Kate Brown and Carnell Sledge

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2:00have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice.

2:16Today, I'm discussing the case of Kate Brown and Carnell Sledge. In the summer of 2019, two friends met up at a very popular park, and within 14 minutes, they were both shot and killed in broad daylight. While it's been six years since their murders, at the end of May 2025, their names were back in the news as investigators began looking into a murder-suicide they believe may be related. This is the case of Kate Brown and Carnell Sledge. It's just after 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, 2019, at the Rocky River Reservation in Ohio, and Tony and Caitlin Vacha are out with their kayaks, looking for a location to launch them.

3:01They find a spot and pull into an area just off one of the main roads into the park. But as they begin to approach the water, they discover the body of a man authorities would later identify as 40-year-old Carnell Sledge. He was face down in the grass next to a bench by the river, and he'd been shot in the head twice. When they take a look around, obviously trying to figure out what could have happened here, they find another person, 33-year-old Kate Brown. She's about six feet in front of Carnell on the bank of the river in the water. She'd been shot once in the head. It's obviously just a horrific and terrifying scene, and from the looks of it, this happened right before they got to this area, so they're understandably scared and concerned for their safety as well.

3:50Tony tells Caitlin to go to the car and call 911. She tells the operator that they're about three miles into the Rocky River Reservation and that both of the people they found are definitely dead. Go to Metro Parks, please. My boyfriend and we just parked to go car accident and it looks like there's two bodies that were shot. Where? We pulled into the Rocky River Reservation. We're probably maybe three miles in and both these people are definitely dead. When detectives from the Cleveland Metro Parks Police Department get to the scene, at first, they consider that maybe this was a murder-suicide.

4:26But as officials clear the area and go through the crime scene, they're able to piece together more information about how Kate and Carnell died. They don't find any weapon at the scene, just three shell casings they determine came from a small-caliber firearm. And these casings were found close to their bodies, indicating that whoever did this was close to them when they fired the gun. They also find blood on the back of the bench they assume Kate and Carnell were sitting on before they were killed. Eventually, they concluded that they were approached from behind. Carnell was shot in the back of the head and shot again when he fell to the ground.

5:03And it looked like Kate was trying to run. She got about six feet to the riverbank and was shot in the back of the head. This was a double homicide, committed in broad daylight in a very heavily trafficked area. According to the FBI, the last homicide in the parks happened about 20 years earlier. While the parks weren't completely free of crime, this type of brutal killing was extremely rare for this area. So authorities and the public are taking this case very seriously. Now Kate and Carnell are identified pretty quickly. Both of their vehicles were found in the parking lot about 100 feet from where they were found.

5:42In Kate's car, they find her cell phone and wallet, really just out in the open, visible from the window. In Carnell's SUV, they find his personal cell phone, work phone, and wallet, again in plain view. So while I guess a robbery gone wrong could have been possible, maybe somebody came up behind them, asked for their wallet, and because they didn't have them, they were shot. Maybe the person ran away without even checking their vehicles. It just doesn't seem likely to investigators. They also can't really determine how the murderer got away. Let's talk about this specific area of the park for a second, because the area and how many people were in the park that day makes this case just even more odd.

6:25They were killed just north of the Lorraine Bridge on Valley Parkway. This is considered to be a heavily trafficked area, especially because locals are known to use this road to avoid the highway. And they were killed shortly after 5pm on a Tuesday, so I think it's safe to assume that this would be the peak time for people to be rerouting to this road. And traffic detours aside, on the day that they were killed, the weather was nice and there were many people in the area. There were people walking, jogging, biking, and just hanging out. So again, trying to figure out how this person got away, especially without anyone noticing anything weird, feels incredibly important.

7:04This entire area is basically forested. There are trees everywhere. After the trees to the north, there's a residential neighborhood. To the east, they'd have to cross the rocky river, which is pretty deep, 150 feet in some areas. So that way does feel least likely to me. But that is just speculation. I mean, this is an area where people brought their kayaks. For all we know, they had a kayak, got out, shot them, got back in, and escaped down the river. Now, the South and West are kind of like the same situation. This person could have hidden the trees and then taken smaller roads to reach larger areas that are basically a mix of homes and commercial businesses.

7:46Like I said, it's basically this pocket of trees, but there's also countless roads and trails that could have taken the shooter almost anywhere. Now, you might be asking the same question I was when I got to this point in researching the case. If this happened in broad daylight with a ton of people in the area, surely someone had to have seen or heard something, right? The answer is, kind of. There's a person they're calling a pseudo-witness and possible person of interest. This message is sponsored by Greenlight. Money is this invisible thread that ties us all together. It's something everyone has to deal with.

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9:26Josie, it's your new nanny Polly. The hand that rocks the cradle, a Hulu original. What do you know about her? Now streaming. You think if you try hard enough, you can stop bad things from happening, but you can't. Good help. Get out! Is hard to find. You need me to do this. A Hulu original, the hand that rocks the cradle. Red and R, now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus. For bundled subscribers, terms apply. According to statements made by Cleveland Metro Parks Police Chief Kelly Stillman to 19 News, there was a man that they are not naming, a roofer, who was parked 50 yards away from Kate and Carnell when they were murdered.

10:11But when he interviews with police, he said that he didn't hear or see anything. Which definitely feels odd. I mean, even if you had headphones on or you were distracted, you'd think someone about 150 feet away from three gunshots would hear it. But to play devil's advocate, maybe the gun had a silencer. Of course, there are ways to detect the use of a silencer in these crimes. but as far as I could find in my research, that was not the case. Or if it was, they are not telling the public that. I mean, maybe this guy just didn't want to get involved. Really, it feels like anyone's guess at this point.

10:50But this is what gets me about this pseudo-witness as they're calling him. He lived right across the street from Kate when this happened. Now, it's unclear if they knew each other or had any type of relationship. But of course, for all the reasons I just told you, this guy is on the radar of investigators. He's been questioned multiple times, but in the end, he has not been formally named a suspect and hasn't been charged with any crime. In that same interview, the chief is asked if the man is local, and he says he's not sure. Just that at the time of the murders, he lived across the street from Kate, so it appears that he may have moved since the murders.

11:34However, the chief did also confirm that they're still keeping an eye on this man. So take all of that for what you will. Of course, their families and investigators want to know why someone would do something like this. What was the motive for such a public killing that could have easily got someone caught? So let's talk about Kate and Carnell. Kate was born on October 12, 1985. She graduated from Olmstead Falls High School in Ohio in 2004. She attended both Bowling Green State University and Cleveland State University in Ohio. She liked doing yoga, playing volleyball, and snuggling with her rescue cat, Kip.

12:14She was also extremely close to her family. Her sister, Alex, says that Kate was her best friend. When she was killed, Kate's family says that she was really at the highest point of her life. She was two years sober, had lost over 100 pounds and was successful in her role as a marketing associate for a jewelry company. In their interviews with Unsolved Mysteries, her family says that she was vibrant and happy at this point in her life. Now let's talk about Carnell. He was born in Bedford, Ohio on April 3, 1979. He's been described as a fun-loving, amazing, and family-oriented person. His loved ones called him Nell, and his father says that he was just a good kid.

12:57He was a big sports fan and especially loved the Guardians, Browns, and Cavaliers. While he worked as an audiovisual technician, he also created a foundation called Sledges Helping Hands, an organization dedicated to funding enrichment programs for underprivileged children. Carnell himself was even a basketball coach. Despite Carnell being 6 '4 and weighing 220 pounds, his younger brother Terrence says that he was just a big teddy bear. Really, he was his idol. Kate and Carnell had been friends for over a decade, and while no one is perfect, they both seemed like pretty amazing people.

13:38So investigators go through the crime scene, they speak to this pseudo-witness, and they learn all that they can about Kate and Carnell. But of course, while all of this is happening, they're also pulling records and surveillance to piece together the best timeline they can. So let's go through it. On the day of the murders, again that's Tuesday, June 4th, 2019, Kate gets home from work and signs into the gym at her apartment complex at 3.38pm. Carnell texts Kate at 4.02pm asking if she wanted to meet up. Kate calls Carnell to discuss their plans. Now of course, because this was a call and not a text, one of the biggest questions that still remains in this case, is why did they meet up?

14:21Was it a casual hangout? Was there something serious they needed to talk about? Unfortunately, we just don't know. But according to some sources, it was not odd for them to meet up, specifically at this park. So you know what I'm gonna say, take that for what you will. Either way, this call lasts for about 10 minutes. Carnell leaves work at 4.24 p.m. Kate signs out of the gym seven minutes later at 4.31 p.m. At 5.01 p.m., Kate's car is seen on video, captured by a police officer's dash cam on the parkway. She was headed towards the area of the bench they were later found by. As a side note, because I was curious why this officer was there, it looks like they were just running radar, not responding to any particular call or scene.

15:08But two minutes later at 5.03pm, Carnell's SUV is captured by the same camera. Detectives estimate that they would have made it to this area with the bench just two minutes later at 5.05pm. At 5.08pm, Kate unlocks and checks her phone. Fourteen minutes later at 5.22pm, the phone call is made to 911. Now, when Carnell's family hears about the timeline of events, they're pretty shocked and confused. because he had plans that day to have dinner at his grandma's house at 5 p.m., the exact time he was in the park with Kate. According to reporting by Fox 8 News, Carnell was the one who actually arranged this dinner for this time.

15:51His mom, Darlene Sledge, said that his grandmother began texting him when he was late. She asked if he was on his way. Then she said the food was getting cold. Then she asked him to call her. Obviously, they were immediately concerned, and just ditching his family like this was completely out of character. And it's not like the park was on the way to his grandmother's house. He drove out of his way to meet up with Kate. So one theory is that Kate and Carnell met up to discuss something very serious, something that had to be discussed in person versus over the phone. But that is just a theory that has not been proven or disproven.

16:31Now let's talk about what would have motivated somebody to do this. Let's go through who they interviewed. At this point, really everyone was considered to be a possible suspect. We already talked about the pseudo-witness roofer. Like I said, he is still on their radar, but has essentially been cleared for now. Investigators also spoke with Carnell's ex-girlfriend, Alyssa Miller. Now, she actually interviewed for the Unsolved Mysteries episode. She says she began talking to Carnell about a year before he was killed. They dated for about six months before deciding that they were just better off as friends.

17:06But about a month before he was killed, she said that changed. They'd reconnected and were going to get back together. However, it has been reported that Kate and Carnell may have explored the idea of being together romantically. So that part is largely unclear. But Alyssa said that she saw him the Saturday before the murders, and texted with him the day of the murders. She says the last text she got from him was at about 3 p.m. She'd had a rough day, and he was asking her how she was doing. But she says that she didn't text him back until later that evening, and never heard back. Now, it seems like a combination of things that got Alyssa onto the radar of investigators.

17:48Outside of jealousy being a possible motive, witnesses state that her emotions at Carnell's funeral were just really over-the-top and abnormal. She was also a registered gun owner, so investigators pursue the lead. They talk to Alyssa and discover that her alibi was solid. She was at work. She also gave her gun over for testing, and they were able to conclude that it was not used in the murders. Now, as a side note, Kate's family said that they only learned that Alyssa's gun was ruled out as the murder weapon while watching the Unsolved Mysteries episode. But either way, Alyssa was ruled out. Investigators were also looking into a possible love interest of Kate's.

18:31She was on the dating app Tinder and had gone on some dates before the murders, but investigators focused on one of these dates in particular. They have not named this man, but the Friday before the murders, Kate and this man went out for a date. And it did not go well, to say the least. She described this man as having a dark, sinister energy. She said that his eyes were black, and he made her feel unsafe because he told this insane story while on the date. Kate said that he just casually mentioned that he and his brother had stabbed someone and lit them on fire. But needless to say, Kate did not go on another date with this man or keep in contact with him.

19:13But for obvious reasons, investigators wanted to speak with him. He was investigated and later ruled out. Police say that they were able to track his cell phone to Southern Ohio at the time of the murders. Now, they also looked at another love interest of Kate's, an ex-boyfriend whom she'd been seeing in secret. Like many men in this case, he is also not being named. But Kate's sister Lauren told the Daily Mail that she thinks Kate kept this a secret because her family had concerns about how he treated her. She says pretty bluntly that when Kate mentioned seeing him, they confronted her directly, saying he was not a good person and she wasn't making good choices by seeing him.

19:54And they were pretty shocked to find out that he was with Kate the night before the murders. He was seen being buzzed into her building, and on June 5th, the day after the murders, he called investigators to tell them that he was with her. Now, Lauren says that they were so upset and really scared by this that they asked him to not attend the funeral. And according to Lauren, when a mutual friend relayed this information to him, they noticed a handgun on his table. Lauren says that this was reported to investigators, but if anything came of it, she has not been informed. She believes that either Kate or Carnell were followed into the park that day.

20:34She said, quote, in my gut, I feel like it was targeted because the person had a 14 minute window to get in and get out unseen. Nobody heard anything. Nobody saw anything. I think that one of them was followed. I always have. Whether it's Kate or Carnell. End quote. Investigators have also considered the theory that this ex-boyfriend followed Kate to the park and then killed her and Carnell. But, like everybody else, they say that he has an alibi. He was at the barber shop while the murders were happening. This was apparently corroborated by another witness. At this point, so early on, investigators were really at a standstill.

21:18Now, just a few weeks after Kate and Carnell were killed, there were two other gun-related incidents in the park. A woman was robbed at gunpoint by two men from behind. She said both men were wearing gloves and one had a ski mask on. The very next day, a park worker and his mother were in the area when a driver flagged them down in their vehicle. When they stopped, they saw a man in the passenger seat with a silver object they believed was a pistol in the upright position. So this park worker and his mom sped away and reported it to police. The Metro Parks police initially said that these events were concerning, and that it could be relevant to Kate and Carnell's case.

21:59They even placed more officers in the park during this time all the way through Labor Day. However, a spokesperson later said that they were not able to make any connection between these incidents and the murders. Throughout 2019, the local police and the FBI conducted a series of press conferences to speak about the case, and the Cleveland Metro Parks Police made it very clear that they felt their murders were an isolated incident and that they were not concerned about the safety of their parks. A spokesperson for the FBI said that they had no reason to believe that their murder was done at random, but also didn't confirm that they were specifically targeted, and added that they were looking at all avenues.

22:41They assured the public that this was something they were working on daily, and largely refused to answer questions or provide more information. Then, something very unexpected fell into investigators' laps. Well, actually, it was given to the local Fox 8 news station at first. It was an anonymous letter from someone claiming to have information about the murders. The author said that the shooter was a woman, and that she'd spoken with Carnell before shooting him and Kate. Now, this letter has never been released in full. There's really only been like a few screenshots of this letter in some newscasts.

23:20But apparently, it went into quite a bit of detail about what this woman looked like and what happened. When the news station got this letter, they didn't tell the public, they just immediately turned it over to the FBI. It wasn't until 2021, when the FBI went back to Fox 8 News for help identifying the author, that all of this was revealed. At that time, Carnell's mom was interviewed, and she said that her family's hearts just dropped. She got chills and just cried. But they found the author, and it turns out that the letter wasn't actually an eyewitness account, but apparently a vision that this person claimed to have had.

23:59It's now largely considered to be a hoax. And honestly, I cannot express enough how tired I am of researching these cases and finding hoaxes like this. Hoaxes that put these families through even more emotional turmoil than they've already been through. Having a vision and wanting to tell the police about it is one thing, but writing an anonymous letter like this, wasting resources, and putting this family through this is just downright cruel. Both of these families had already been through so much. In fact, Carnell's cousin, 23-year-old Devon Gibson, was one of three people who were shot and killed during a New Year's Eve party just months before Carnell and Kate were murdered.

24:43The gunman was later suspected to be 24-year-old Tevin Biles Thomas. According to reporting by People, he was later tracked down at Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he was an active-duty U.S. Army service member. He was later charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter, assault, and perjury. His first trial resulted in a mistrial, after jurors read paperwork that included evidence meant to be precluded from the proceedings. So they had to do it all over again. And in June 2021, just days after the two-year anniversary of Carnell's murder, a judge dismissed the charges, stating that the prosecutors did not present evidence to sustain a conviction.

25:24Apparently, they weren't able to find any physical evidence linking Biles Thomas to the crime. Just moments after the judge read the ruling, Devon's mother charged at Biles Thomas, screaming, You killed my baby. She was tackled by officers before reaching the defendant. It's so much heartbreak and so much tragedy for just one family. But Devon's family, Carnell's family, want him and Carnell to be known for more than just being murder victims. Devon worked as a barber and attended college where he was earning a 4.0 GPA. They say he was a young man with many dreams, including, like Carnell, to make his community a better place.

26:05They've since started a foundation and scholarship fund in his name, which I will link in the episode description. Carnell's family has also taken over operations at his foundation, Sledge's Helping Hands, to continue his mission to help his community. I will of course have a link to that as well if you want to learn more, or if you can, to donate.