Colorado Man Reportedly Claims 48 Murders
By JON SARCHE, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jul 27, 12:29 AM
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A Colorado man serving a life sentence for murdering a teenage girl has claimed responsibility for up to 48 slayings across the country, authorities said Thursday.
Robert Charles Browne, 53, told authorities the slayings occurred from 1970 until his arrest in 1995, the sheriff's department said in a statement.
Sheriff Terry Maketa told The Gazette of Colorado Springs that Browne is believable.
If Browne's claims prove true, he would be one of the most prolific killers in U.S. history.
The investigation was first reported on the newspaper's Web site. The paper said authorities have linked Browne to 19 of the slayings, in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington and South Korea.
Charlie Hess, a sheriff's department cold-case investigator, said Browne told him he strangled, shot or stabbed men and women he encountered along roads, in bars or on the street, the newspaper reported.
The department scheduled a news conference for later Thursday.
Browne pleaded guilty in 1995 to kidnapping and murdering 13-year-old Heather Dawn Church in Colorado in 1991. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to murdering a 15-year-old girl in 1987.
The sheriff's department said Browne has given investigators information on other slayings across the country.
Browne said he dismembered one victim in a motel room bathtub so he would not be seen carrying the body from the room, then put the parts in a suitcase and dumped it beside a road, Hess said.
By JON SARCHE, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jul 27, 12:29 AM
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A Colorado man serving a life sentence for murdering a teenage girl has claimed responsibility for up to 48 slayings across the country, authorities said Thursday.
Robert Charles Browne, 53, told authorities the slayings occurred from 1970 until his arrest in 1995, the sheriff's department said in a statement.
Sheriff Terry Maketa told The Gazette of Colorado Springs that Browne is believable.
If Browne's claims prove true, he would be one of the most prolific killers in U.S. history.
The investigation was first reported on the newspaper's Web site. The paper said authorities have linked Browne to 19 of the slayings, in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington and South Korea.
Charlie Hess, a sheriff's department cold-case investigator, said Browne told him he strangled, shot or stabbed men and women he encountered along roads, in bars or on the street, the newspaper reported.
The department scheduled a news conference for later Thursday.
Browne pleaded guilty in 1995 to kidnapping and murdering 13-year-old Heather Dawn Church in Colorado in 1991. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to murdering a 15-year-old girl in 1987.
The sheriff's department said Browne has given investigators information on other slayings across the country.
Browne said he dismembered one victim in a motel room bathtub so he would not be seen carrying the body from the room, then put the parts in a suitcase and dumped it beside a road, Hess said.
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