The sister of a woman murdered in broad daylight on a park bench has shared her theories about the killer, as the cold-blooded murderer remains at large.
Kate Brown and her friend Carnell Sledge were killed at the Rocky River Reservation in Cleveland Metroparks in 2019. Their case is now featured in Netflix Unsolved Mysteries.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Lauren Brown Rao, Kate’s younger sister, criticized the police for their alleged lack of communication with the family regarding the case. She also expressed concern that the investigation may have been mishandled, given the nearly six-year absence of significant leads or arrests.
Lauren said she believes the key to solving the case lies in uncovering what happened during the crucial 14-minute window between Kate’s last phone activity and the moment two kayakers stumbled upon the bodies.
It was June 4, 2019, at 4.02pm when Kate, 33, was in the middle of a workout and she received a text from her friend Carnell, 40, asking to meet up at the reservation – a sprawling expanse of nature preserves – for a quick chat.
Carnell, despite having a family dinner planned at his grandmother’s house – 22 miles from their agreed meeting spot – was eager to see Kate beforehand. He left work at 4.24pm, while Kate signed out of the gym at 4.31pm.
At 5.01pm, Kate arrived at the park, fresh from her workout. Carnell followed just two minutes later.
Kate checked her phone for the last time at 5.08pm and just 14 minutes later, at 5.22pm, a chilling 911 call was logged – two kayakers had discovered the friends brutally shot to death, their lifeless bodies sprawled around the bench where they had just been sitting, lost in conversation, and in broad daylight just feet away from a busy road.
Carnell Sledge and Kate Brown were tragically shot dead on a park bench in broad daylight on June 4, 2019
Kate and Carnell met at Rocky River Reservation in Cleveland Metroparks for a quick chat. A car parking area close to the bench and a road is seen above
How close the bench was to a parking lot and a busy road is seen above
The sun was still shining, and the roads were bustling with activity. Given the bench’s close proximity to a busy highway, the victims’ families have struggled to understand how no one witnessed the crime.
Police determined that the shooter struck from behind, with Carnell being the first to fall. Yet, the motive and intended motive remain a mystery.
Robbery was ruled out as both of their belongings were left untouched.
Lauren said the family was shocked as the Netflix documentary unearthed new information about the case that cops had never shared with them.
‘The police have all this information they’re not telling us,’ said Rao. ‘I learned stuff from the Netflix episode that the police hadn’t told us in five years.’
The Browns have contributed over half of a $100,000 reward fund, hoping to spark a lead, but nothing has so far of it.
Lauren believes people know something but are afraid they would be killed if they told the police.
While the Netflix documentary provided a comprehensive overview of the case, Lauren shared new details and theories with DailyMail.com.
The bench where the duo were sitting when the shooter opened fire is seen above
Despite the crime occurring near a busy highway, no witnesses have come forward, and the case remains unsolved. A re-enaction is seen in the Netflix doc above
Who were Kate and Carnell?
Kate and Carnell had been friends for 10 years. Carnell had previously joked that one day, he and Kate would end up together in the future, though their bond was always rooted in a deep, platonic friendship.
Kate, a marketing associate for an online jewelry company, had been on a personal journey of growth. She was two years sober, had lost 100 pounds, and was even considering opening her own business. At the time of her murder, Kate had been at ‘the highest point of her life’, said Lauren.
Carnell, an audiovisual technician, showed no signs of unusual behavior in the days leading up to his death, his close friend Jeff Schwartz told DailyMail.com.
Frustrated by the lack of progress from local police, Schwartz took matters into his own hands, launching a Reddit page to aid in the investigation.
‘We couldn’t even get a press conference on the five year anniversary of their murders. When the Netflix episode aired, the local stations didn’t cover it until 10 days after it was released,’ Schwartz said.
Brown’s family has voiced frustration over the police department’s handling of the case, claiming that communication has been largely one-sided.
‘The communication that happens is completely done on our end,’ she told WKYC. We reach out, we ask for meetings,’ said Kate’s sister, Alex Brown.
‘We’re even providing the tips that we see on the internet to the detectives because they’re not overseeing it and so, animosity, we would love to have animosity, but there’s not even a relationship at this point.’
However, Cleveland Metroparks Director of Communications, Jacqueline Gerling, refuted this claim. ‘That is not true,’ she told DailyMail.com.
‘Our police leadership and detectives have been actively engaged with the families, providing regular updates and communication,’ Gerling stated. ‘For the Brown family to say communication isn’t happening simply because they aren’t receiving the news they want is an unfair characterization of our efforts.’
Schwartz last saw Carnell in May 2019 and said he was helping him with a pitch deck for Sledge’s Helping Hands, a foundation he created that aimed to fund enrichment programs for underprivileged children.
When interviewed by Netflix about Carnell’s character, Schwartz remained unwavering, offering only praise despite being met with suggestive questions.
‘I laughed when they asked if Carnell was troublesome’ he said. ‘Take troublesome and then just go to the complete opposite end of the spectrum. He was the kindest and most gentle person I ever was around in my entire life. He had a heart of gold. He’d have done anything for anybody.’
‘I only have one friend that came to my grandmother’s funeral and my grandfather’s funeral, and it was Carnell,’ added Schwartz.
Six years later, their families say authorities have kept them in the dark
Potential suspects and theories
Theories about the murder explored in the Unsolved Mysteries episode range from the possibility of a random racist attack to gang violence, though police remained unconvinced.
One witness, a roofer who was parked nearby, said he saw the victims arrive at the park bench, but heard nothing. He was cleared of any possible involvement after his devices confirmed he was working on estimates and writing up orders when the incident took place.
Lauren told DailyMail.com she believes that either Kate or Carnell were followed.
‘In my gut, I feel like it was targeted because the person had a 14 minute window to get in and get out unseen,’ she said.
‘Nobody heard anything, nobody saw anything. I think that one of them was followed. I always have, whether it’s Kate or Carnell.’
Investigators also looked into possible suspects with personal ties to the victims.
Alyssa Miller, Carnell’s ex-girlfriend, who had a concealed carry permit, was briefly considered a potential suspect, especially given her ‘erratic’ behavior’ at Carnell’s funeral.
Though she had been in contact with Carnell that day, her alibi that she was at work was confirmed, and her gun was ruled out as the murder weapon – information that the Brown family only found out on the Netflix documentary.
There was also an unsettling Tinder date Kate had recently been on prior to her murder. Kate had described him to her sisters as having a dark, sinister energy that made her feel unsafe.
During their date, he casually mentioned that he had fatally stabbed someone 10 years prior. After she was murdered, he was investigated but was proven via cell phone data to be in southern Ohio at the time of the murders.
Finally, there was Kate’s ex-boyfriend, whom she had secretly been seeing despite their breakup years earlier as her family had concerns about how he treated her.
‘Whenever we found out that she was with him we’d get upset and say ‘what are you doing? He’s a piece of s**t,’ said Lauren. ‘I’d say ‘I know he’s comfortable for you, but it’s just not a good choice.’
The ex-boyfriend was seen being buzzed into her apartment on her building’s camera. He also called the police on June 5 to inform them he was with Kate the day before.
‘We had no idea he was with her the night before she died. When we found out, we were angry and scared,’ she said. ‘We even requested he not attend her funeral.’
While police initially investigated the theory that Kate and her ex had argued and that he followed her to the park, his alibi that he was at the barber shop during the incident was corroborated.
However Lauren is not convinced that these alibis were all ‘air tight’.
‘It’s very easy for a person to say, ‘Oh, I was here at this time,’ and then potentially even have a friend or a witness confirm that,’ she said. ‘Was her phone tracked, and she was proven to be somewhere at a specific time? Was she on video surveillance? Until I know those definites, everybody is a suspect in my mind.’
Kate’s sister, Lauren Brown Rao, revealed the family learned new details about the case from the Netflix episode rather than from police
Pictured: Photo evidence of Kate and Carnell’s cars at the scene of the crime
The family is concerned that police might have only asked for a verbal alibi from the ex-boyfriend and had not probed him further.
‘To only get a verbal alibi, if you think about it, that’s not completing the task of investigating,’ said Schwartz.
Lauren disclosed that a mutual friend went to the ex boyfriend’s apartment to inform him that he was not invited to Kate’s funeral. While he was there, Lauren said he told her that he had seen a handgun on his table.
Although they reported it to the police, she said nothing had come of it.
Lauren said the ex-boyfriend also refused to be interviewed by Netflix, which raised her suspicions.
‘They contacted him. He agreed, and then he just ghosted Unsolved Mysteries. It’s very telling,’ she said.
Frustration with the investigation
Seeking justice, Brown’s family turned to the Vidocq Society, an elite group of forensic and law enforcement experts specializing in cold cases.
Based in Philadelphia, the volunteer organization – comprising criminologists, forensic scientists, and retired law enforcement officers – accepts only nine cases per year. Kate and Carnell’s case was taken on in late 2021.
Despite the group’s offer to assist for free, Lauren said Metroparks police abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting the night before they were set to present the case in Philadelphia.
‘The new Metroparks chief, Kelly Stillman, told detectives the night before that they weren’t going to Philadelphia – it was canceled,’ Lauren said.
When the family met with Stillman, he insisted police still had work to do and claimed there were ‘stones left unturned’ and ‘fresh eyes’ on the case.
Pictured left to right: Kate, Kim (her mother), Lauren, and their other sister Alex
‘We asked how long – six months, nine months? It had already been three years. But he refused to give us a timeline,’ she said.
Only after the families voiced their frustration did the Vidocq Society agree to take the case back.
‘I think the police want this to fade – they want people to forget. It’s a major conflict of interest for them,’ Lauren claimed.
‘The park relies on funding and heavy marketing, and they have a whole team that manages media coverage, screening anything that comes out.
‘They’re very careful about their image because they want the park to be busy and feel safe.
‘On one hand, they say they want this solved, but on the other, they’re protecting their reputation. That creates a major conflict of interest.’
Lauren has her theories about why a suspect hasn’t been identified or turned in.
‘Do I think they’ll turn themselves in? No. Whoever did this has stayed quiet, and anyone they’ve told is likely too afraid to come forward, fearing the same could happen to them,’ said Lauren.
Lauren(left) has a message for the person responsible for Kate’s (right) murder: ‘You stole someone we loved so dearly, and you should not be walking free’
Lauren wanted to send a message to the person responsible for her sister’s death.
‘Please come forward and turn yourself in. What you did was not okay. These two kind, innocent people were killed for no reason, and their families are shattered – we will never be the same,’ she said.
‘Yesterday, my daughter, who’s almost nine now, told me how much she misses Kate. She called her TT. She was only three when Kate died and said, ‘Mom, I don’t remember a lot about her, but I see her pictures and watch the videos you show me.’ I had to tell her, ‘I know, Ellie, you were so little when she died.’ It’s heartbreaking.
‘You stole someone we loved so dearly, and you should not be walking free.’
And Schwartz has a message for Chief Stillman. ‘The apology needs to be louder than the disrespect,’ said Schwartz
‘Kelly Stillman, what have you done? What have you done in your last seven days of work that have helped give you an answer for this case, I don’t think he’d have an answer.’
