. He probably had to spend many afternoons at workouts and be sidelined at the game. That doesn’t sound fun to me. I totally understand his decision. As a parent, I watched my own kids choose drama over sports. Thomas went to state in speaking and wanted to use his speaking skills as a career, as well as enjoy the upcoming play. He was president of his class so that speaks volumes. He had many friends of all kinds. I doubt he was the type that people bullied. Something bigger than “football” was the motive I would bet!
 
> modsnip - referred to a post that has been removed <

I grew up in a town (not in Texas) with a very similar culture. Families that intermarried and lived there for a couple generations, Football was king and outsiders or people who did not conform were ostracized. I would imagine that Thomas could have been treated like a traitor for quitting when he was demoted, and be called a baby or poor sport for doing so. But then to leave a hyper-masculanized aggro environment like serious high school football for *drama* of all things? I can see a lot of his former teammates not taking that very well at all. I'm sure that's at least part of the rampant speculation about his sexuality came from shortly after his disappearance. In my town (back in the 80s but not sure how much it's changed) what Thomas did would have been likely to get him shunned pretty heavily in the previous social circles he would have been part of.

I don't know if bullying over quitting the team, getting into drama as a hobby, speculation about his orientation, or some combination of all three had anything to do with his death. But I will say this: my public school English teacher who refused to give high enough grades to a couple of seniors on our championship bound team found himself highly pressured *by other teachers* to change grades so that the failing students could play in the big games. When he refused to pass students who were not even attempting to complete any assigned homework and were flunking every test a couple football players slashed all of his tires in the school parking lot. Everyone knew who did it because they openly bragged about it, and the rest of the team cheered them on. A day or two later the Poli Sci teacher, who was also the assistant coach, held court in his classes all day about what a travesty it would be to not give our boys, who are such good kids and hard workers and deserve a break, the chance to play.

Couple of weeks later and lo and behold somehow the football team's full roster was academically qualified to play in the championship games.

So yeah, I can believe that some people in that community may have set out to make Thomas's life miserable. Did they murder him? I'm not sure. But I can't out of hand discount that they may have.
 
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I thought I read somewhere that TB quit the team because the young man who was coming up behind him needed playing time because he was pursuing a football scholarship. I would not rule this scenario out, but I will be very surprised if this had anything to do with his murder.

I hope we learn something soon.
 
The main
For the record - Sheriff requested the AG to take over the case lead. I would therefore expect that all tips and leads be sent to the AG, rather than the sheriff. A copy of this letter is at the link.

Investigators set to begin 'part two' of Thomas Brown investigation
Investigators set to begin 'part two' of Thomas Brown investigation
https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local...-begin-part-two-of-thomas-brown-investigation
I wonder why the Hemphill County Sheriff’s Office were involved in this search unless they are not being investigated? This confuses me.
 
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I thought I read somewhere that TB quit the team because the young man who was coming up behind him needed playing time because he was pursuing a football scholarship. I would not rule this scenario out, but I will be very surprised if this had anything to do with his murder.

I hope we learn something soon.
He did quit because another kid had taken his starting job. That kid had all of the tools that college coaches are looking for and he is now playing D1 college football, but just because you lose your starting job does not mean that you quit the team in midseason. There were some things said and done that led to that part of it. TB ended up quitting and choosing to focus on drama and student government. A highly thought of student does not just become class president and successful in other areas by quitting on his team in midseason. There had to be some underlying factors more than just losing his starting position. My son who graduated a couple of years ago started in basketball for his entire junior season and the first half of his senior season. A younger kid began starting after Christmas break. My son did not like it at all but he stuck it out and worked harder on his game and ended the season getting as many minutes as any starter by coming off of the bench. It's not a comfortable situation, but you still stick it out and be a leader to your school and teammates. This leads me to think along with other conversations with the locals that there were some intimidating situations after he quit that might have led to some bullying that night. It's all just happened altogether too much to just be coincidental in my opinion. There are other kids involved in this that most on here don't even know their names. We just know of the several kids on videos or mentioned on the podcast. There's more than just meets the eye to the common bystander. Canadian is a good town but there is almost a win at all cost mentality with some people there. JMO
 
He did quit because another kid had taken his starting job. That kid had all of the tools that college coaches are looking for and he is now playing D1 college football, but just because you lose your starting job does not mean that you quit the team in midseason. There were some things said and done that led to that part of it. TB ended up quitting and choosing to focus on drama and student government. A highly thought of student does not just become class president and successful in other areas by quitting on his team in midseason. There had to be some underlying factors more than just losing his starting position. My son who graduated a couple of years ago started in basketball for his entire junior season and the first half of his senior season. A younger kid began starting after Christmas break. My son did not like it at all but he stuck it out and worked harder on his game and ended the season getting as many minutes as any starter by coming off of the bench. It's not a comfortable situation, but you still stick it out and be a leader to your school and teammates. This leads me to think along with other conversations with the locals that there were some intimidating situations after he quit that might have led to some bullying that night. It's all just happened altogether too much to just be coincidental in my opinion. There are other kids involved in this that most on here don't even know their names. We just know of the several kids on videos or mentioned on the podcast. There's more than just meets the eye to the common bystander. Canadian is a good town but there is almost a win at all cost mentality with some people there. JMO

I'm a complete outsider to the situation, but I attended a small high school in West Texas many years ago.

I do think it is possible that TB quit the fb team because he was being bullied, and then when he quit he let everyone know that that bullying was getting to him, and so they continued to bully him and something got out of hand.

I know that in many of these little towns the boys may suffer from a sort of toxic masculinity, and they engage in bullying to prove their status among the other young men.

There may be some homophobia at work here. I'm not saying TB was gay, but facts don't stop bullies. If TB enjoyed drama and debate and church, then someone might have targeted him and cast TB as gay. I think the word that was used 35 years ago was "queer." That doesn't necessarily refer to sexual orientation as much as it points to a lack of manliness. Think about how Kevin Bacon's character was bullied in Footloose.
 
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