PEYTON BROWN - 20 Months (2010) - Panama City FL

A Panama City man is facing an open count of murder and one charge of aggravated child abuse after he
allegedly beat his two children.
Panama City Police became aware of the case around noon Saturday, when Gulf Coast Medical center staff
informed them of a 20-month old dead child.
Investigators questioned the child's father, Thomas Everett Brown IV. Brown had
initially told 911 operators the boy had fallen off the couch and was injured.
"Police say when EMS arrived here
at this house, they transported the 20 month old to the hospital where
the child was pronounced dead and they found the 7 month old sleeping in
a back bedroom," said Deputy Chief Robert Colbert.
Police took statements from Brown
on Saturday. They continued gathering evidence, then arrested him
Sunday after autopsy reports contradicted his statements.
Investigators say Brown is not
willing to provide specific details about the events leading up to the
alleged abuse, but clues show the child got sick on the couch.
“The child may have vomited on the
living room furniture in the 24 hours preceding the child's death and
it's possible that may have been what triggered this series of events," said Colbert.
Doctors also found signs of physical abuse on Brown's 7 month old daughter. She was turned over to
the Department of Children and Families.
The child's mother, who lives in Chipley, has been notified. A maintenance worker at Brown's
mobile home park says Brown had just moved in a few weeks ago and
appeared to be a quiet guy. Brown is currently employed as a BP contractor.
He has an arrest history in Washington County for aggravated battery on a pregnant woman in 2008,
but that charge was reduced to battery. In 2009, he spent three months
in jail for another battery charge and in 2010, Brown was involved in a
battery case that was dropped at the victim's request. He now faces an
aggravated child abuse charge and an open count of murder.

He has an arrest history in Washington County for aggravated battery on a pregnant woman in 2008,
but that charge was reduced to battery. In 2009, he spent three months
in jail for another battery charge and in 2010, Brown was involved in a
battery case that was dropped at the victim's request.

How does a person with a recent arrest and detainment history on these charges get custody of two young children?
This is the best choice they could make?
What am I missing?

The Panama City Police Department is now investigating the death of a
20 month old child and the abuse of another 7 month old. The suspect is
Thomas Everitt Brown IV, a Panama City resident.

Panama City Police say Brown is facing one open count of murder and
one count of child abuse. Authorities believe that on Saturday, Brown
did beat both children. The 20 month old child was rushed to Gulf Coast
Medical Center, but was pronounced dead on arrival. An autopsy was
performed by the District 14 Medical Examiner’s Office, and the cause of
death was determined to be homicide. Dr. Mark Schuman says the male
child sustained numerous internal injuries inflicted by blows to the
abdomen. The suspect told authorities the child fell off the couch.

The 7 month old child is now in custody of the Department of Children
and Families. Physicians with the organization say she sustained
bruising on her right cheek and abdomen.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:

He has an arrest history in Washington County for aggravated battery on a pregnant woman in 2008,
but that charge was reduced to battery. In 2009, he spent three months
in jail for another battery charge and in 2010, Brown was involved in a
battery case that was dropped at the victim's request.

How does a person with a recent arrest and detainment history on these charges get custody of two young children?
This is the best choice they could make?
What am I missing?

That's what I'd like to know too Tom. Maybe the mother just handed them over and CPS or the courts have never been involved.

A man accused of killing his young son back in August, is now charged with first degree felony murder. Thomas Everitt Brown was initially charged with an open count of murder and aggravated child abuse after his son Peyton, died from a beating. Brown claimed the child had fallen from a couch in his mobile home. But Panama City Police determined that was not the case.Prosecutors presented evidence to the Bay County Grand Jury late last week, showing the boy died from severe blunt trauma to the stomach. The panel concluded those fatal punches or kicks justified a first degree felony murder charge, because the murder occurred as Brown was committing a felony, in this case , aggravated child abuse. Brown went before a judge Tuesday afternoon for a bond hearing. He's being held without bail.

The Obit:

Master Peyton Brown, 20-month-old son of Brittney Porchia and Thomas Brown IV, formerly of Chipley, Fla., passed away Sunday, Aug. 7, 2010, in the Gulf Coast Medical Center, Panama City, Fla.

Funeral Services will be at 3 p.m., Sunday, Aug.15, 2010, at Yes Lord Deliverance COGIC in Chipley, with Elder David Woods Jr. officiating. Interment will follow in Southside Cemetery in Chipley, with Cooper Funeral Home of Chipley directing.

Beside his parents, Brittney and Thomas, survivors include his brother and sisters, Akeree Potter, Messiah Brown and Layla Brown; maternal grandparents, Kathyrn (Kay) Ayres and Roy L. Porchia; paternal grandparents, Stephanie Brown and Thomas Brown III; along with other relatives and friends.

A report from August 10th:

Even before he was accused of killing his 20-month-old son, authorities were familiar with Tho-mas E. Brown IV.The Chipley Police Department visited the 23-year-old and the mother of his two children, Brittany Portia, 19, several times over the last two years, department records reveal. Also, Florida’s Department of Children and Families supervised and investigated Brown and Portia, DCF officials confirmed Tuesday.However, no reports obtained by The News Herald revealed any previous abuse of the couple’s two children, Peyton Brown, 20-months-old, and 7-month-old Messiah Brown. Thomas Brown is being held without bond at the Bay County Jail awaiting trial for allegedly killing Peyton and abusing Messiah. Panama City Police investigators arrested Thomas Brown on Monday.Washington County circuit court records show that Brown was arrested originally on charges of aggravated battery/domestic violence Feb. 10, 2008, and was facing action on those charges when he was arrested in March 2009 on battery charges. The first charge was reduced to battery and Brown pleaded no contest to both charges, court records show.However, the reports do not show any history of child abuse from either Brown or Portia.“All of our dealings was with him and her. It was always her filing complaints against him or him filing com-plaints against her,” Chipley Police Chief Kevin Crews said.In March 2010, Thomas Brown was given custody of his children as part of a family law case, DCF officials said.“The Department filed an in-home dependency petition subsequent to the” case, Courtney Peel, the Circuit 14 Operations Manager for DCF, wrote in an e-mail to The News Herald. “The Department did not seek to change the custody as ordered by the Family Law Court.”According to department policy, DCF officials file an in-home dependency petition when the child or children in question are assessed as safe at present but factors indicate they could be at high risk of abuse or neglect.Reports gathered by The News Herald begin in March 2009. In that incident, Brittany Portia, whose name is also spelled Brittney in the reports, jumped out of Brown’s moving vehicle when he refused to take her where she wanted to go. Officers interviewed Portia and Brown separately and they both confirmed that Portia received abrasions her right arm and a bloody nose when she jumped out of the vehicle.In August 2009, police were called to Brown’s Fifth Street residence because he had locked Portia out of the home. Portia eventually left to stay at a friend’s home.In October 2009, police found Brown cut badly on his left arm. Brown told officers he was hammering a blanket over a window when he missed and his arm went through the window. Portia refused to talk to officers but non-verbally agreed with Brown’s version of what happened, the report stated. In March 2010, officers were called out because of a custody disagreement between Brown and Portia’s mother.Portia did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

Brown convicted, faces life behind bars

PANAMA CITY — A jury deliberated just over an hour Friday before convicting 24-year-old Thomas Everitt Brown IV of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

The charges stem from the beating death of Brown’s 20-month-old son, Peyton Brown, on Aug. 7, 2010 in Brown’s Panama City mobile home. Brown was convicted after a trial that began Wednesday.

Brittney Porchia, Peyton Brown’s mother, hugged her family and cried outside the courtroom after the verdict. Porchia, 20, and her family declined to comment.

Brown’s sister sank to the floor and cried when the verdict was read. The first-degree murder charge carries a mandatory life sentence.

Judge Elijah Smiley adjudicated Brown guilty and scheduled sentencing for March 22.

A medical examiner testified that the fatal internal injuries Peyton Brown sustained would have been the result of blunt force trauma and would have been inflicted somewhere between 50 minutes and a few hours before he died. The death was ruled a homicide and the injuries were not consistent with a fall from a couch, which is what Brown had claimed.

Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford worked during the two-and-a-half day trial to convince jurors that Thomas Brown was still obsessed with Porchia in the months after the young parents split. Phone records showed that Brown had placed more than 1,100 calls to his ex-girlfriend in the five-week period before Peyton Brown’s death, and Porchia testified that she believed Brown used his right to custody of their two children to control her.

The night before Peyton Brown died, Porchia and Thomas Brown had an argument and she told him she didn’t love him. In a text message from Brown to Porchia the next morning, Brown asked if she’d meant what she said. Half-an-hour later Brown called for an ambulance.

The paramedic who responded testified that Peyton Brown was “pretty much almost lifeless,” when the ambulance arrived. He was cold to the touch and struggling to breathe, “almost like a fish out of water,” Newell Mock said Wednesday.

The emergency room doctor who tried to revive Peyton Brown thought the injuries were sustained within two hours of his death, according to testimony.

Thomas Brown testified Thursday that he still loved Porchia. He also admitted that he lied to police about 31 times during his initial interview with detectives.

http://www.newsherald.com/news/life-91765-behind-panama.html

A circuit court judge sentenced a man to life in prison without the
possibility of parole Tuesday for the beating death of a 20-month-old
boy.
Thomas Everitt Brown IV was convicted earlier this month of
first-degree murder for killing his son Peyton. The charge requires a
mandatory life sentence. Judge Elijah Smiley also sentenced Brown to 30
years in prison for aggravated child abuse.
“I don’t know what happened,” Smiley said during the hearing Tuesday. “This is just awful.”
Brown was arrested in August after Peyton Brown died of internal
injuries caused by blunt force trauma. There were no witnesses to the
crime, and Brown told investigators Peyton had been hurt when he fell
from a couch, but the medical examiner testified Peyton Brown’s injuries
couldn’t have been sustained by a fall from a couch to the floor. He
was the only adult with Peyton at the time.
Brown didn’t say anything during the hearing. Peyton’s mother, Brittney Porchia, did not attend.
Smiley expressed his regret that “two young peoples’ lives have been
ruined.” Thomas Brown, 24, was living in Panama City and had sole
custody of the couple’s two children when Peyton Brown died.
Thomas Brown testified during his trial that he was still in love
with Porchia. She testified Brown used their children to control her and
that the two had fought the night before Peyton Brown died and she told
him she no longer loved him.
“We never know,” Smiley said of Peyton Brown. “This may have been
the young person who found a cure for cancer … or created peace in the
world.”
http://www.waltonsun.com/news/sentenced-92051-newsherald-son-city.html