OH OH - Carnell Sledge, 40, & Katherine Brown, 33, shot dead in park, Cleveland, 4 Jun 2019

[Danaya]

Here's an article about a robbery that occurred in the same area, about a month after Katherine and Carnell were killed.

Woman robbed at gunpoint in Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Reservation, near site of unsolved double slaying

A woman was robbed at gunpoint by two men in Cleveland Metroparks' Rocky River Reservation, police said.

www.cleveland.com

 

[ssn774]

Cleveland Metroparks police investigate possible link of murder-suicide suspect to 2019 deaths of Kate Brown and Carnell Sledge​

Cleveland Metroparks police investigate possible link of murder-suicide suspect to 2019 deaths of Kate Brown and Carnell Sledge

According to Cleveland Metroparks, 'detectives are investigating whether Bryan Hurt has any potential connection to the 2019 double homicide.'

www.wkyc.com

 

[Betty P]

Either of the suspects in the two articles above are possible - an armed robbery gone bad or a crazy guy with a violent hair-trigger temper who chases people and threatens harm or carries it out.

The robbery would be bold in daylight during a busy time of day, but it sounds like its happened before in that spot.

The crazy guy is also possible. He previously was involved in a road rage incident where he chased down a car with a husband, wife and kids inside and threatened to shoot them. The West Park area is close to the park where Sledge and Brown were murdered.

In 2010, Hurt was convicted on charges from an incident at his home in which police say he let his dog out and encouraged it to attack a census taker who came to his residence.

A judge gave him a suspended sentence and probation.

Two months later, police arrested Hurt in a road rage incident in West Park.

According to the indictment, Hurt followed a driver who was with his wife and two kids, pulled alongside the family’s car and pointed a gun at them.

And it was in Rocky River court on those charges that police say Hurt became enraged that his bond changed and reportedly lunged at the bailiff and tried to grab the officer’s gun.

It's possible either Sledge or Brown did something to anger this guy while driving to meet each other at the Metropark. Hurt could have been at the park that day, saw them and decided he didn't like them. That's how he killed his neighbor who was out mowing his lawn.

If a robbery, its possible Carnell had gotten up from the bench to stop the guys, possibly meaning they had approached from behind and gave orders to the couple. IIRC, he was found on the ground near the bench as if he had stood up.


I hope both of these incidents help the FBI and police bring some closure to this case.

 

[Betty P]

Here's a map of key locations involving Bryan Hurt, the man who recently shot his neighbor, then drove to a scenic overlook in the Metropark and committed suicide:


1. The Munn Road address is where Bryan Hurt shot and killed his neighbor a couple of weeks ago.

2. The spot on Hogback Ln called Groth Memorial Scenic Overlook is where Hurt went to commit suicide after murdering his neighbor.

3. The final spot on the route is where Carnell Sledge and Katherine Brown were shot and killed.

All very close together in an area familiar to Bryan Hurt.

15799 Munn Rd to Valley Pkwy

These incidents happened a few years apart, but they happened in the same area where Hurt lived and spent time driving around. Apparently the Groth Memorial Scenic Overlook was a favorite place for him, since he chose it as the location for his suicide.

I wonder if FBI/LE has seen something in ballistic evidence?

 

[dotr]

May 15, 2025

Cleveland city leaders said the suspect in Wednesday's murder-suicide, which happened in the 15700 block of Munn Road, was problematic for years.3News’ investigative reporter Lynna Lai found that 66-year-old Bryan Hurt had a history of violence and prison time.

 

[mgeni]

Either of the suspects in the two articles above are possible - an armed robbery gone bad or a crazy guy with a violent hair-trigger temper who chases people and threatens harm or carries it out.

The robbery would be bold in daylight during a busy time of day, but it sounds like its happened before in that spot.

The crazy guy is also possible. He previously was involved in a road rage incident where he chased down a car with a husband, wife and kids inside and threatened to shoot them. The West Park area is close to the park where Sledge and Brown were murdered.


It's possible either Sledge or Brown did something to anger this guy while driving to meet each other at the Metropark. Hurt could have been at the park that day, saw them and decided he didn't like them. That's how he killed his neighbor who was out mowing his lawn.

If a robbery, its possible Carnell had gotten up from the bench to stop the guys, possibly meaning they had approached from behind and gave orders to the couple. IIRC, he was found on the ground near the bench as if he had stood up.


I hope both of these incidents help the FBI and police bring some closure to this case.

I thought investigators believed he was shot from behind, unsuspecting. Then Kate was found on the river bank, as if she had tried to run away. I haven’t been to the site since a year after the murders, but the river bank is just a few feet from the bench (and a small drop down from the grass).

 

[Betty P]

I thought investigators believed he was shot from behind, unsuspecting. Then Kate was found on the river bank, as if she had tried to run away. I haven’t been to the site since a year after the murders, but the river bank is just a few feet from the bench (and a small drop down from the grass).

You're right. Thanks for the correction. I've not been to the specific site, but have been in that section of the park. True, the bench is close to Rocky River.

19 News has updated their story, a little

Possible connection between 5-year-old double murder, West Park murder-suicide: Metroparks

Cleveland Metroparks Police are looking into possible connections between a five-year-old double murder and the recent West Park murder-suicide.

www.cleveland19.com

Darlene Sledge, the Mother of murder victim Carnell Sledge, tells 19 News that Cleveland Metroparks Police contacted her about why they’re looking into the potential connection to Bryan Hurt. “After the murder-suicide happened, they thought it was worth checking into because he went back to the park where Carnell and Kate were murdered. Why would he go to the Metroparks to take his own life? He already killed his neighbor, and so he went back to the Metroparks to kill himself; that’s not such a coincidence.”

It sounds like he was committing crimes that were just short of something to send him back to prison. It's possible he should have been sent back, but judges kept giving him breaks.

19 News has learned that Cleveland Police were called to Hurt’s Munn Road address 71 times since 2016. Police noted they were repeatedly called out to the address by neighbors, some complaining of Hurt blowing his horn at 4:30 in the morning. In one case, a woman said he was shining a light into her windows, and she was afraid of him. There were also numerous complaints of Hurt making derogatory slurs, and Hurt allegedly making threats involving a gun.

It sounds like he may have spent a lot of time hanging around that part of the Metroparks. It sounds like he roamed his own neighborhood on foot, looking in people's windows, etc.

 

[Betty P]

15799 is Bryan Hurt's neighbor's house
Groth Memorial Scenic Overlook is the location where Hurt committed suicide after killing his neighbor
The red marker on Valley Parkway is the location of Carnell and Katherine's murder.

 

[Danaya]

Wow! So maybe it was road rage all along. I love reading updates of cold cases, especially those that seemed so baffling at the time. You almost forget how crazy some people really are.