A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with manslaughter after police discovered her 3-year-old daughter and the family dog dead inside a locked car in Maine.
The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office located Kelly Brown’s car outside a Milford business on Aug. 9. Inside, officers found her daughter, Fiona, unresponsive. The family’s 13-year-old dog, Penelope, was also dead. Brown, 40, was found nearby and taken into custody. She was booked into the Penobscot County Jail early the next morning. On Aug. 11, she was formally charged during a court hearing at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
According to court documents, Brown told police she had left her daughter in the car while she cleaned up trash. She claimed she slipped into the Penobscot River and was swept away. However, investigators said her account did not match surveillance footage or their observations. Police noted her clothes were dry when she returned, contradicting her claim.
Records show Brown parked at a Milford Freshies lot around 2 a.m. on Aug. 9 with her daughter and dog inside. She briefly returned at 6 a.m. but did not come back until police arrived nearly 14 hours later. Fiona’s body was later found face down on the driver’s seat with the dog’s head resting on her foot.
Brown, her daughter, and their dog had left Pennsylvania on July 30 for a family visit to Maine. Relatives told police she had been “hallucinating” and posting disturbing content online since late July. They had raised concerns about her behavior before the tragedy.
An affidavit noted Brown screamed when told of the deaths but maintained she had fallen into the river. Investigators wrote: “Kelly Brown’s alternative explanation for abandoning her daughter and dog in the locked closed car on a hot August day contradicts the surveillance video and observations of the law enforcement officers.”
The medical examiner determined Fiona’s likely cause of death was heat exposure after being left in the car for hours.
Brown’s bail was set at $50,000. Her case is scheduled to go before a grand jury on Sept. 26.
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Katie is a senior who has been on staff for three years. Her favorite type of stories to write is reviews and features. Katie’s favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry.
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