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VA VA - Lorton, Massey Creek near I-95, BlkMale 3-6, 461UMVA, Jun'72
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Mystery Solved After 50 Years: FCPD Identifies Victim in 1970s Cold Case
Watch press conference HERE. Fairfax County, VA—Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau Cold Case Squad have solved the mystery of a child found deceased in 1972 in Massey Creek, under the Old Colc…
fcpdnews.wordpress.com
Detectives believe that Vera Bryant and her boyfriend James Hedgepeth, both now deceased, were involved in the murder of Carl. Detectives also suspect that Carl’s infant brother, James Bryant, was killed around the same time. The events are believed to have occurred somewhere between Philadelphia, PA and Middlesex County, VA.
James Hedgepeth was previously convicted of murder and had a violent criminal history.
(Much more info at link)
Found less than a mile from where I live, I have thought about him often. So happy that he finally has his name back! It is absolutely amazing that the genetic genealogy company was able to get a DNA profile from tiny millimeter size hairs!
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Mystery Solved After 50 Years: FCPD Identifies Victim in 1970s Cold Case
Watch press conference HERE. Fairfax County, VA—Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau Cold Case Squad have solved the mystery of a child found deceased in 1972 in Massey Creek, under the Old Colc…
Detectives believe that Vera Bryant and her boyfriend James Hedgepeth, both now deceased, were involved in the murder of Carl. Detectives also suspect that Carl’s infant brother, James Bryant, was killed around the same time. The events are believed to have occurred somewhere between Philadelphia, PA and Middlesex County, VA.
James Hedgepeth was previously convicted of murder and had a violent criminal history.
(Much more info at link)
"Above is a map of the route James Hedgepeth and Vera Bryant possibly drove when traveling to Virginia. The whereabouts of James Bryant (6 months old) are unknown, and he is presumed dead. Detectives believe James’ body could have been discarded somewhere along this route"
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Me too, and wasn't all that keen that he wasn't included in their last week's news article on local cold cases. I understand now and am so glad to know his name.
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I've compiled a summary of the case based on the information provided in the press release.
Case Summary: The Deaths of Carl and James Bryant
On June 13, 1972, the body of a young child was discovered on the Old Colchester Road Bridge in Lorton, Virginia, by a boy riding his bicycle home from school. The child, later determined to be approximately three to six years old, had died from blunt force trauma and had been deceased for approximately six hours prior to discovery. At the time, the child was unidentified, and no matching missing persons reports were on file.
Decades later, advances in forensic identification confirmed the child as Carl Matthew Bryant, born May 26, 1968, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time of his death, Carl had been travelling from Philadelphia to Middlesex County, Virginia with his mother, Vera Bryant, her infant son James Bryant (born January 1972), and Vera’s boyfriend, James Hedgepeth.
The group was visiting Hedgepeth’s family in Middlesex County, but according to reports, no children were present during the visit. That same year, during a Thanksgiving visit with Vera's relatives, she claimed the children were staying with Hedgepeth’s family in Virginia. Neither child was ever reported missing, and law enforcement had no record of James Bryant's existence.
Investigators believe that both Vera Bryant and James Hedgepeth were involved in the deaths of Carl and James. While Carl's remains were found and later identified, James Bryant has never been located and is presumed deceased. Authorities suggest he may have died around the same time as Carl, and that his body may have been disposed of somewhere along the route between Pennsylvania and Virginia.
At the time of the incident, James Hedgepeth had a prior conviction for murder in 1962, for which he served prison time. He was not the biological father of either Carl or James Bryant. There is also some indication that Carl and James may not have shared the same father.
Following the events of 1972, Vera Bryant continued to reside in Philadelphia until her death in 1980. She is not known to have had any further children, and her connection with extended family appears to have been limited.
James Hedgepeth died at an unspecified later date. Both adults are now deceased, and no charges were ever filed in connection with the case.
The whereabouts of James Bryant remain unknown.
Case Summary: The Deaths of Carl and James Bryant
On June 13, 1972, the body of a young child was discovered on the Old Colchester Road Bridge in Lorton, Virginia, by a boy riding his bicycle home from school. The child, later determined to be approximately three to six years old, had died from blunt force trauma and had been deceased for approximately six hours prior to discovery. At the time, the child was unidentified, and no matching missing persons reports were on file.
Decades later, advances in forensic identification confirmed the child as Carl Matthew Bryant, born May 26, 1968, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time of his death, Carl had been travelling from Philadelphia to Middlesex County, Virginia with his mother, Vera Bryant, her infant son James Bryant (born January 1972), and Vera’s boyfriend, James Hedgepeth.
The group was visiting Hedgepeth’s family in Middlesex County, but according to reports, no children were present during the visit. That same year, during a Thanksgiving visit with Vera's relatives, she claimed the children were staying with Hedgepeth’s family in Virginia. Neither child was ever reported missing, and law enforcement had no record of James Bryant's existence.
Investigators believe that both Vera Bryant and James Hedgepeth were involved in the deaths of Carl and James. While Carl's remains were found and later identified, James Bryant has never been located and is presumed deceased. Authorities suggest he may have died around the same time as Carl, and that his body may have been disposed of somewhere along the route between Pennsylvania and Virginia.
At the time of the incident, James Hedgepeth had a prior conviction for murder in 1962, for which he served prison time. He was not the biological father of either Carl or James Bryant. There is also some indication that Carl and James may not have shared the same father.
Following the events of 1972, Vera Bryant continued to reside in Philadelphia until her death in 1980. She is not known to have had any further children, and her connection with extended family appears to have been limited.
James Hedgepeth died at an unspecified later date. Both adults are now deceased, and no charges were ever filed in connection with the case.
The whereabouts of James Bryant remain unknown.
Last edited:
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i wonder if they/he/she wanted to be childless so they dropped the baby off somewhere like a fire station or hospital under a safe haven law (did those exist?) and then murdered the older child since they didn’t have the same option?
just my opinion/naivete/wishful thinking on behalf of james.
what an awful awful story too close to home
just my opinion/naivete/wishful thinking on behalf of james.
what an awful awful story too close to home
The4TierBridge
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The skeletal remains of this black infant of unknown sex, age 0-12 months, were discovered in Dudley, North Carolina in 1989 after an animal apparently dug them up from a wooded area. It’s further south than their final destination but I can’t find anything about where the two adults were between June 13 and Thanksgiving 1972. I guess it would be more likely that James would have been disposed of along the route, but more exclusions are always good (I wonder when/if they’ll even add him to NamUs; him not being legally registered with any government agencies might complicate this).
I’d assume that his remains probably haven’t been found yet though because anybody with DNA on file would have come up as a partial match in CODIS.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.
www.namus.gov
Safe haven laws didn't exist in 1972. I suppose they could have abandoned him or given him to someone in an informal adoption, but why not do that with both boys if that was the case? Either way there was no way to legally, anonymously surrender a baby back then.
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He was found in June 1972 and labeled a John Doe.
Detectives say the boy's mother and her partner were traveling from Philadelphia with Bryant and his six-month-old brother at around the same time.
Bryant's mother and her partner, who was a convicted murderer, are no longer living.
Bryant's 6-month-old brother was never found
Genetic testing identifies missing boy with ties to Philadelphia, solving decades-old cold case
A cold case, involving the death of a 4-year-old boy with ties to our area, may now be solved after five decades.
RIP little fellow. Well done Astrea Forensics www.astreaforensics.com/new-blog/cold-case-carl-bryant-identification
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When hair evidence was found in 2004 and sent to the FBI, Mitochondrial DNA was extracted and entered into a national database, but again failed to find a match. In 2016, investigators were able to rule out potential leads of two missing children, but weren’t much closer to identifying the John Doe’s body.
Limits on mitochondrial DNA incentivized detectives to seek nuclear DNA testing, but finding the John Doe’s burial site was made challenging due to poor records and storms.
Astrea Forensics, known for their ability to extract hair DNA without the root, was able to extract a profile from a few millimeters of hair, where they would normally require a couple of centimeters.
His body was found on June 13, 1972, and an autopsy revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the head, making his death a homicide. A local church gave the child the name “Charles Lee Charlet” and assisted in his burial at Colman Cemetery.
“I have my own son, and I think most of us are parents here,” said Detective Melissa Wallace, who helped identify the remains. “And to see the extent of that boy’s injuries, and what he had suffered through, I’m happy to be here announcing today that we’ve at least identified him.”
Limits on mitochondrial DNA incentivized detectives to seek nuclear DNA testing, but finding the John Doe’s burial site was made challenging due to poor records and storms.
Astrea Forensics, known for their ability to extract hair DNA without the root, was able to extract a profile from a few millimeters of hair, where they would normally require a couple of centimeters.
His body was found on June 13, 1972, and an autopsy revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the head, making his death a homicide. A local church gave the child the name “Charles Lee Charlet” and assisted in his burial at Colman Cemetery.
“I have my own son, and I think most of us are parents here,” said Detective Melissa Wallace, who helped identify the remains. “And to see the extent of that boy’s injuries, and what he had suffered through, I’m happy to be here announcing today that we’ve at least identified him.”
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His body was found on June 13, 1972, and an autopsy revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the head, making his death a homicide. A local church gave the child the name “Charles Lee Charlet” and assisted in his burial at Colman Cemetery.
“I have my own son, and I think most of us are parents here,” said Detective Melissa Wallace, who helped identify the remains. “And to see the extent of that boy’s injuries, and what he had suffered through, I’m happy to be here announcing today that we’ve at least identified him.”
Through a relative, detectives zeroed in on Vera Bryant as the mother, police said. Vera Bryant died in 1980; her body was exhumed and DNA confirmed she was Carl’s mom, police said.
Detectives believe Vera Bryant and her boyfriend James Hedgepeth were involved in Carl’s death, police said. Hedgepeth, who served time for murder before he started dating Vera Bryant, is also deceased, police said.
Although Carl has a name, police are now searching for his little brother.
Vera Bryant had a 6-month-old boy named James Bryant, and detectives believe the missing baby was killed around the same time as his older brother, police said
“To see the extent of that boy’s injuries and what he had suffered through, I’m happy to be here today announcing that at least we’ve identified him,” detective Melissa Wallace added. “He can have his name, we can get him his name back on his gravestone and the family can have some semblance of closure or resolution.”
www.wbal.com
“I have my own son, and I think most of us are parents here,” said Detective Melissa Wallace, who helped identify the remains. “And to see the extent of that boy’s injuries, and what he had suffered through, I’m happy to be here announcing today that we’ve at least identified him.”
Through a relative, detectives zeroed in on Vera Bryant as the mother, police said. Vera Bryant died in 1980; her body was exhumed and DNA confirmed she was Carl’s mom, police said.
Detectives believe Vera Bryant and her boyfriend James Hedgepeth were involved in Carl’s death, police said. Hedgepeth, who served time for murder before he started dating Vera Bryant, is also deceased, police said.
Although Carl has a name, police are now searching for his little brother.
Vera Bryant had a 6-month-old boy named James Bryant, and detectives believe the missing baby was killed around the same time as his older brother, police said
“To see the extent of that boy’s injuries and what he had suffered through, I’m happy to be here today announcing that at least we’ve identified him,” detective Melissa Wallace added. “He can have his name, we can get him his name back on his gravestone and the family can have some semblance of closure or resolution.”
A 4-year-old boy killed in 1972 finally has a name. But what happened to his baby brother is still a mystery. | WBAL Baltimore News
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) created this computer-generated sketch of an unidentified murder victim in 2003. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children v
www.wbal.com
He is in namus, unless you mean the missing baby?
The4TierBridge
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I meant the missing baby.
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