Brandon resided with his mother, Carolyn; his father, James Brown; his sister; Sheketah, and brother Barry, in 1985. The entire family disappeared on July 25, 1985. Carolyn's purse was located in a corner of the garage; inside it, her identification had been cut up. An uneaten meal was spread out on the dining room table and one of the rooms had been freshly painted; a closer look revealed that the paint had covered up bloodstains on the walls. James resurfaced in Savannah, Georgia several weeks after his family's disappearances. He checked into the hospital under the name Demetrius Jones and stated someone had robbed him and shot him in the head. His true identity was discovered, and he admitted he had murdered his family and tried to take his own life. A jury acquitted him in Carolyn and Sheketah's deaths and was never charged with Brandon and Barry's homicides and was committed to a Florida mental health facility.