Robert Charles Browne

Case Overview

Robert Charles Browne (born October 31, 1952) was a murderer and possible serial killer. He was convicted in Colorado and served a life sentence.

Browne grew up in Coushatta, Louisiana. He was a high school dropout, joined the Army, and served from 1969 to 1976, when he was dishonorably discharged for drug abuse. He later moved to Colorado in 1987 after parole.

Authorities said Browne admitted to murdering up to 49 people in a period spanning from 1970 until his arrest in 1995. Browne instigated a new investigation by sending a cryptic letter to authorities in 2000. The letter read: "Seven sacred virgins entombed side by side, those less worthy are scattered wide, the score is you 1, the other team 48.” The letter included a hand drawn map with outlines of Colorado, Washington, California, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, with the body count written inside each state. Browne’s claims were described as covering the killings in multiple states and South Korea.

Browne sent additional information through correspondence with investigators and cold-case volunteers, and he provided details about alleged killings.

Timeline

• October 31, 1952 — Robert Charles Browne was born.
• 1969 — Browne joined the Army.
• 1970 — Browne claimed he killed his first victim, a soldier serving in South Korea.
• 1976 — Browne was dishonorably discharged from the Army for drug abuse.
• 1980s (first half) — Browne worked jobs including truck driving and maintenance work; he was also linked to murders and disappearances described in the case materials.
• 1987 (March) — Browne was arrested on charges of murdering Heather Dawn Church; Church’s disappearance had occurred in 1991 and the remains were later found.
• 1987 — Browne pleaded guilty on July 27, 2006 to first-degree murder in the death of Rocio Delpilar Sperry, who was killed at age 15 on November 10, 1987.
• 1991 — Browne was linked to the kidnapping and killing of Heather Dawn Church (13) of Black Forest.
• 1993 (Sept. 16) — Heather Dawn Church’s remains were found on Rampart Range Road northwest of Colorado Springs.
• 1995 — Browne was arrested; he was later described as being put in prison for kidnapping and murder of Heather Dawn Church.
• 2000 — Browne sent the cryptic letter and map to authorities.
• July 27, 2006 — Browne pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Rocio Delpilar Sperry and was sentenced to life in prison in Colorado in that case.
• 2006 — The case materials described Browne as continuing to provide information about additional killings and generating large numbers of tips and investigations.

Background

Browne had roots in law enforcement: he was the son of a deputy sheriff and the brother of a Louisiana state trooper. He also was a former Army medic. A former law enforcement figure described him as intelligent and having a high IQ.

Browne was one of nine children, including three sets of twins. He had a twin sister. His father worked at a dairy farm, and a brother, Donald Browne, was once a trooper for the Louisiana State Police.

Browne grew up in Coushatta, Louisiana, and he served in South Korea as a medic. After parole, he moved to Colorado in 1987. He was described as having a criminal record including a term for motor vehicle theft in Louisiana and also as having a history of arson, cruelty to animals, and burglary. He worked for IP’s Mansfield Mill from 1981 to 1983, and he drove a truck for a wholesale company.

Browne was married six times. A statement in the case materials said he had been married six times and that former wives were still alive. El Paso District Attorney John Newsome described “a series of six wives or ‘what he would consider a wife,’” and stated: “all six were similar in appearance and all were petite, weighing between 95 and 125 pounds. All six are still alive, Newsome added.” Browne was described as a gentleman when courting one ex-wife but as becoming violent after marriage; he threatened, punched, choked, pointed a gun, and allegedly forced a gun situation during that relationship.

Browne’s family and acquaintances described him as a loner, with a temper, and as sometimes protective. One acquaintance described his behavior as protective of neighborhood children after a killing now linked to Browne.

The offence

Browne was convicted in Colorado for murdering Heather Dawn Church and for murdering Rocio Delpilar Sperry. Beyond the convictions, he claimed responsibility for many other murders and provided details of additional killings, including killings he alleged occurred across multiple states and South Korea.

The case materials described Browne’s claims as including methods such as shooting, strangling, stabbing with a knife, a screwdriver, or an ice pick, and other forms of assault. It also described alleged use of ether to knock out a victim and alleged use of ant killer on a victim’s face. It described alleged dismemberment in at least one account involving Sperry and described alleged disposal of remains in dumpsters, rivers, ditches, and other locations. It also described allegations that Browne dismembered Sperry and that Sperry’s remains were never found.

Browne’s claims included that he took victims from everyday settings such as bars, motel bars, convenience stores, and motel rooms, and that he sometimes used a victim’s apartment familiarity from maintenance work.

Investigation

Browne’s investigation involved a 44-page affidavit described as a chronology of his contacts with investigators and case-by-case narratives based on investigators’ statements. The document was described as containing profane language and graphic descriptions.

Colorado investigators and cold-case volunteers corresponded with Browne. Investigator Charlie Hess was described as a former FBI and CIA agent who volunteered with the sheriff’s office and visited Browne in prison. Hess’s involvement included writing or correspondence over multiple years and developing details.

Hess said they negotiated access to information, and he described how Browne asked for prison favors. Hess also made statements in interviews about the correspondence and about unresolved cases. The materials included the following quotations:

• Hess: "We started by writing a very direct letter to Robert indicating who we were."
• Hess: "Little by little he gave us bits of information."
• Hess: "Being non-judgmental was necessary."
• Hess: "It became obvious with Robert that most things were a negotiation: If I can have a single cell I'll tell you this. If I can have this, I can give you three murders."
• Hess: "All of the things he asked for were reasonable, within the law, with the rules of DOC."
• Hess: "It became obvious that we had to go on, and in my mind that there still was more."
• Hess: "We don't like to call them cold cases, we like to call them unresolved cases. A cold case would indicate to me a case that is put on the shelf and forgotten. We don't forget them."

Another investigator, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, described some claims as credible and explained how evidence corroboration varied.

• Maketa: "It's possible he's exaggerating, but I don't think you can conduct business assuming he's exaggerating."
• Maketa: "We'll continue to pursue leads."
• Maketa: "Sometimes killers do not replicate things from one crime to the next."
• Maketa (describing investigations): Investigators were able to corroborate Browne’s claims in six slayings, but some other claims could not be confirmed because investigators were unable to corroborate or Browne could not remember sufficient details.
• Colorado Attorney General John Suthers: "The combination of moving around a lot, picking random victims and being pretty clean about it, if he's telling the truth about how he disposed of the bodies _ that would show some pretty calculated methods to avoid detection."
• Criminologist Robert Keppel: "That makes it hard on police."
• Keppel: "Probably no doubt the guy's murdered a lot of people, but numbers are just for media purposes."
• Keppel: "This guy has lied, cheated and stolen his whole life and there's no indication he's going to tell you the whole truth about all his victims."

Browne told investigators about why he confessed and what motivated him was discussed as unknown. Investigator Charlie Hess was quoted about uncertainty regarding motivation:

• Hess: "Does he have a conscience? Is that what motivated him? I really have no idea and I'm not sure he knows."

A quote attributed to Browne about killings was included:

• Browne: "None ever got away; never gave the opportunity. If you're going to do it, just do it."

Some claims were described as uncorroborated in parts, and investigators continued to pursue leads using background checks, job history, and credit histories to determine the individual’s location in time.

Correspondence and letter

Browne sent a letter in 2000 with text and a map. The letter was quoted multiple times across materials:

• "Seven sacred virgins entombed side by side, those less worthy are scattered wide, the score is you 1, the other team 48.”
• In another quotation: "Seven sacred virgins entombed side by side, those less worthy are scattered wide."
• Another quotation included: "The score is you 1, the other team 48."
• Another version included: "If you were to drive to the end zone in a white Trans Am, the score could be 9 to 48." Browne also wrote to investigator Charlie Hess about the Melody Bush case:
• Browne (letter to Hess, dated March 8, 2003): "I thought long and hard about picking an incident that would not be lost among the many others."
• Browne (continued): "The town I chose is Flatonia, Texas ..."
• Browne (continued): "The last I heard was that her husband was being charged with her murder." Browne’s correspondence included requests and prison favors in exchange for details.

Arrest

Browne was arrested in 1995 on charges of murdering Heather Dawn Church in 1991. He was described as being put in prison in 1995. Another description stated he was jailed for kidnapping and murder of Heather Dawn Church.

Trial

Browne pleaded guilty in Colorado.

First-degree murder plea (Rocio Delpilar Sperry)

On July 27, 2006, Browne pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Rocio Delpilar Sperry. Sperry was killed at age 15 on November 10, 1987, at a Colorado Springs apartment complex.

Browne’s confession was described as including that he strangled Sperry in his apartment and dismembered her in a bathtub, “just popping” her joints and taking the body apart. It also stated that Sperry’s remains have never been found. Another account stated he dumped Sperry’s body in a trash bin after strangling her in his apartment; Sperry was never found.

Plea connected to Heather Dawn Church

Browne was described as serving a life sentence in Colorado for murdering Heather Dawn Church of Black Forest.

The materials described that Church was 13 (or referred to as 13-year-old). It also described the kidnapping and disappearance from her bedroom while she was babysitting her 5-year-old brother Sage while her mother and two other brothers attended a Boy Scout meeting. Her disappearance was described as occurring on Sept. 17, 1991. Her skull was found two years later on Rampart Range Road west of Colorado Springs, with death described as from blows to the head. Evidence described in the materials included a fingerprint at the Church home matching a print from a Louisiana vehicle theft case associated with Browne.

Sentencing

The sentencing status for Browne included life sentences in Colorado.

• Browne received a life sentence in Colorado for the 1991 murder of Heather Dawn Church.
• On July 27, 2006, he pleaded guilty in the case of Rocio Delpilar Sperry and received a life sentence in that case as well.

The status field stated: Sentenced to life in prison in Colorado in 1996 and 2006.

The materials also described that Browne avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided materials.

Outcome

Browne was serving a life sentence in Colorado. He was described as continuing to provide information about other alleged killings, while investigators corroborated some claims and could not corroborate others.

Officials received hundreds of tips and inquiries, including from multiple states, and investigators set up a tip line:

• 520-7209 and 492-7349.

In addition, investigators in other jurisdictions began or continued review of Browne’s claims, including Mississippi and Texas agencies.

Aftermath

Browne’s claims prompted:

• Continued investigation into alleged victims’ cases across states.
• Safety and management discussions in prison due to publication of his claims, including discussion of general population placement.
• Communications between Colorado investigators and other law enforcement agencies about possible connections.

Victim-linked cases and allegations mentioned

The materials described multiple named victims and cases linked to Browne’s alleged killings or confessions:

• Heather Dawn Church (13) of Black Forest, Colorado Church was reported missing on Sept. 17, 1991, and her skull was discovered on Rampart Range Road west of Colorado Springs. Her remains were found on Sept. 16, 1993, northwest of Colorado Springs. Browne was serving a life sentence for her slaying.

• Rocio Delpilar Sperry (15) Sperry was killed on Nov. 10, 1987, at a Colorado Springs apartment complex. Browne pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in her death on July 27, 2006. Sperry’s remains were never recovered and were described as never found.

• Nidia Mendoza (17) Mendoza was reported missing on Feb. 2, 1984, in Texas. Her body was found on Feb. 6, 1984, in a ditch. Another section described that her remains were found dumped along a Houston interstate with legs and head cut from the body.

• Melody Bush (22) Bush was found dead on March 30, 1984, in Fayette County, Texas. Her body was found in a drainage ditch. The coroner ruled Bush died of acute acetone poisoning. Browne’s later statements described ether use and ice pick stabbing, and involved allegedly dumping her body in that case.

• Katherine Hayes (15) Hayes was reported missing July 4, 1980, in Louisiana. Her body was found Oct. 16, 1980, in Nantachie Creek. She had been strangled.

• Wanda Faye Hudson (21) Hudson was found dead on May 28, 1983, in her Coushatta, Louisiana apartment. She had been stabbed multiple times. Browne had done maintenance work on her apartment, including changing the lock on her door.

• Faye Self (26) Self was reported missing March 30, 1983, in Louisiana. Browne told authorities her body was dumped in the Red River. She has never been found.

• Lisa Lowe (21) Lowe was reported missing on Nov. 3, 1991, in Arkansas. Her body was found on Nov. 26, 1991, in the St. Francis River.

• Wanda Faye Hudson (20) Another segment described Hudson as 20 at the time and provided detail about Browne living in the same apartment building and working as a maintenance man. Another portion of the materials stated her age as 21.

• Alexandria, La., and other additional alleged locations and inquiries The materials included references to multiple unsolved murder cases in Alexandria, La., a case from Monroe County, Ill., involving a woman killed in June 1977, and arms found in a dumpster in Tucson, Ariz., in 1992. These were mentioned as part of nearly 50 inquiries and tips.

• Morgan Nick (6) Morgan Nick was abducted from a ballpark in Arkansas 12 years earlier and was described as not being Browne’s victim because he was in prison at that time on a life sentence connected to Heather Dawn Church.

• Ilene Misheloff (13) Misheloff was described as walking home from school on Jan. 30, 1989, and missing after not arriving at ice skating practice later. Dublin Police were reported to be attempting to determine any connection to Browne.

• Mary Lynn Renkel Vialpando The 1988 murder of Mary Lynn Renkel Vialpando was described as flagged by Colorado Springs police after Browne confessed to killing 49 people. A date was included: June 4, 1988.

• Jeffrey Dahmer, Gary Ridgway, John Wayne Gacy, and other named serial killers The materials compared Browne to other serial killers and cited their alleged numbers in various contexts, including mention of Ridgway and a quote about his claims.

• Joseph Sperry (relative connected through Roccio Sperry) Sperry was identified as 39 in one segment and described as losing custody of his baby daughter after his family blamed him for the murder of his 15-year-old wife Roccio. He described emotions after Browne’s guilty plea.

• Mike Church Mike Church described his emotions when he found that Browne may have murdered dozens, and he was quoted about Browne being sick, sadistic, and a coward.

• Charlie Hess Hess appeared in multiple roles as a cold-case volunteer investigator and was quoted about correspondence, negotiation, and his lack of insight into Browne’s motivation.

• Lou Smit Lou Smit was described as having helped build the Church case, and was quoted as saying he had a feeling Browne was “something even worse.”

• Andy Prehm, Ken Hilte, Jeff Nohr, Patti Micciche, Cheryl Ahumada, Travis Trammel, Toni Morris, Philip Crane, David Shaw, Gary Cox, and others Multiple officials and investigators were named, with statements included about corroboration, tips, investigative efforts, and prison management.

Other details

Sexual and violence-related allegations in the materials

Browne’s claims and descriptions included violence against women and girls, with multiple accounts describing strangling, stabbing, dismemberment, and disposal. Additional descriptions included allegations he had consensual sex before killing, and allegations that his attitude toward women included disdain and beliefs about cheating.

Disputed or uncertain corroboration

The case materials repeatedly described that not all of Browne’s claims could be corroborated. In some cases, investigators were unable to confirm dumping locations; in other cases, Browne could not provide enough detail to check claims.

Notes about methods and specific quotations

Several quotations were presented in connection with Browne’s letters and statements, including those about the “Seven sacred virgins” letter and “None ever got away; never gave the opportunity. If you're going to do it, just do it.” The materials also included quotation of Browne’s statement about women being unfaithful and “users,” which was presented in direct speech:

• Browne: "Women are unfaithful, they screw around a lot, they cheat and they are not of the highest moral value," and "They cheat and they are users."

The materials also described methods attributed to Browne’s claims including:

• "used ether on her"
• "used an ice pick on her."
• "Put her out. And then I used a ice pick on her."
• "used a rag soaked in ant killer over another victim's face and stabbed her nearly 30 times with a screwdriver."
• dismemberment described as “just popping” joints in connection with Rocio Sperry.