The 1982 disappearance of Pennsylvania toddler Nicole Lynn Bryner
Nicole Lynn Bryner, 3, went missing from Pittsburgh in March 1982. Her mother claimed someone abducted her from a local supermarket, but her boyfriend admitted to killing Nicole years later...
Nicole Lynn Bryner (Photo credit: Doe Network)
PITTSBURGH — Nicole Lynn Bryner was born on Feb. 20, 1979, to Michael Bryner and Melody Thomas Childs. Her parents were teenagers when they met and married. The couple separated in November 1981 after Childs began an affair with Timothy Wayne Widman, then 21.
Widman’s criminal history dates back to the 1970s, including charges for burglary, forgery, and theft.
Nicole resided with her mother at 2028 Sarah St.
On March 11, 1982, Childs, 22, reported her daughter missing from the Giant Eagle Supermarket at 23rd Street and Jane Street, on Pittsburgh’s south side.
Childs claimed Nicole was sitting on the bottom of the shopping cart. Childs turned briefly to get something from the meat counter, and Nicole was gone when she turned back...
Detectives soon focused on Child's boyfriend, Timothy Wayne Widman, 27, and subjected him and Childs to questioning and polygraph tests, which they passed and were not initially considered suspects...
A few days after Nicole vanished, Childs received a letter allegedly from her daughter’s kidnapper that read, “Nikki was dead and buried.” But handwriting experts found that Childs might have written the letter herself...
There were a few sightings of the toddler after her disappearance.
When Nicole vanished, a pretzel vendor at a stand near the store’s exit reported that he had briefly seen a girl matching Nicole’s description staring at him. The girl had been alone.
An off-duty school guard reported that she saw Nicole walking with an unidentified middle-aged woman away from the store after being reported missing. The woman stood 5-feet-4-inches tall, had dark blonde hair cut just below her ears, and wore a three-quarter-length gray parka jacket. However, police found the woman, and she did not take Nicole.
Another sighting came in March 1985, three years after Nicole’s disappearance. An unidentified man reported to Kern County, California Sherrif’s Department that he saw Nicole at a Bakersfield shopping center accompanied by a male. He had recognized Nicole from her picture on a milk carton. The man went home to recheck the carton before calling the police. The witness was positive that he saw Nicole, who would have been six at the time of the sighting.
The man and child were gone when the police arrived. The witness said the man drove a green 1979 Chrysler with Texas license plates. Authorities never found the vehicle or the man and girl...
In May 1986, Widman confessed to accidentally killing Nicole after a tipster contacted the police, saying they should speak with Widman regarding the young girl’s disappearance.
When questioned, Widman said he had been on a drug binge for several days and was sleeping on the couch at Childs’s apartment when he awoke to Nicole biting his toe. Widman struck the girl in the face, causing her to fall and hit her head on the floor, becoming semi-conscious.
Widman awoke Childs. Unaware of the gravity of Nicole’s injuries, Childs put her daughter to bed. Hours later, they realized Nicole was dead. Widman claimed he and Childs drove Nicole’s body to a wooded area in Brookline and buried it in a green garbage bag.
Widman said it was Childs’ idea to report her daughter missing and say someone had kidnapped Nicole.
Police searched the area where Widman claimed he buried the remains. A cadaver dog indicated a body had been in the area but did not find a body.
Police charged Widman with involuntary manslaughter in Nicole’s presumed death, despite not having any new developments in the case...
Timothy Wayne Widman after his arrest in May 1986 (Photo credit: The Pittsburgh Press)
... Widman cooperated with the police and admitted in May 2007 to killing Nicole. Police charged him with involuntary manslaughter; he received a two to four-year sentence. The light slap-on-the-wrist punishment upset Nicole’s family, who felt he should have received more time.
Police closed Nicole’s case in 2008 and considered it solved, even though they never found her body.
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Nicole Lynn Bryner, 3, went missing from Pittsburgh in March 1982. Her mother claimed someone abducted her from a local supermarket, but…
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