Found Deceased TX - Thomas Brown, 18, Hemphill County, 23 Nov 2016 #2

[kelsie]

One more thing from Part 8!!
I called a media spokesman for the attorney general’s office. Yes, he said: a grand jury would be convened in Hemphill County either later this year or in early 2021. Various citizens would be subpoenaed to testify under penalty of perjury.

 

[nannymo]

To me, and just IMO, I don't see any logic that weighs suicide as more likely than foul play that resulted in homicide. In fact, I believe that the evidence and circumstances weigh much more heavily toward foul play. As far a Tom reportedly having a lot of things "going on", such feelings are prevalent to some degree in virtually all "late" teens. Youngsters around the age of 17-18 are, for the first time in their short lives, are suddenly facing some "facts of life" that concerns them. They have been raised, protected, coddled, defended, provided for, and guided by their parents, teachers, and coaches. They are not used to having the weight of important life decisions on their shoulders, so some degree of uncertainty and anxiety arises. Regardless of how each one handles that new realization, they all have a lot "going on". It's a normal part of maturing.

Penny Meek and family want nothing more than the truth about what happened to Tom, regardless of what that truth is. They are honest and caring people who are striving to learn answers; Exactly as I and many others would be doing if in the same situation. I understand Lewis' frustration regarding the rumors and comments about him, but he brought much of that on himself by his own conduct. Lewis' tone and comments about Penny Meek speaks volumes about him.

I have posted earlier regarding some of my reasons that I believe point logically and heavily toward foul play, so I won't repost at this time.

OutWest, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I see so much more evidence towards foul play. The window of opportunity is so small. Christian and her father were in the helicopter and found the car within an extremely short window that morning. It was seen around 6am turning to go toward the water treatment plant and didn't they find the car around 6:30? Or was it 8:30am? If Tom had left it there at 6ish, and forged the river (which they state is very difficult) to walk to Lake Marvin Road 15 miles away....all the while throwing out his backpack and phone along the way??? And how did he commit suicide? No gun, no rope, no record of buying sedatives, drugs etc, no letter......just not much to go on for me.

Another thing about Thomas and his Mom. At 5 after midnight she was very concerned because he had NEVER missed hi curfew without calling or texting. How many 18 year old boys can say they have NEVER missed their curfew. His friends talked that he almost never drank. They could only think of a couple of times they had ever seen him drinking and NEVER if he was driving.

This was not a bad or troubled kid. He was good and had a lot of friends. He had a support system. He was close to his brother. He attended church.

When Sheriff Lewis commented to Skip Hollandsworth about Penny being a Godly woman only because the press was around really tells me he is a !

Sheriff Lewis never spoke a kind word about this Mother who was trying to find her child and I feel he did not care if he found him or not. I am not convinced he had something to do with Tom's disappearance, but I am certainly not ruling it out. JMO tho too. Thanks OutWest for your input.

 

[nannymo]

Can someone here who thinks Tom's death is by misadventure please outline the reasons for that theory? Because I've only ever thought homicide from day 1, and I'd like to hear why you think it's misadventure

I don't believe his death was a misadventure but I will answer you. There was a search on his phone earlier in the evening for suicide hotline. It was never called tho.

 

[nannymo]

One more thing from Part 8!!
I called a media spokesman for the attorney general’s office. Yes, he said: a grand jury would be convened in Hemphill County either later this year or in early 2021. Various citizens would be subpoenaed to testify under penalty of perjury.

How many grand juries have convened for a suicide. I think the grand jury would have to come out of Lubbock due to the prejudices in Canadian. Not sure Canadian would even have a grand jury.

 

[OutWest]

Prior to the AG taking over the case, the “investigators” approached every angle EXCEPT the most obvious ..... foul play/homicide. For months they would aggressively push the "run-away" theory, then the "ran off with an older man" theory, and then they “knew” Tom was "living in Denver with and older man". As an alternate theory the “local investigators” also contrived a notion that Tom committed suicide, that the family found then hid his body due to embarrassment, then the family quickly coordinated and carried out a master cover up scheme while appearing publicly to pursue answers for Tom’s death. That theory is bizarre but it may be even more peculiar that the local “investigators” would put so much effort toward such theories yet apparently never seriously pursue and investigate the possibility that foul play occurred. Think about that.

In February 2018 just a few weeks after the AG took over the case, the polygraph exams were scheduled. Chris and Penny Meek’s exam appeared to center largely on the previously concocted suicide and family cover up theory. Who do you suppose briefed the AG investigators on the “family involvement” theory at the time they took over the case? Nonetheless, a mandate for the AG was to “leave no stone unturned in their investigation”. The polygraph interrogation of the Meeks was simply the turning over one of those stones. As was the polygraph exam of Klein. As was the polygraph exam of Lewis.

Since that time, there has been a lot of water that has run under the bridge. Much more information has come forth and quite possibly some of a sort of forensic nature. I believe that the AG investigators are most assuredly investigating all possibilities, including foul play.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I listened to the podcast and read Episode 8 in TM today.

Lewis should be ashamed of himself, trying to throw suspicion on Penny because *checks notes* she didn't seem upset enough.

Without offering one shred of evidence that she was involved. Disgusting. If you have evidence bring it forward, if not keep your durned mouth shut and your vitriol to yourself. People cope with tragedy differently. He acted as if there was something weird about her not hysterically "beating the door down" at the police. Some people are not wired to act that way.

This makes him look all the more suspicious, IMO.

Christian Webb said, quite logically, in episode 7 that she doesn't believe Tom took his own life because of the distance between where the Durango, his remains, and the backpack were found.
Seriously. I would like to see just one case of a suicide in which belongings were scattered miles apart from the remains like that.

I believe Christian is a smart young woman who knows what's what, and if she believes there's a killer still loose in Canadian, I'm inclined to trust her gut instincts.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

One more thing from Part 8!!
I called a media spokesman for the attorney general’s office. Yes, he said: a grand jury would be convened in Hemphill County either later this year or in early 2021. Various citizens would be subpoenaed to testify under penalty of perjury.

Yes, that blew me away! Was not expecting!

The implications were that this was due to evidence uncovered by Rachel Kading.

I pray this is evidence that can close the case once and for all.

 

[Acorunadepor]

It is my understanding that the Sheriff had data from someone's phone who was close to Tom. This person was texting and talking to someone in Denver a lot after they went back to school and the FBI and Sheriff thought that person was really communicating with Tom. Thus....he ran off with an older man. It was in one of the many podcasts I have listened to....maybe the Unfound podcast.

It was on the Unfound podcast indeed. Episode 95 to be precise. Listened to it again this week. It was chaos from the start, by which I mean the investigation.

 

[Zzzz]

Tom Brown’s Body, Chapter 8: The Remains
So, I asked Lewis, what did he believe happened on Thanksgiving eve? He gave me a one-word answer: Penny. “She’s involved,” he said. “She knows something. She knows so much about what’s going on.”

Like the investigators Rachel Kading and Chris Smyth, Lewis didn’t rule out the possibility that Penny had found Tom’s body after he’d killed himself. He suspected she then hid the body out of shame, perhaps even persuading her husband or her older son to help her.

I am as flummoxed about this story as everyone and would lean toward suicide if it weren't for the pristine phone showing up. Distraught people do strange things. But all of the theories have a thread of common sense, which is what makes it so puzzling. However, I never understood the theory about Penny finding his body after suicide and moving it. That doesn't make any sense at all. Eventually the body would be found, especially where it was. And if she and her family moved it, that would just make them look guilty of a murder cover-up. Which is way worse. I don't follow the "moving the suicide body" theory at all.

 

[Stella]

Klein is still withholding a "bombshell" I think, for the Grand Jury to convene. One of 2 adults who MAY have covered it up seems very obvious now. And that interview with ex Sheriff Lewis; he doth laugh too much. I don't know that he is involved in a cover up so much as he's just unprofessional. We'll see. I hope Klein has checked for an overseas bank account and done gun tests...

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Klein is still withholding a "bombshell" I think, for the Grand Jury to convene. One of 2 adults who MAY have covered it up seems very obvious now. And that interview with ex Sheriff Lewis; he doth laugh too much. I don't know that he is involved in a cover up so much as he's just unprofessional. We'll see. I hope Klein has checked for an overseas bank account and done gun tests...

That laughing bothered me too. Very forced. And the situation is not humorous in the least.

 

[nannymo]

I will never believe his Mom or Klein planted the phone. I can't think of a reason to plant the phone except a guilty feeling. I am not convinced the teacher who committed suicide is not involved (probably not, but not totally) and I think the person/person's Klein is talking about is a very well known, influential person in Canadian. I think Klein is on the right track and praying there is enough evidence to go to a grand jury, but i still think there is a bombshell out there and someone knows what it is! Justice for Thomas....

 

[OutWest]

As I look at the overall case in general, all things considered, Klein is the one who has actually evaluated the evidence and circumstances and put what pieces there has been together in a more logical manner. In the beginning he leaned somewhat more toward foul play, but not totally; over a period of time things that he saw and heard, as well as newly discovered evidence, logically pointed more toward foul play. To the contrary from the beginning the local LE bungled, lost, or destroyed critical evidence then developed and stuck with suicide theories and bizarre variations of "run away" theories while inexplicably ignoring any possibility of foul play. It was predictable that Klein would eventually become the nemesis of local LE and their supporters. Okay, maybe Klein sometimes "over tweeted" his position and theories but much of that was in defense to accusations leveled against him or to counter some of the bizarre theories that ran rampant.

In any case, once the case was in the hands of the Texas AG office, with much of the evidence lost, AG had a very difficult uphill challenge. The AG investigators virtually had to begin from square one where every person is a potential suspect. It has taken some time for them to sort things out through the mess that they inherited. However, there now appears to be a good chance that eventually the truth will be discovered .... not for me or for others but for the family of Tom Brown.

 

[Sillybilly]

Reddit is not MSM and is not an approved source at Websleuths.

Members may link to reporter Skip Hollandsworth's MSM or podcasts via Texas Monthly (as has been done), but all posts and responses based on links to Reddit have been removed. Unfortunately a lot of good input and discussion has been removed, but that's what happens when members link to non-approved sources.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

No Hard Feelings

 

[GarAndTeed]

No Hard Feelings

Thank you for posting this! It means a lot, not only in the context of this case, but because I recently lost my precious kitty soul mate of 21 years. This song is comforting.
Thanks again...

 

[nannymo]

Such a sad song....it certainly makes you have second thoughts on suicide......or it is just a coinsidence....

 

[Grungster]

I am not sure if anyone is aware but Klein Investigations has released a statement on their FB page. Apparently, Jeff Castletine, father of Micheal Castletine, who committed suicide one week after Tom's remains were found, and who's son's CREDIT CARD was found in Tom's car, wrote in his suicide note that he killed himself because the Tom Brown investigation had been hard on their family. Something is very suspicious about this.

 

[8th Bob-White]

Grungster -- I believe Klein Investigations was clarifying that Klein did NOT make such a statement about the suicide note on the Chris Samples' Show as originally came out in the Texas Monthly podcast and article. Texas Monthly has since updated the podcast and article.

4 years ago today Tom went missing...heartfelt thoughts to his family and friends. I'm sure this is a very difficult time of year for them. Here's hoping that by next year at this time there will be more answers than questions for Tom's disappearance and death.

 

[OutWest]

Grungster -- I believe Klein Investigations was clarifying that Klein did NOT make such a statement about the suicide note on the Chris Samples' Show as originally came out in the Texas Monthly podcast and article. Texas Monthly has since updated the podcast and article. /QUOTE]

The only reference that I ever found in my notes or archived documents in which Philip Klein referred to Mr. Castletine is from a Borger New Herald article:

"The News-Herald also asked if he had read a suicide note written by one of the fathers of Brown's two friends. Klein said he has seen the note, but only would say that there is no evidence at this time that Brown's disappearance and the suicide — which occurred about two days after Brown's remains were discovered — were somehow connected."​