BY CHRIS QUAY • CQUAY@COURIER-JOURNAL.COM • AUGUST 23, 2010
The Jefferson County coroner’s office has determined that a woman who was found dead after a Portland fire on Sunday had been strangled.
Joyce Browning, 53, and her husband Robert Browning, 65, were both found dead in their apartment in the 300 block of North 24th Street just after 6:30 p.m. Sunday, following the fire. An autopsy performed Monday revealed Joyce Browning had been strangled, said R.D. Jones, a Jefferson County deputy coroner.
Jones said the cause of Robert Browning’s death is still under investigation.
Dwight Mitchell, a spokesman for Louisville Metro Police, said officers are looking into the possibility that it may have been a murder-suicide, and they have a person of interest in the strangulation.He would not elaborate on whether Robert Browning was that person.
“There is evidence to believe that there was a homicide that took place before” the fire, Mitchell said. “Now, exactly who the culprit is, we do not know.”
He said the fire has not been ruled out as the cause of Robert Browning’s death. Mitchell was also unsure about the amount of time that elapsed between Joyce Browning’s death and the start of the fire.
Barbara Browning, Robert Browning’s daughter and Joyce Browning’s stepdaughter, said she lives “just around the corner” and would check on the couple frequently. She said they had lived in the apartment about eight years and had been together for about 15 years.
She said they would have an occasional argument, but nothing that would turn physical. “I never physically seen him do anything to her. There was just a lot of arguments,” she said.
Most of those arguments took place early in the relationship, and more recently they would just keep to themselves and stay inside the apartment, she said.
There was no history of emergency protective orders or criminal activity between the couple, according to court records.
Joyce Browning lost a leg after a battle with diabetes and had to use a wheelchair and Robert Browning had been diagnosed with cancer on his face, his daughter said.
“It was hard for him to walk or try to drive by himself,” Barbara Browning said. The couple did not work and were on disability.
Barbara Browning said the last time she saw her father was about 1 p.m. Sunday as she was driving by the apartment. She said she visited with the couple Saturday night and everything seemed fine.
Browning also said she warned her father to make sure their front door was closed because at times he would leave it wide open. She said about a month ago he told her that two young males had entered the apartment after the door was left wide open and taking cigarettes.
Robert Browning refused to file a police report about the incident, because his daughter said he would have had a hard time identifying the individuals.
Reporter Chris Quay can be reached at (502) 582-4241.
No comments:
Post a Comment