VA VA - Lorton, Massey Creek near I-95, BlkMale 3-6, 461UMVA, Jun'72

[dotr]

Someone should make a missing persons thread for James

A little clumsy, but here it is..

D

VA Thread 'VA-James Bryant,6 mths.,travelling from PA to VA, w. mom, Vera Bryant & b.f. James Hedgepeth, (both dec.)& brother, Carl B.,4, (murdered), June 1972.'

Aug 6, 2025

August 5, 2025

4-year-old boy murdered in 1972 identified, baby brother still missing

Detectives believe his mother and her boyfriend, who had already served time for murder, were involved in the Carl's death.

abc7.com

''In June 1972, detectives say Vera and her boyfriend James Hedgepeth -- who was a convicted murderer -- were traveling from Philadelphia to Hedgepeth's relatives in Middlesex County, Virginia, with Carl and his six-month-old brother.
However, when the couple arrived, they didn't have her sons with them, police said.''

''Although Carl has a name, police are now searching for his little brother, James Bryant.
James has never been found...

• dotr

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[EmiliaRT007]

RIP Carl. So glad this poor boy got his name back.

 

[Dogwithabone]

I found an archive newspaper detailing the conviction of a James Lee Hedgepeth. This might be the same "James Hedgepeth" in this case. I haven't been able to find much information on Vera Bryant or James Hedgepeth (e.g. no yearbooks, Find a Grave profile, marriage records - if any)

This is an article from the Evening star from Washington, District of Columbia. It is dated from July 12, 1962.

Former Mental Patient Gets 15 Years in Slaying

"A former mental patient was sentenced to 15 years in the Maryland Penitentiary yesterday after pleading guilty in Prince Georges Circuit Court to second degree murder of a man he claimed was trying to rob him. The State reduced its original charge of first degree murder after the 29-year-old defendant, James Lee Hedgepeth, withdrew a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Judge Ralph W. Powers heard the case in Upper Marlboro. Hedgepeth, who lived 2413 Eleventh street N.W. at the time of the slaying on January admitted shooting Daniel Robinson, 21, who used aliases of "Daniel Payton" and "Bobo." The shooting occurred three days after the defendant was granted a conditional release from St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where he had been confined off and on since 1950.

In a statement to Prince Georges County Police, Hedgepeth said three men "crowded" him as he was leaving Adair's Place, 1117 Eastern avenue, Deanwood Park, Md. He pulled an automatic pistol from his coat pocket and fired when Robinson stuck his hand in his other coat pocket, the defendant said. Hedgepeth said he thought Robinson was trying to rob him because "I have a reputation for carrying large sums of money on me.

Dr. William G. Cushard, superintendent of the Clifton T. Perkins State Hospital, Jessup, informed the court that mental examinations of Hedgepeth in April indicated he was sane according to Maryland's legal definition of the term. The defendant, who has a sixth grade education, was first admitted to St. Elizabeths in November, 1950, after being adjudged incompetent to stand trial in Washington on three armed robbery charges."