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

[nannymo]

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.

I am not sure if Phillip Klein's facebook can be linked here since it is a company, but if you will go read his post, he states he never said that and Texas Monthly cannot verify he ever said that, so this is not true. Mr. Casteltine's wife has stated that is not true also. He was bipolar and depressed. According to his wife in one of the podcast's, he had fought depression his entire life.

I have always wondered if he was involved, but she denies that was in his suicide note. The suicide rate for bipolar patient's is pretty high.

I am sorry Bob-White.....I now see you already replied to this statement. Thank you for putting the record straight!

 

[OutWest]

8th Bob-White ..... I apologize .... somehow when I referenced/inserted your comment, I got my comment inside your post box area. Oops ....

 

[OutWest]

Today is November 24 which marks 4 years since Tom Brown went missing. Everybody has probably viewed timelines many times. Sometimes when details seem a little complicated with varying events and opinions, I like to take another look at the sequence of events while trying to imagine myself in the place of each of the persons and what they may have been thinking at the time. It helps me to get a better perspective and understanding on the case. Attached is my attempt at the timeline for November 24-25, 2016.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

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....

I’m still confused over the whole phone situation, but yeah, I agree, I’m pretty darn sure neither Penny or Klein planted it. I’m sure someone did plant it, though: even the OAG investigators agree that:
[Starting around 31:00]
“[Sergeant Rachael] Kading and [Sergeant Chris] Smyth [both from the Texas attorney general’s office] went on to say that they had not been able to come up with credible answers to some of the same questions that had long plagued Canadian residents. For example, the discovery of the unblemished phone remained a big question mark. [Kading] ‘That’s one of the pieces of evidence that can't be explained. You know, we agree it wasn't sitting out there.’ [Smyth] ‘Tom did not place that phone up there. We know that. But somebody who had knowledge of the search, which was a pretty finite group of people, had access to that phone put that phone out there, that’s what I believe.’“ (BBM)
Tom Brown’s Body, Chapter 7: The Wake

Also, I’m still not 100% convinced that the phone that was found during the “on the ground search” on October 14, 2017, lead by Klein, was even Tom’s.

I think of Tom a lot especially this time of the year, so yesterday, I went back and read past articles and also watched a video of an interview Penny did with Niccole Caan in January of this year (by the way, she did another one with her earlier this week during which she said, “Seems we are going to the grand jury sometime after the first of the year ... keeping my fingers crossed ... <3).

So in the interview that was streamed live on Jan. 31st of this year (please note: so this was after the now infamous meeting in Pampa with the OAG investigators, et al. in Aug. ‘19), starting around 46:45, Penny says that Tom’s phone was:
- Gold
- When Tom went missing, he hadn’t had the phone for very long, maybe six to eight months. Penny still has the box that the phone it came in, and it’s printed “Gold” on the back.
-The search group that found Tom’s cell phone consisted of about nine people, and several of them said the phone they found was rose gold. One of the people in the group was a cameraman from KAMR, and he may have a picture of it. Penny can’t quite remember if he does or not. The news reporter that was with the group says it was rose gold, and it’s even in his report.

So I did a Google search and found this article:
“by: Zach Martin
Posted: Oct 14, 2017 / 03:56 PM CDT /
Updated: Oct 14, 2017 / 09:52 PM CDT
[SBM]
When the search began this morning, investigators were looking for something specific.

Philip Klein, President of Klein Investigations & Consulting says, ‘We are looking for two major things. We’re looking for a cell phone and 25 caliber automatic pistol.’

Things got off to a hot start. Only a couple hundred yards from where the search began, volunteers found a rose gold iPhone 5.

Not long after that, another group of volunteers found pieces of a destroyed laptop.

And then, less than 100 yards from where Brown’s backpack was found in February, more volunteers found a sealed bucket containing bones underneath the road.

[SBM]

[Klein] did tell us that investigators decided the bucket of bones they found were those of an animal carcass.

[SBM]” (BBM)
The Search for Evidence of Thomas Brown Continues

So I went to Apple’s “Identify your iPhone model” page and found out that the iPhone 5 does not come in rose gold or gold (the 5s does not come in rose gold but does come in gold).

In an article posted a few days after Tom’s remains were found in January 2019, abc7 stated:
“In October 2017, another search party joined together. They found an iPhone 5, a small caliber pistol pouch and clothing.” (BBM)
A timeline of events in the case of Thomas Brown | KVII

A few days after that, “Canadian Record” did its own “Timeline of Events”-type article, which, in part, read:
“Klein organized a grid search in a 10-mile ‘hot zone’ along Lake Marvin Road the following fall. A team of 135 volunteers collected 30 bags of evidence—including an iPhone 6 and a small zippered gun case—all of which were delivered to the Sheriff’s Office. Over a year later, the FBI confirmed that forensic analysis of the phone linked it to Tom.” (BBM)
http://archives.etypeservices.com/Canadian1/Magazine257929/Publication/Magazine257929.pdf

So again, I went to Apple’s “Identify your iPhone model” page and found out this time that the iPhone 6 does not come in rose gold but does come in gold (the 6s comes in both rose gold and gold).
Identify your iPhone model

By the way, when Laurie Ezzell Brown published the “transcripts” of the recording most likely (IMO) made by Lewis of the meeting called by the OAG investigators in August of last year, did she just assume that she would be the only person who would ever have access to it? If she did, boy, was she wrong.

Paraphrase, maybe she did, but transcribe, no, she didn’t. I wonder if someone paid her to do them a favor. I found a post where I shared the piece last year, so here is the link, in case you would like to compare it to what’s in the Tom Brown’s Body podcast:
Found Deceased - TX - Thomas Brown, 18, Hemphill County, 23 Nov 2016

Also, @jellybean96 once posted an amazing write-up on the whole phone issue, too, so here you go:
Found Deceased - TX - Thomas Brown, 18, Hemphill County, 23 Nov 2016

And here is Penny’s the interview with Niccole Caan from January 31st of this year:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2206038473035538

 

[Grungster]

I feel so bad for Penny Meek, she's trying to get justice for her son but the police won't even listen to her, even though her testimony of what happened that can help determine where Tom was can help solve this tragedy.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I feel so bad for Penny Meek, she's trying to get justice for her son but the police won't even listen to her, even though her testimony of what happened that can help determine where Tom was can help solve this tragedy.

I do, too. She has been through so much for so long. I pray for Penny every day. I also pray that there is justice for Tom. And I’m not even the praying, to be honest.

When I listened to the part of the (so far) final podcast where Skip asks Penny what she would have said to Tom when she says she and Tom would have talked about [being gay if Tom told her he was gay] and she says she “probably would have tried to talk to him about sin and what's talked about in the Bible about sin” for the first time, I found it sad and devastating because it’s just different from what I believe to be the right thing to do.

But at the same time, I feel that she was being 100% honest. Skip actually asks Penny first, “If Tom told you he was gay, would you have trouble with that?” I don’t believe she had ever been asked either question before. In any case, she didn’t sound rehearsed at all, and I don’t believe she had an answer ready-to-go. And to me, Penny’s answer to this question is so genuine and heartbreaking:
“Well, that's a hard question. Probably so. Yeah. I mean, I would have tried not to, but I wouldn't have, like, done anything or hurt him or anything like that. I mean, we probably would have talked about it.”
Tom Brown’s Body, Chapter 8: The Remains

So, I may not share the same beliefs or values with her, but I still have so much respect for her and support her 100%

And I do think that the tide is starting to turn in Penny’s favor. As another poster said, I don’t believe the case would be going to the grand jury if this were a suicide.

I am also starting to think that the meeting called by the OAG investigators on August 21 of last year in Pampa (along with the “Therefore, this investigation has been suspended pending any newly discovered credible evidence” statement issued by AG Paxton) was a “ruse” to give the appearance that the investigation was over and then to see if anyone would start acting differently. And if it was, it looks like it worked.

 

[OutWest]

Very good overview inmyhumbleopinon. Thanks, I had not seen some of that information. There certainly has been a lot of confusion over the phone(s) regarding what was actually found along the road. Tom's actual phone was a gold 6s. I once did a bit of experimenting with a camera and iphones that I have at the house. Pictured are a gold iphone 5 (bottom) and a silver iphone 6s (top). Notice how the silver 6s appears to be rose gold in the photo. I attribute the color variance to be due to the lighting or reflective qualities of the Apple coating, and/or possibly camera chip set circuit peculiarities. Also note that the color of the "dark stripe" on end of the 6s is, in actuality, reflective silvery-white and not dark grayish as the photo indicates. Also attached is a photo that was reportedly taken of the phone that was found during the search. The phone in that photo is clearly a 6s but does "appear" to be more of a rose gold shade, in the photo. Just more mystery .....

 

[OutWest]

inmyhumbleopinion, I am with you 100% that the announced suspension was a tactic to allow things to cool down and for any people involved to relax and let their guard down while the investigation quietly continued. Just never made sense to me that seasoned investigators could not think that foul play was, by far, the most likely possibility. Certainly not with all of the circumstances, the evidence, and the "lost" evidence.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Very good overview inmyhumbleopinon. Thanks, I had not seen some of that information. There certainly has been a lot of confusion over the phone(s) regarding what was actually found along the road. Tom's actual phone was a gold 6s. I once did a bit of experimenting with a camera and iphones that I have at the house. Pictured are a gold iphone 5 (bottom) and a silver iphone 6s (top). Notice how the silver 6s appears to be rose gold in the photo. I attribute the color variance to be due to the lighting or reflective qualities of the Apple coating, and/or possibly camera chip set circuit peculiarities. Also note that the color of the "dark stripe" on end of the 6s is, in actuality, reflective silvery-white and not dark grayish as the photo indicates. Also attached is a photo that was reportedly taken of the phone that was found during the search. The phone in that photo is clearly a 6s but does "appear" to be more of a rose gold shade, in the photo. Just more mystery .....

Thank you for your kind words, @OutWest. I was afraid it might be an overkill, but if it included information you hadn’t seen, that’s good .

Thank you also for sharing the photos. Truly fascinating. As you said, in the top photo, the 6s looks more rose gold than silver, even though I know it is silver. In the bottom photo, you can tell the phone is not a 5 because the “reflective silvery-white” stripe on the end of the device is not wide (if it were a 5, it would look like the gold 5 in your top photo).

So here is what’s most interesting to me about your experiment: in the top photo, the gold is clearly gold. There is no question about it, IMO. Then you look at the phone in the bottom photo, that is supposed to have belonged to Tom, a supposed gold 6s, and it looks more rose gold to me than gold. The same phone that the OAG investigators sent to a lab, “where technicians had discovered that around 9:45 on Thanksgiving eve, while Tom was with Christian and Kaleb King, he had used his phone’s internet browser to search ‘suicide hotlines.’ But there was no evidence that Tom had called any of the numbers from his phone.”

Penny still has the box, so if it’s like the box for my 7 Plus, Serial No., IMEI No., etc., should be printed on the bottom, where she said it said, “Gold.” Sorry to state the obvious , but I’m sure she has passed this information along to the OAG investigators, so they know the truth.

 

[OutWest]

Some more phone mystery ....... at one time Klein reported that Apple personnel stated they were not sure URL's in private mode could be retrieved. Yet the AG investigators stated that the FBI had recovered such information from the phone. I am not a technical guru on iphones at all but here's what I "think" I learned from some research.

From what I understand (or maybe misunderstand?), Apple has an absolute top level encryption code that is second to none worldwide. Much of the data on the phone is encrypted with Apple proprietary code and therefore very difficult, if not impossible, to retrieve if the phone is “locked” (remember the recent controversy involving Apple refusing to assist the FBI in retrieving data from a California terrorist’s locked cell phone?). However, so that developers can create apps for the phone, Apple uses a version of the SQL database standard (SQLite) which allows data created from the apps to be stored in SQLite files. Such data that is generated by the apps is usually more easily retrievable with proper forensic tools, once the phone is unlocked. (It is entirely likely that FBI labs now have tools to circumvent the Apple encryption code.)

Suposedly, Apple iPhone models 4s and later that were running iOS versions 5 thru 9 kept URL’s in a sort of static RAM which was permanently deleted when the tab was closed (and therefore actually no longer existed anywhere on the phone) . However, beginning with iOS 10, Apple made changes that allow for faster retrieval of recently accessed web site pages by storing recent URL’s (including those accessed in private mode) in the SQLite database section.

When the 6s model phones first became available, they had iOS 9 installed. iOS 10 was later released to the public on September 13, 2016, just slightly over two months before Tom went missing. If Tom upgraded his model 6s phone to iOS 10 during that two month period that iOS 10 had become available, information regarding URL’s in private mode would likely be retrievable by sophisticated forensic tools that will access the pages, possibly even if “deleted”. If he was still using iOS 9 that was originally installed on his model 6s phone, it is my understanding that URL’s which had existed in “static” memory would not exist and therefore not be retrievable.

Once again, just my understanding ...... which may or may not be reasonably accurate. It seems like nothing in this case has a simple answer.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Some more phone mystery ....... at one time Klein reported that Apple personnel stated they were not sure URL's in private mode could be retrieved. Yet the AG investigators stated that the FBI had recovered such information from the phone. I am not a technical guru on iphones at all but here's what I "think" I learned from some research.

From what I understand (or maybe misunderstand?), Apple has an absolute top level encryption code that is second to none worldwide. Much of the data on the phone is encrypted with Apple proprietary code and therefore very difficult, if not impossible, to retrieve if the phone is “locked” (remember the recent controversy involving Apple refusing to assist the FBI in retrieving data from a California terrorist’s locked cell phone?). However, so that developers can create apps for the phone, Apple uses a version of the SQL database standard (SQLite) which allows data created from the apps to be stored in SQLite files. Such data that is generated by the apps is usually more easily retrievable with proper forensic tools, once the phone is unlocked. (It is entirely likely that FBI labs now have tools to circumvent the Apple encryption code.)

Suposedly, Apple iPhone models 4s and later that were running iOS versions 5 thru 9 kept URL’s in a sort of static RAM which was permanently deleted when the tab was closed (and therefore actually no longer existed anywhere on the phone) . However, beginning with iOS 10, Apple made changes that allow for faster retrieval of recently accessed web site pages by storing recent URL’s (including those accessed in private mode) in the SQLite database section.

When the 6s model phones first became available, they had iOS 9 installed. iOS 10 was later released to the public on September 13, 2016, just slightly over two months before Tom went missing. If Tom upgraded his model 6s phone to iOS 10 during that two month period that iOS 10 had become available, information regarding URL’s in private mode would likely be retrievable by sophisticated forensic tools that will access the pages, possibly even if “deleted”. If he was still using iOS 9 that was originally installed on his model 6s phone, it is my understanding that URL’s which had existed in “static” memory would not exist and therefore not be retrievable.

Once again, just my understanding ...... which may or may not be reasonably accurate. It seems like nothing in this case has a simple answer.

Thank you so much. It makes sense, though.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Very good overview inmyhumbleopinon. Thanks, I had not seen some of that information. There certainly has been a lot of confusion over the phone(s) regarding what was actually found along the road. Tom's actual phone was a gold 6s. I once did a bit of experimenting with a camera and iphones that I have at the house. Pictured are a gold iphone 5 (bottom) and a silver iphone 6s (top). Notice how the silver 6s appears to be rose gold in the photo. I attribute the color variance to be due to the lighting or reflective qualities of the Apple coating, and/or possibly camera chip set circuit peculiarities. Also note that the color of the "dark stripe" on end of the 6s is, in actuality, reflective silvery-white and not dark grayish as the photo indicates. Also attached is a photo that was reportedly taken of the phone that was found during the search. The phone in that photo is clearly a 6s but does "appear" to be more of a rose gold shade, in the photo. Just more mystery .....

I have a rose gold 6s. It is definitely pinkish in color. Rose gold was the “in color” at the time of purchase from what I remember.

Here is a comparison picture.

 

[nannymo]

My question is how does a phone that is supposed to be gold according to the box Tom's mother has become rose gold when it is found in pristine condition?

Someone had that phone that they are claiming is Tom's. Could someone change the phone out and put Tom's sim card in the rose gold phone?

Doesn't the phone itself have a serial # that would correspond to the box? Is the sim card possibly tied to Tom's phone? Just thinking out loud.

 

[j_in_c]

My question is how does a phone that is supposed to be gold according to the box Tom's mother has become rose gold when it is found in pristine condition?

Someone had that phone that they are claiming is Tom's. Could someone change the phone out and put Tom's sim card in the rose gold phone?

Doesn't the phone itself have a serial # that would correspond to the box? Is the sim card possibly tied to Tom's phone? Just thinking out loud.

If they were able to retrieve search history information, they surely were able to determine the phone number associated with the SIM card and confirm it was or was not Tom's. I understand the confusion about the good condition and about what color case Tom's phone was, but it makes no sense that the FBI would incorrectly state that the phone was actually Tom's.

 

[Razz]

Changing the subject for a minute... is Klein still getting paid and if so, how?

 

[nannymo]

If they were able to retrieve search history information, they surely were able to determine the phone number associated with the SIM card and confirm it was or was not Tom's. I understand the confusion about the good condition and about what color case Tom's phone was, but it makes no sense that the FBI would incorrectly state that the phone was actually Tom's.

is found in pristine condition?

Someone had that phone that they are claiming is Tom's. Could someone change the phone out and put Tom's sim card in the rose gold phone?

Doesn't the phone itself have a serial # that would correspond to the box? Is the sim card possibly tied to Tom's phone? Just thinking out loud.

If they were able to retrieve search history information, they surely were able to determine the phone number associated with the SIM card and confirm it was or was not Tom's. I understand the confusion about the good condition and about what color case Tom's phone was, but it makes no sense that the FBI would incorrectly state that the phone was actually Tom's.

What I am asking is do they identify the data through the sim card only? Or could someone take the old sim card out of Tom's old gold phone and put it in a new rose-gold phone and it could still be identified as Thomas' phone?

Or does the actual case also have identifying numbers that correspond to the box?

I don't doubt the FBI.......I doubt the person that put the phone there.

 

[nannymo]

Changing the subject for a minute... is Klein still getting paid and if so, how?

It has been my understanding he is still on the case and Penny has been paying him. She has talked about him several times in her interviews and how he has helped her and the family.

 

[j_in_c]

is found in pristine condition?

Someone had that phone that they are claiming is Tom's. Could someone change the phone out and put Tom's sim card in the rose gold phone?

Doesn't the phone itself have a serial # that would correspond to the box? Is the sim card possibly tied to Tom's phone? Just thinking out loud.


What I am asking is do they identify the data through the sim card only? Or could someone take the old sim card out of Tom's old gold phone and put it in a new rose-gold phone and it could still be identified as Thomas' phone?

Or does the actual case also have identifying numbers that correspond to the box?

I don't doubt the FBI.......I doubt the person that put the phone there.

Cell phones are uniquely identified through their IMEI. SIM cards are what give a phone its "phone number". I would have to double check, but I am fairly certain that my carrier (in the US) stores my IMEI with my cellular account. In any case, it would be easily verifiable that this phone's IMEI matches Thomas' - so I don't see a scenario where someone popped Tom's SIM card into a different iphone and tricked the FBI.

 

[nannymo]

That makes sense j_in_c. I sort of figured that but was not sure.

 

[Rush4087]

To me, along with the the laptop-containing backpack and the iPhone (incl. the "where" and "when" they were each respectively found - and the phone's condition), perhaps the most significant piece of evidence in this case is the .25 cal bullet casing found in Tom's SUV. Maybe I missed something, but has it's presence ever been explained - by anyone? Was it ever checked for prints or DNA? Where is the casing now?

Unless Tom owned a .25 caliber handgun, the presence of a spent .25 cal casing in his vehicle would almost have to be explained by anyone claiming to know what might have happened to Tom that night (whether suicide or foul play) - yet as far as I know, the presence of the casing has never been explained - by anyone. And a bullet casing is not like a receipt or a phone charger, it's evidence of a weapon. Possibly the murder weapon.

And it is not a common caliber. Certainly not a common caliber owned by LE, even for off duty use or use as a back up weapon. A .25 cal handgun is actually pretty rare.

To solve the case, I think the presence of the casing must be explained/answered. It is integral. If Tom's death was a suicide (perhaps by a .25 cal handgun?) why wasn't a .25 cal gun (or any other means of self harm for that matter) discovered along with the body? If Tom's death was due to foul play, who among Tom's friends, family, associates, teachers, and LE, do we know of who owned a .25 cal handgun? Again, it's not a common caliber, and it is a small town.

While I understand that no evidence of a gunshot wound was found during the autopsy, was a gunshot wound ruled out / excluded?

In the absence of any other proposed (or evidence-suggested) weapon, one could argue that the presence of the .25 cal casing strongly suggests that a .25 cal handgun was the very weapon that was used that night - by either Tom or a perp. Who's gun was it? And who used it?

Did anyone recognize the "small caliber handgun" holster that was reportedly found during one of the searches? What brand was the holster? Where was it purchased? What manufacturer's .25 cal handgun (if any) would fit that particular holster? Were there prints or DNA found on the holster? Where is that holster now?

Again, the only weapon suggested by the evidence in this case is a .25 cal handgun. Find it, and I think you may solve the mystery of what happened to Tom Brown. Jmo.