Station Dept. Mourns Famed Detective, Father of Division Chair Nicolette Browne
AUGUST 2 -- James T. Browne, father of Station Department Division Chair Nicolette Browne, has died at the age of 98. He became ill on Father's Day in his native Guyana and came to New York for treatment, where he succumbed to natural causes.
In Guyana, James Browne was a celebrated police detective who solved a string of brutal child murders. The first victim, an eight-year old school girl, was found in a canal in April of 1969, her limbs tied behind her back. Her murder was followed by the killings of an additional seven boys, all 15 or younger. The police had made little progress until James Browne, a young Detective Constable in Charlestown, was tipped off by a witness who believed he knew who the killer was. Browne pursued him in a jeep and then on foot, capturing the perpetrator, who had a cutlass, and overpowering him. The man, Harrynauth Beharry, 30, confessed to the killings. You can read about the case here.
A Viewing for James T. Browne will be held on Monday, August 5, from 4PM to 6PM at the Caribe Funeral Home at 1922 Utica Avenue in Brooklyn. A Service will follow at 6PM followed by a Repast.