Hess showed up at his prison, and the two began face- to-face meetings. Hess, part of the team dubbed the “Apple Dumpling Gang,” wrote a letter to Browne.īrowne wrote back and, by the sixth letter, he was dropping hints about the Sperry killing.įor a period, Browne stopped writing. – Browne’s hometown – had been killed in an apartment complex where Browne worked as a maintenance man.
During the course of the investigation of the murder of Heather Dawn Church, Smit learned that two women in Coushatta, La.
Smit had long suspected Browne was a serial killer. The group includes Charlie Hess, 79, a former FBI and CIA agent Lou Smit, 71, who became a national figure for his work on the JonBenét Ramsey case and Scott Fischer, former publisher of the Colorado Springs Gazette. The letter went into a file, but it wasn’t until two years later that a cold-case team decided to pursue Brown. The cryptic letter said: “The score is, you one, the other team 48.” It also said: “Seven sacred virgins entombed side by side, those less worthy are scattered wide.” 48 until he tells us otherwise.”īrowne initiated conversation with law enforcement in a taunting March, 20, 2000, letter to the district attorney’s office.
“I don’t think we can conduct business assuming he’s exaggerating,” Maketa said. Maketa said he is inclined to believe Browne. In many cases, he would just give us a description of the area that he was in or a nickname that he came up with to identify the victim,” Maketa said. “He claims he has always had a hard time with names. Authorities are pursuing leads on 22 homicides – including the seven substantiated thus far – referred to them by Browne. He says he was wrongly accused of killing Heather Dawn Church. Clif Northam of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.įorty-one of the murders Browne claims to have committed have not been substantiated. We’re hoping that he will continue to communicate with us and that some day we will be able to shed light and place names with those seven additional victims,” Maketa said.Īnother state could seek the death penalty if its prosecutors could prove the case, but “he would have to complete his sentence here, which is two life sentences, so that makes it almost a moot point,” said Lt. Browne never went into any kind of detail on the remaining (Colorado) seven. Investigators do not know the victim’s name but refer to her as “Cowboy Girl.” Maketa said investigators are actively working to identify a second victim from the El Paso County area. She said she grew up thinking her dad was a murderer.ĭistrict Attorney John Newsome agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for the guilty plea. After the movie, Browne said, he took her to his apartment and strangled her with his hands.Īt the time of Sperry’s death, her daughter, Amie, was only 3 months old. He said the two agreed to go out to a movie. 10, 1987, murder of Rocio Delpilar Sperry, 15, and received a life sentence.īrown said he met Rocio at a convenience store a block from her home. On Thursday, Browne pleaded guilty in El Paso County Court to the Nov. He was known to cut up the bodies and dump them in trash receptacles.īrowne claims he had consensual sex with the victims, but when pressed by investigators, he would say: “That’s off the table.” He dumped his victims in lakes, rivers, ditches and, in one case, over a cliff. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu