TX - Clifton, 1985 Mickey Bryan Murder Case

[Doghairrules]

This is a very long investigative piece about whether faulty science was used to convict mickey’s husband joe of murdering her. Part 2 comes out next week. I’m intrigued (and also not sure I’ve posted this in the right place, but it’s not exactly a cold case, right?)

Blood Will Tell, Part 1: Who Killed Mickey Bryan?

 

[Starryeyed]

I live near Clifton and our communities are closely tied. This was the talk of the town for years afterward. Everyone around here is still pretty convinced the husband did it. Thank you for posting this! I enjoyed the read!

 

[Starryeyed]

I live near Clifton and our communities are closely tied. This was the talk of the town for years afterward. Everyone around here is still pretty convinced the husband did it. Thank you for posting this! I enjoyed the read!

Oh my goodness! I meant to say brother, not husband. I think the husband is innocent. I just realized I typed that.

 

[neesaki]

Oh my goodness! I meant to say brother, not husband. I think the husband is innocent. I just realized I typed that.

I just read the article and something sure seems fishy to me. My gut tells me the brother did it. It’s a very interesting read.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Thanks for posting this Doghair....I am just now reading the article. Here is another one I found when I googled while looking for further info on this case....

GUILTY OR TERRIBLY WRONGED: IS JOE BRYAN, IN PRISON FOR 30 YEARS, INNOCENT?

http://crimefeed.com/2018/05/guilty-or-terribly-wronged/

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Oh my goodness! I meant to say brother, not husband. I think the husband is innocent. I just realized I typed that.

I just read the article and something sure seems fishy to me. My gut tells me the brother did it. It’s a very interesting read.

I just finished reading the article & I agree with u both. The brother sure seems suspect. Why he would murder his sister I have no idea other than financial motivation. Dang it sure seems like Joe was set up & railroaded.

 

[neesaki]

I just finished reading the article & I agree with u both. The brother sure seems suspect. Why he would murder his sister I have no idea other than financial motivation. Dang it sure seems like Joe was set up & railroaded.

Yes, that’s where Im coming from as well.
OMG. Can you imagine spending that many years in prison and you are innocent? I can’t even imagine. I can’t even imagine.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

I was just tossing the facts about this case around in my head & remembered something. Joe had said that $1,000 was left in their bedroom but was missing after Mickey’s murder. The container for the $$$ was found during the LE search but it was empty & had no fingerprints in the dust collected their. Then suddenly Joe said he found $850 in his car’s trunk which he said he had forgotten that he had put it there. But the vehicle had already been searched by another LE jurisdiction & no $$$ had been found....but Joe was unaware that his car had already been searched so he had to have been covering something up. I am wondering if anyone else can help me put the pieces together on this fact- it’s really the only thing that made me question Joe at all. Otherwise, like I stated above, I have strong suspicions of Mickey’s brother being the perp.

Anxious to read part two which I hope clarifies a lot of questions I have.

 

[Starryeyed]

The brother lives in Clifton now. His ranch is about 30 miles from my house. He's old now, like 78 or so. He got caught up in a financial scheme some years back, maybe 10 years, with another local guy involving their agricultural business and it brought his role in the trial back into the local media spotlight for a bit. I think it was hard for the people around here to deal with the thought that they could have been living with a murderer this whole time. For some of the older residents around here, it's the major elephant in the room when Charlie comes in a store or stops to eat at a local spot.

 

[neesaki]

I was just tossing the facts about this case around in my head & remembered something. Joe had said that $1,000 was left in their bedroom but was missing after Mickey’s murder. The container for the $$$ was found during the LE search but it was empty & had no fingerprints in the dust collected their. Then suddenly Joe said he found $850 in his car’s trunk which he said he had forgotten that he had put it there. But the vehicle had already been searched by another LE jurisdiction & no $$$ had been found....but Joe was unaware that his car had already been searched so he had to have been covering something up. I am wondering if anyone else can help me put the pieces together on this fact- it’s really the only thing that made me question Joe at all. Otherwise, like I stated above, I have strong suspicions of Mickey’s brother being the perp.

Anxious to read part two which I hope clarifies a lot of questions I have.

I’m curious to know more about that as well. I wonder if there’s something left out in the article, otherwise it does make me wonder.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

The brother lives in Clifton now. His ranch is about 30 miles from my house. He's old now, like 78 or so. He got caught up in a financial scheme some years back, maybe 10 years, with another local guy involving their agricultural business and it brought his role in the trial back into the local media spotlight for a bit. I think it was hard for the people around here to deal with the thought that they could have been living with a murderer this whole time. For some of the older residents around here, it's the major elephant in the room when Charlie comes in a store or stops to eat at a local spot.

Wow that is really something.....he just seems like trouble. I can imagine how that would be a shocker for the residents of the town who had no idea about his past. I would definitely keep my distance! Hopefully part 2 will expand on his & Mickey’s relationship. It just seems like he can’t be trusted & I have serious doubts about his true character. Just wonder what the deal/motive was if he’s the true perp. Apparently $$$$.

 

[Doghairrules]

I’m curious to know more about that as well. I wonder if there’s something left out in the article, otherwise it does make me wonder.

It caught my eye too.

 

[Mayno]

The article indicates Mr. Bryan picked up his Mercury after it had been out of his possession for four days. His brother in law, Mr. Blue, had been using the Mercury. ..."Wilie did not impound the Mercury; instead, he released it to Blue once the search was complete, and Blue and Saunders returned to Clifton, leaving the Mercury in the driveway of the Bryan home around 4 a.m. Three hours later, Blue was gone. He headed to Austin, where he boarded a flight later that morning bound for Tampa. " What struck me upon reading the article is that Blue could have placed the money in the trunk before he left.

 

[Mayno]

Also, 4 months prior to Mrs. Bryan's murder there was the murder of a teenage girl less than a mile from the Bryan's home. Later it was discovered, a major suspect was a Clifton Police Officer.
The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 49, Ed. 1 Friday, June 18, 1999.

 

[Doghairrules]

Here’s part 2:

Blood Will Tell, Part 2: Did Faulty Evidence Doom Joe Bryan? Blood Will Tell, Part 2: Did Faulty Evidence Doom Joe Bryan?

 

[Doghairrules]

Here’s part 2:

Blood Will Tell, Part 2: Did Faulty Evidence Doom Joe Bryan? Blood Will Tell, Part 2: Did Faulty Evidence Doom Joe Bryan?

So I finally finished part 2 and now am wondering about the man who was posthumously named the murderer of the 17 yo killed 4 months before Mickey. Good lord, what if they had done a complete investigation at the time? Joe is now 77, with congestive heart failure. If they got this wrong, that is shameful.

 

[Maznblu1]

I am very skeptical of these post conviction innocence claims, but this case is pretty shocking. There is nothing in this case that points toward Joe being the killer.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Aww, I just finished part 2 and I can’t express how sad I am for Joe. This man was railroaded so badly and has spent so much time behind bars for no reason. Thankfully it seems that he has a good group of advocates on his side but dang, this poor guy has been terribly wronged. How depressing.

 

[wendybtn]

I am so glad that in most cases today, we have DNA and other actual evidence. I believe many cases before DNA are like this one, with evidence that is implied, but actually factually means very little. Unfortunately, we just had a case like the old days in my small town recently.
Jury: Smith Guilty Of Murder

 

[JerseyGirl]

Testimony ended just after noon Wednesday in Comanche where attorneys for a former Clifton school principal convicted 33 years ago of killing his wife are asking for a new trial based on the original prosecutor’s use of “junk science.”

That sentence eventually was overturned but his 1989 re-trial ended with the same result – guilty of murder and a 99-year sentence.

The judge, at the end of Wednesday’s testimony, suspended the hearing and made no ruling because there is still evidence being tested that final reports have not yet been completed on.

A date to continue the hearing was not set.

Ex-Central Texas school principal’s bid for new trial stalls