They werent fully forthcoming, however. Attorneys for the Browns questioned the accuracy, some would say the honesty, of the affidavits Detective Lambert filed to secure search warrants. Number of employees at Louisiana Delta Community College in year 2022 was 431. Theres little information available about what happened in the investigation between the years of 1988 and 2008, but with Wally Wheeler out of the picture, investigators began pursuing a new avenue of inquiry. And in San Diego, that place is the beach. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. He had an extensive criminal history of sexual assault, according to homicide unit Lt. Paul Rorrison. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Source: Facebook In August of '84, Claire took her friend Kim with her to California . Evidence swabs were sometimes dried in the open air. Well I didnt, Brown said. Lookup the home address, phone numbers, email address for this person. I had not taken many steps when I realized I had seen her exposed left hip and back, and people, with rare exceptions, do not sleep on the beach that way. A. If you think back on the history of DNA, the first time most of us saw the technology used in a criminal case was as evidence against OJ Simpson in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. She was the youngest of two children in her middle-class family. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. For transcripts, sources, credits and some occasional cat pictures, follow me on Twitter at True Crime Troy. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Nobody had seen them before. Cross-contamination from lax lab practices, and the fact that lab employees used their own blood and semen for control testing, seemed to be the reasonable explanation. arise, shame them, that your servant may rejoice. Facebook gives people the power to. His reputation was smeared with salacious rumors about strippers and risque photo shoots which led to accusations that he had done the most unforgivable thing rape and murder a young girl. Ronald Tatro never said he knew Kevin Brown. And he was a convicted rapist. Claires dad kept corresponding with Wheeler and tried to trick him into saying something that would show he had killed Claire. He managed to crawl, stagger his way back to the parking lot where his friends had parked their car, and knocked on the window. Again, the court ruled against the defense, and Rebecca Browns suit was allowed to proceed. It could have been the fear that a serial killer with a standard modus operandi was stalking San Diegos beach community maybe the San Diego Police were still self-conscious that they hadnt solved Barbara Nantais murder six years earlier, a killing that happened in a similar fashion and just a short distance away there were critics who said they had bungled the investigation whatever the reason, investigators went to work with diligence. It was about clearing her husband Kevins name after the San Diego Police Department issued a press release days after he committed suicide in 2014 claiming he had killed a child in 1984. Barbara Nantais and Claire Hough were two teens who were found dead on the sand at Torrey Pines State Beach, near San Diego, California. She and her brother were visiting their grandparents in San Diego on their summer vacation and a friend from school, Kim Jamer, had accompanied them on the trip. The brutal 1984 murder of 14-year-old Claire Hough at Torrey Pines State Beach was allegedly committed by two suspects who are also both dead [..] The first, Ronald Clyde Tatro, 70, had an extensive criminal history of sexual assault, according to cops. Friends who got into arguments would often ask her to adjudicate. Jim Alt regained consciousness the following morning, freezing and wet. When it was taken out of storage for DNA testing in 1999, 2000, and subsequent years, any contamination that might have been present on the swabs would still be there. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137689569/claire-penelope-hough. It would later be revealed that two of the swabs taken out of storage for further analysis of Claire Houghs murder were stuck together. Part II: I must have had sex with her. Doubts creep in as a detective springs his trap. "48 Hours" investigates in "Blood in the Sand". There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Both girls had been sexually assaulted, beaten, strangled and had their breasts mutilated. In 1975, he kidnapped a woman in Arkansas, threw her in the trunk of his car, drove her to a remote spot in the country and raped her at knife point. They were shocked at his appearance. The young teen was also fond of visiting her grandparents, who lived at Torrey Pines. And DNA testing involves so-called amplification of the genetic material, so even a tiny amount of contamination would be amplified and would show up in the final analysis. The jury did not have the opportunity to consider information that would have negated or eliminated taxpayer liability. Evidence collected at the time was analyzed through new DNA techniques in 2012. Samuel Jones Hough III. She grew up on the coast of Rhode Island and spent as much time as she could walking along the shore with Kim Jamer. Test your knowledge with the true crime exam at the end of the book! The investigators told Kevin Brown that, in 1984, the San Diego PD was working a surveillance operation in a district known for prostitution. Kim Jamer says Claire Hough loved 1980s rock music and had a closet full of posters and magazine clippings of Kiss, Van Halen, Journey, and Ozzy Osbourne. Police do not consider the 1984 slaying to be linked to a similar crime in 1978, when Barbara Nantais, 15, was killed near the spot at Torrey Pines. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Detective Lambert asked again. Claire Hough was nearing her 15th birthday when she traveled from Rhode Island to San Diego to visit her grandparents. He was scarcely recognizable through a bloody mat of hair. For example, Jim Stam, Kevin Browns former boss in the SDPD Crime Lab said, at the time, the criminalists working in the lab did not wear masks, and the choice of whether to wear gloves was up to the individual examiners. San Diego, San Diego County, California, USA. Oct. 23, 2014 4:16 PM PT The brutal 1984 killing of a teenager at Torrey Pines State Beach has apparently been solved through DNA and an extensive investigation, the San Diego Police Department. His quirks had even earned him a nickname, Kinky Kevin, among his former co-workers. The investigators backed up and circled back around to it, and thats when Kevin Brown began to make mistakes. It was clear to everyone, including Kevin and Rebecca Brown, that he was a suspect in a murder investigation. Sign up for PEOPLEs free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. She refused. Later that day, the San Diego Police descended on the home Brown shared with his wife Rebecca and served a search warrant. Menu. He was described as meek, nerdy, and nervous. It wasnt uncommon in the early days of DNA analysis for evidence like blood or tissue to be entirely consumed by the testing. Lawyers for Rebecca Brown and Kevin Brown contend the San Diego Police Department's case is built on rumors and misinterpretations. Did they actually believe Kevin Brown had something to do with the murder of Barbara Nantais, or did they just include her case as a way of strengthening their request to the judge? Feature Image by Wendy Wei via Pexels.com. In the 1980s, they were not testing and amplifying DNA like we do today. He fastened a rope over a branch, climbed onto the chair, tied the rope around his neck, and kicked the chair out from under himself. Some would say it was a sure sign of his guilt. Operating under the assumption that Kevin Brown may have been involved in the murder of Claire Hough, investigators began to question his friends and former co-workers. They told him she had been murdered on the beach and that his DNA had been found. Rhode Island Serial Killers The events of the previous day had been a whirlwind, but he was still trying to be helpful and only hurting himself. They thought there was a possibility he might visit and say something incriminating. The year after Claires murder, in 1985, Tatro was convicted of attempted rape when he tried to lure a San Diego-area teenager into his van and incapacitate her with a stun gun. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. It didnt prove to be very useful to prosecutors in that case, partly because the technology was in its infancy. Thirty years after Claire Hough was murdered, a new round of forensic testing pointed to two suspects. Rebecca Brown strongly believes in her husband's innocence and argues he was not a killer or a rapist. San Diego has weather which is as close to perfect as I have ever experienced. Published on January 8, 2018 11:40 AM. Was it possible, though, that the hit on Kevin Browns DNA was the result of contamination? I dont believe for a second that you thought she was 14. Their haunting story and the decades-long search to find the killers will be presented tonight in a brand new episode of CBS 48 Hours. Following his death, his wife, Rebecca, sued the San Diego Police Department, and a court awarded her $6 million in February 2020. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Fall Guys: False Confessions and the Politics of Murder (Southern Illinois, 1998), The Ghosts of Hopewell: Setting the Record Straight in the Lindbergh Case (Southern Illinois, 1999 ), Crimson Stain: The Shocking True Story of the Only Amish Man Ever Convicted of Homicide (Berkley True Crime, 2000), Ten Percent of Nothing: The Case of the Literary Agent from Hell (Southern Illinois, 2004), Bookslut Interview with JF on Ten Percent Book, The Writer's Quotebook: 500 Authors on Creativity, Craft, and the Writing Life (Rutgers, 2006), Forensics under Fire: Are Bad Science and Dueling Experts Corrupting Criminal Justice? Six years later, in August, 1984, Claire Hough was murdered in almost the same location at Torrey Pines Beach, just a short distance from where Barbara Nantais was found. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Carbon Health is a tech-enabled healthcare company that delivers virtual care experiences. This case stems from the 1984 murder of 14 year old Claire Hough. UC Santa Cruz congratulates the following students who have met the criteria for the Dean's Honors List this term. some would say. Later, it would become clear that Kevin Brown was mixing up his people. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. She was strangled . Kevin Brown said he couldnt imagine how. The San Diego Police department issued that press release and thought, Case closed! But I was not going to let that happen., It was a victory in Rebeccas quest to clear her husbands name, but small comfort for the Catholic school teacher who thought she would spend her retirement with her beloved husband she described as a gentle person who would never hurt anyone.. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. I think this is the appropriate time to point out, when Wally Wheeler flung himself from the 13th floor of a San Diego-area apartment building, many took his suicide as an admission of his guilt. He was paroled in 1982 and decided he needed a change of scenery. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Average annual salary was $32,255 and median salary was $30,006. Obviously were very gratified, Rorrison said. Most say he was suffering from mental illness and he spent most of his days collecting cans on the beach. The Claire Hough Murder Case: A Saga of False Accu Matt Mangino - A lawyer's take on American criminal justice, Historical Crime Detective - Features vintage true crime stories lost to history. Beach Baby Hough family Although Claire Hough was from Rhode. The City is exploring its options for appeal. I had no idea.. make them wear their shame like a mantle. Police still insisted that Kevin Brown and Ron Tatro murdered Claire Hough. Soon after, Kim flew home to Rhode Island while Claire remained behind with her grandparents. 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