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Leon Nayfak
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Investigator
A double murder leaves a.
Witness
Family shattered the oldest child told me that he woke up to screaming and two big men came in to rob Daddy.
Family Member
There was blood all over the place.
Witness
I would describe it as overkill.
Investigator
As investigators dig, they learned that this family's bond is hard to break.
Expert
This is a family that isn't going.
Investigator
To take crap from you, and each family member covers for the next the.
Family Member
Statements were inconsistent, someone lying to the police. She was trying to push the blame outside the family.
Investigator
At the center of it all, investigators find a woman willing to leverage loyalty for her own twisted desire.
Witness
Ultimately, she wanted to run around and have fun.
Friend
I never would have thought that she was capable allowing that to happen to the magnitude that it did.
Investigator
Almost an hour from popular Myrtle beach sits the much quieter community of Green Sea, South Carolina.
Witness
Green Sea is in Horry county, which is not maybe 20, 30 minutes from.
Family Member
North Myrtle beach, it's always been kind of rural, agricultural. You'll see corn fields and tobacco fields and people out there farming and working hard for a living.
Investigator
It's just before 11pm on June 21, 2000 when a cryptic 911 call comes into the Horry County Police Department.
Witness
If someone goes to 1280 Holly Drive, the man is over here, he says, somebody got killed over there.
Friend
How does the person get killed?
Witness
I had the slightest idea.
Expert
A man just came to my door.
Witness
Just now driving, saying, please call the police.
Friend
Would you please her?
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You don't know who that person is?
Expert
No, ma' am, I don't know.
Investigator
Officers race to the scene unsure of what they'll find. As they approach the address, they are met by 55 year old Johnny Neely and his daughter Connie Brown.
Witness
Johnny Neely advised the responding officers that two men had just broken into his daughter's residence on Olive Drive and attacked and assaulted her husband, Billy Ray Brown. Johnny's trailer is next door to their trailer.
Investigator
Connie tells officers that Billy Ray's friend Ronnie McDowell had been crashing on their couch for the night. Concerned that the attackers may still be inside, officers cautiously approach Connie's trailer.
Family Member
What they saw when they went in was a very bloody crime scene. There was blood all over the place. There were trails of blood throughout the house. So they knew something was terribly wrong.
Investigator
As they make their way toward the Master Bedro, officers spot a male body who they believe to be Connie's husband, 46 year old Billy Ray Brown.
Witness
He was on the floor next to the bed. You could visibly see a lot of blood and trauma to his body.
Investigator
The officers continue their sweep when they stumble upon a single second body in the hallway bathroom.
Witness
Once the responding officers have the crime scene secured, that's when they made contact with dispatch to go ahead and have Crime scene and Violent crimes respond.
Investigator
While officers wait for homicide detectives to arrive, they head over to Johnny's home to break the news to Connie and her young children.
Family Member
Connie and Billy Ray had three children, two young men and then a baby in arms. Billy Ray, he didn't have much of a record if any. He was just a hard working guy. Certainly we'd had no reason to believe somebody else they wanted to kill him.
Investigator
Billy Ray Brown was born on May 25, 1954 and raised in Green Sea, South Carolina.
Friend
Billy was a hard worker and he was a really good friend.
Investigator
Billy could often be found helping out at a local bar owned by his aunt and uncle.
Friend
It was just this little old country store kind of place that they had Made at the bar. I want to say he was like the flower of the family because he took care of all of them. I know he helped them out a lot, especially around the bar because that was a family business for them. He drove cement mixers as well with my dad that worked for the same company.
Investigator
In the spring of 1991, Billy Ray was already once divorced when Johnny Neely introduced him to his daughter Connie.
Friend
There was about 22 or 23 years age difference between Connie and Billy. I remember saying myself, God, he's old. He was about 38, I think when they met. And her being 16 made me think, wow, what are you doing here? But they got along good and I like that he respected Connie a lot. Wasn't very long after they met, they got together.
Investigator
Born on April 9, 1975, Connie was the second of Melba and Johnny Neely's five children.
Friend
Growing up with four younger siblings, it was a challenge, but it wasn't anything that we didn't do together. We had some really good times, but we had rough times too. There was a bad alcohol problem my mom and dad developed over the years.
Investigator
Connie was often left to mother her younger siblings.
Expert
Connie took it personally to a degree because she kind of felt like, why am I not good enough for mom and dad to not drink?
Friend
I am the one who called social services. Connie and myself, we couldn't do anymore. We ended up in children's home in foster care for two years. And that's where they split us all up.
Investigator
Losing the kids eventually inspired Johnny and Melba to get their act together. Two years later, the family reunited.
Friend
The reuniting of us coming back home to mom and dad and all being a family again was great. But truth is, it didn't last long enough because I had to leave her in the military. And Connie ultimately met Billy and moved out from home.
Investigator
At first, Connie's family balked at the 22 year age difference.
Friend
As far as the family being protective of one another, it was solid as steel. You couldn't get through. It was obvious that Connie was over the mom life that she led early in her teens, helping me with the other kids because once she met Billie, she changed completely. Billy was a great provider. She fell in love. No one else mattered. It was all about him.
Witness
Billy Ray was taking care of not only Connie, but Johnny and her brother Andy as well.
Expert
Billy Ray and Andy were close. They would go fishing together and just hang out, you know, as boys do.
Investigator
Billy Ray's family embraced Connie, even offering the teenager shifts at the family business.
Friend
She was bartending for them at such a young age too. It was allowed because it was just this little country store. And it's not like the authorities were there watching when they spoke of marriage. I heard it at 16. My dad kind of stepped out of it because he thought it was his mom's decision. But that's ultimately what ended up being was mama's decision.
Investigator
In the end, Connie's mother signed off on the marriage.
Family Member
They lived in an old trailer that Billy Ray had bought and fixed up.
Investigator
Over the next nine years, the couple had three kids, Billy Ray Jr, Tanner and Matthew.
Witness
She was a wonderful mother. She didn't go anywhere without her boys. Billy Ray was a very hard worker. He provided for his family.
Investigator
In 1999, Connie's parents Melba and Johnny split up.
Friend
He had started partying again and she had had it. When they separated, dad went and lived in a mobile home that was on the same property as Connie and Billy's property. So they were living really close. When I'd go to visit, it was a happy life. Kids were happy playing with their toys and the floor. It was just a normal life it seemed.
Investigator
Until the night of June 21, 2000 when a violent attack inside the family's trailer leaves Billy Ray and his good friend Ronnie McDowell dead.
Family Member
There were two blood trails. One that led from the door to the back bedroom where we found Billy Ray Brown. There's a second trail that started at the door and went to the bathroom. That's where we found Ronnie. This was a stabbing and stabbings are bloody. There were bruises consistent with being hit by a stick.
Investigator
The two men were beaten, stabbed and their throats were cut. A little before 1am Detectives head to Johnny Neely's home where officer are waiting with the family. Before talking to Connie, investigators check on her three young sons. Seven year old Billy Ray Jr. Tells them he was asleep in the living room when the attack began.
Witness
He told me that he woke up to screaming. Billy said his mama told him that two men had come in. Billy said he didn't see the men.
Investigator
Five year old Tanner adds to the story.
Witness
He stated that his mama told him that two big men came in to rob daddy. He also said that mama told him they had knives.
Investigator
Both boys are physically unharmed, but investigators aren't sold on their stories just yet.
Witness
It was a little odd that both children were telling me information that their mother had told them.
Investigator
Detectives have to wonder did Connie coach her kids about what to tell police.
Witness
The oldest had blood on his foot and the middle child, Tanner had blood on his hands and feet, which tells me they were in close proximity when this occurred, if not right there when it occurred.
Investigator
Coming up, an entire town on edge.
Family Member
When somebody comes out of the blue from nowhere and kills someone, that causes fear in the community.
Investigator
And investigators look for answers close to home.
Family Member
She did say that he had his face covered, but she knew who he was.
Investigator
June 22, 2000 at 12:50am Horry County Homicide detectives are questioning the family of Connie and Billy Ray Brown after Billy Ray and his friend Ronnie McDowell are found.
Witness
Dear Connie advised that she had went to bed around 10:15pm that night. About 10:30, she heard a knock at the back door and a commotion, and that's when she came out to see what was going on.
Family Member
She said two people came in and assaulted her husband and that she didn't realize who was coming in.
Witness
One was striking Billy with a stick. He was wearing all dark colors and a face covering, she said. With the commotion going on, Ronnie McDowell at that point in time tries to intervene. And that's when she gathered up her three children and went to her dad Johnny's house next door. Johnny Neely didn't have a residential phone, so he went down the road to call 911.
Investigator
When investigators ask if Connie knows the men who attacked Billy Ray and Ronnie, they are stunned by her response.
Witness
Connie had said that Andy Neely was striking Billy with a stick. Andy Neely was Connie Brown's brother. Connie also said that there was a black male with Andy that she believed was a friend of Andy's.
Family Member
When Andy was in the trailer attacking Billy Ray, she asked him what he was doing, and he said that was none of her concern.
Investigator
Connie's revelation is shocking, but for detectives, her story isn't quite adding up.
Family Member
She told the first officer is the same version she told her father. She said nothing about Andy being involved, but then told a different version when she was interviewed by detectives.
Witness
Sometimes you never know with people that they don't want their kids to know that their uncle is involved in something like that, a crime against they're dead.
Family Member
They also questioned why he had his face covered. She knew who he was. Certainly Connie would have recognized her brother even with a mask on. The only reason I can think that they would have hidden their faces was just in case one of the children woke up or somebody saw them from the outside.
Investigator
While Connie's interview raises a lot of questions, it does give detectives their first lead.
Family Member
When somebody comes out of the blue from nowhere and kills someone, that causes fear in the community. But it wasn't a random event. This was a family affair.
Witness
It did strike me as odd because Connie had indicated that Andy and Billy Ray were the best of friends.
Investigator
Finding Andy becomes investigators top priority.
Witness
I spoke to Johnny Neely. He advised that he hadn't seen Andy Neely, his son, since 8:30pm in speaking with Johnny, it did not appear that he had any knowledge of what had occurred at his daughter's trailer next door.
Investigator
Johnny tells them that his son doesn't have a permanent address.
Witness
Johnny said Andy bounced around. He would stay with Billy and Connie at times. Johnny said he'd also stay over in Green Acres at times. Jodas's home Jodas Washington was Melbourne Eely's boyfriend. Johnny said Andy was driving an 86 burgundy Honda Civic four door with Tennessee tags.
Investigator
Police immediately put out a BOLO on the vehicle and only a few hours later they get a call that Andy's car has been spotted just over the border in Green Acres, North Carolina.
Witness
Columbus County Sheriff's office located the vehicle at Jodas's home.
Friend
My mom started dating Jodas Washington, friend of mine from school. They dated off and on. They were on for a good month. Heavy dating, living together.
Investigator
Eager to catch Andy before he takes off again, investigators rush to the home. Inside they find Andy and Jodas as well as Connie's mother Melba and Connie's sister Renee.
Witness
Andy and Melba voluntarily went with detectives back to the Lors magistrate's office to be interviewed. I stayed and interviewed Jodas and Renee.
Investigator
Investigators inform Renee of Connie's account of the murder.
Witness
We told her that Connie had indicated that Andy was the attacker the previous evening. But Renee advised that she had been with Andy since 8 o' clock the previous evening and that she begged Andy also to stay with her because she hadn't seen him much lately. It appears that Renee is trying to give Andy an alibi.
Investigator
Next, authorities turn to Melba Neely's boyfriend, 29 year old Jodas Washington.
Witness
When I interviewed Jodas Washington, he said that he was asleep at 9pm the previous evening until this morning and that Andy's car is parked near his window so he would have heard it if it moved.
Family Member
The statements were inconsistent with the statements that Connie herself made to the police. Someone was lying to the police.
Investigator
Detective Debary heads back to the station where Andy and his mother Melba are being questioned.
Witness
Melba advised that she was over at her husband's Johnny's trailer, which is next door to Connie's from about 1:30 to 3:30pm with Connie and the kids over there.
Investigator
Melba tells detectives that Renee and Andy were also there and that Connie was very upset.
Witness
Renee was with them over Johnny's trailer and Connie was telling her how Billy Ray had been beating her and throwing the kids around.
Investigator
Coming up, Did a loyal brother decide to take the law into his own hands?
Family Member
There were allegations of domestic violence and violence against kids.
Investigator
Or is there something bigger at play?
Expert
This is a family that isn't gonna take crap from you. They're gonna fight back.
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Investigator
Less than 24 hours have passed since the brutal murders of Connie Brown's husband Billy Ray and his friend Ronnie McDowell, when investigators uncover a potential motive for the killings.
Expert
There had been prior instances of abuse that Melville was aware of between Billy Ray and Connie, but when Melba found out that one of the children was being abused, she was very upset. She said it was bad enough that Connie was being abused, but now you've put an innocent child into it.
Investigator
But the revelations don't stop there. Melba says Andy wasn't the only one who wanted to teach Billy Ray a lesson.
Witness
Melba advised that upon learning this information that Andy and Renee said that Billy Ray needed an ass whipping.
Expert
This is a family that isn't going to take crap from you. They're going to fight back.
Investigator
Melba says the alleged abuse against his child was the last straw and the family decided to pay Billy Ray a visit that same night.
Witness
Bella advised that when they drove over there, they parked on the side of the road. She went and knocked on the door and Connie answered the door. Billy Ray came out and started cussing her and that's when Andy struck Billy Ray with the stick. She also told us she saw Jodas cut Billy's throat when he was on the porch. Melbourne helps Connie get the children over to Johnny's house and then she leaves with Jodas, Renee and Andy and the vehicle and goes back to Green Acres. She said that she went to bed around 11.30pm and she didn't get up till 9am Renee and Andy had went back to Connie's that morning and when they came back they told her that Billy Ray was dead.
Investigator
With Melba's statement, investigators now have three different versions of what took place the night of the murders.
Witness
Renee stated she had been with Andy the previous evening and hadn't seen Billy Ray all day. Connie told us she was in the bedroom asleep and that Billy Ray had answered the door when in fact her mother Melba now states that Connie answered the door at 10:30 at night. Detective Merritt and I both believed that Connie had some type of involvement in this incident.
Investigator
While Melba is being questioned, Andy's interview is taking place in another room.
Witness
Andy waives his rights and wishes to speak to us.
Family Member
Andy Neely was a very Kind of laid back kid. He didn't have a record of assaulting people or anything like that.
Investigator
Andy tells them that after listening to Connie's tales of abuse earlier in the day, he went to her trailer with his mom, Jodas and Renee around 10:30 that night to deliver a beatdown on Billy Ray. Andy brought a special weapon along, one he had made himself.
Family Member
Andy said that there were two weapons. There was a large kitchen knife and a stick that was, I would say, four feet long. It was carved with Neely power. It's something that Andy had made when he was younger.
Witness
Andy advised that when they got there that Melba and Renee knocked on the door while him and Jodas kind of hid in the shadows.
Family Member
Connie answered. When Connie called Billy Ray's the door, the two men jumped out and went after him. And all that was part of the plan.
Witness
Andy advised that he struck Billy Ray in the head with the large stick that he had. After Billy Ray dropped to the porch, Andy advised that Jodas jumped up and cut Billy Ray's throat.
Investigator
Andy claims the plan had only been to beat up Billy Ray. And Jodas's escalation came as a surprise to everyone, but investigators aren't buying it.
Family Member
We don't know when it switched over from beating him up to killing him. But the knife, which was a large kitchen knife, very long, they brought with him. So it seemed all that was part of the plan.
Witness
What Andy is telling us is matching up with what Melba said and the physical evidence, what we saw based on the blood spatter and where the blood pooling and all took place.
Investigator
As for Ronnie McDowell, Andy says he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Family Member
Ronnie McDowell wasn't supposed to be there. He had just been forced from his own home because of a domestic violence investigation. He couldn't stay there, so he went to stay with his friend Billy Ray.
Witness
With the commotion going on, Ronnie McDowell awakens from the couch and goes to the door to see what's going on. Annie tells him, this doesn't concern you. And Ronnie tries to intervene.
Family Member
They had to deal with a witness that they hadn't expected.
Witness
An altercation starts to occur. Ronnie turns around and runs and goes to the right, down to the bathroom. Jodas and Andy give chase and proceed to beat and stab Ronnie.
Investigator
Meanwhile, Andy tells them even with his throat cut, Billy Ray was still alive and trying to get to a gun he kept in his bedroom.
Witness
Billy Ray is able to drag himself into the living room where he is bleeding profusely. Somehow gets to the bedroom and Andy alleged him and Jodas beat and stab Billy Ray in the bedroom.
Investigator
Investigators have enough to place both Andy and his mother Melba under arrest. And based on their statements, investigators also obtain arrest warrants for Renee Young and Jodis Washington. But when authorities return to Jodice's house, they find it empty.
Witness
Jodas and Renee, they were not at the residence. They were on the run.
Investigator
While the search is underway for Renee and Jodas, detectives take another look at Connie.
Family Member
First, she tells Johnny the false door that was passed on to 911. Then she told us it was her brother. She didn't tell us that she answered the door. She was looking like a liar.
Witness
We just didn't have enough to charge her because none of them had really stated that Connie was in on it.
Investigator
Just hours later, investigators get a break. Renee is located at a house in Tabor city and placed under arrest. Investigators are eager to hear if Renee has changed her tune in light of her mother and brother's arrests.
Witness
Renee was interviewed again after she was given her Miranda rights, where she waived her rights and decided to speak with us.
Family Member
At that point, Renee really wanted to look at saving herself. She pretty much gave up the whole plot.
Investigator
Coming up, a stark confession leads detectives to a crude murder weapon.
Family Member
The Neely power stick was thrown out by the side of the road.
Investigator
And will Connie's dark secrets finally be exposed?
Witness
Billy Ray and Connie did have a volatile relationship.
Investigator
On July 23, 2000, two days after the vicious attack that killed Billy Ray Brown and his friend Ronnie McDowell, Melba Neely, her son Andy and daughter Renee are in police custody. Melba's boyfriend, Jodas Washington is still still at large.
Family Member
According to Melba and Andy, the plan was just to beat him up, but Jodi Washington got in there and it switched over from beating him up to killing him.
Investigator
However, when investigators sit down with Renee following her arrest, she changes her story again. But this time, investigators suspect the they're getting a little closer to the truth.
Witness
Renee advised that all four of them, Melba, her, Jodas, and Andy all went to the residence because Billy needed to be killed.
Family Member
She said they had a basic plan which was that they were gonna go over to the house and kill him there. We found Renee's story to be the most forthcoming because you can't help but know that a murder is going to happen when one of the people has a knife.
Witness
That gives us the premeditation involved for all four to drive all the way over there after that statement, knowing exactly what was going to happen.
Investigator
The results of forensic testing at the Crime scene roll in and they're damning.
Witness
We found fingerprints in the getaway vehicle that was used for Melba, Renee Jodas, and Andy to come to the house. But the only complete match was Jodas Washington.
Investigator
Hours after Renee's statement, Jodas Washington walks into the Columbus county sheriff station and turns himself in.
Witness
Jodas knew that we had everybody else in the family in custody and just went ahead and turned himself in. Jodas invoked his right to remain silent and never spoke with us.
Investigator
The rest of the Neely clan reels from news of the arrests.
Friend
I was devastated. I didn't see how that could have came about or how they're saying my brother is responsible for it. I went and visited each one of them. They were all full of regret. No matter if I asked, tell me what happened at that point, their state of mind was protecting, defending one another. They wouldn't give me any details or why even.
Investigator
Meanwhile, investigators look into to Connie's allegations of abuse.
Family Member
What we know about Connie and Billy's relationship we mostly got from Connie. And for what it's worth, she said that there was abuse going on there. The children never complained of anything. We didn't have independent. No bruises, no police reports or anything like that.
Investigator
However, friends of the family tell investigators that Billy Ray and Connie did have a volatile relationship.
Expert
Connie's relationship with Billy Ray, there had been some like heavy drinking. As far as Billy Ray was concerned, Connie knew that she had children to take care of and that she had duties and that she couldn't completely let herself go.
Investigator
But no matter how hard they look, they find nothing to link Connie to the murders.
Witness
As far as thinking that Connie has some involvement, sure, that's what we thought, but we didn't have any evidence that we could actually use to prove that or to establish probable cause because nobody else had implicated her.
Investigator
Seemingly in the clear, Connie goes about her business.
Friend
I didn't believe her participating with any of it. The police, they were really pointing a finger at her. And so I wanted to protect her. She had the kids. When I got my own place, she moved in with us, her and the boys.
Investigator
As prosecutors and investigators prepare for four murder trials, Renee's attorneys and prosecutors were reach a plea deal.
Family Member
There were only five living adults that knew what happened that day. There wasn't enough to prove our case without statements from at least some of them. We had to make a deal with someone. Renee was most forthcoming. She was obviously the one that was most cooperative.
Investigator
Renee also agrees to help in the hunt for the murder weapon at the scene.
Witness
We Never located the stick or any knives. On July 6, we signed Renee out of the detention center. She advised that she would assist us in locating the stick that was used in the crime and the knife.
Investigator
Renee tells investigators the weapons were disposed of on the ride home from the crime scene.
Family Member
The neely power stick was thrown out by the side of the road.
Witness
We were able to locate the stick off the side of the road. The stick was actually broke in half, and you could see with the eye blood spatter on the stick.
Investigator
They are unable to locate the knife, but the discovery of the Neely stick will strengthen the prosecution's case against the four accused.
Family Member
The plea agreement with Renee was that she had to testify truthfully in all trials arising from the facts of the murder.
Investigator
On August 7, 2001, over a year since Billy Ray and Ronnie McDowell's murders, Renee finally confirms what law enforcement has suspected all along.
Family Member
She told us that Connie was the reason that it happened, and she's the ones that asked him to do something about Billy Ray.
Investigator
According to Renee, Connie knew the plan when she opened the door.
Family Member
The plan was to kill Billy Ray. The attack was planned for that night. Renee and Jodis at one point, did draw out a map of Billy Ray's house, more so for planning the attack than for anything else. Connie knew it was coming, and she was acting a part of it to lure Billy Ray to the door.
Investigator
Even though Jodas wasn't family, Renee alleges he was eager to help.
Family Member
Renee told us that Jodas had said, I've never knifed someone. I want to know what it's like to knife someone, so I'm going to use a knife.
Investigator
Renee confirms that killing Ronnie McDowell was never part of the plan.
Witness
Ronnie McDowell was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Family Member
Connie didn't do anything to say, stop, no, this isn't good night. There's somebody else here. She let it go on, knowing that Ronnie was there and would probably have to be disposed of as well.
Witness
I think Renee had remorse and probably also, well, why am I paying for this? He was your husband. You wanted this done.
Investigator
With Renee's statement, investigators finally have enough to obtain a warrant for Connie's arrest. The next day, on August 8th, investigators inform Connie that she must turn herself in.
Friend
Turned the boys, they were all living with me, and we signed notarized statements giving me custody, to take the babies to the hospital for emergencies and everything like that, and get them in school. Then I drove her there, and I remember arresting officers telling her that they were charging her with double homicide.
Investigator
Coming Up a family's once united front splinters in the courtroom.
Witness
Renee Neely is the star witness and Connie fights back.
Family Member
She wouldn't have done this in her own home with her children there.
Investigator
Almost a year after the murders of Billy Ray Brown and his friend Ronnie McDowell, Billy Ray's wife Connie Brown is taken into custody because she was present.
Family Member
At the scene and aiding and abetting her family and doing it. She was charged as a principal in murder.
Investigator
In October 2001, Connie's brother Andy Neely appears before a judge.
Family Member
It came right down to it. Andy did not want to testify against his family. He wasn't willing to cooperate. He ultimately pled guilty and received his life sentence.
Investigator
A month later, Melba and Jodas go on trial.
Witness
Renee Neely is the star witness testifying against both Jodas and Melba. The jury found Melba guilty and sentenced her to 35 years. Jodas Washington was found not guilty by the jury and released. How they came to that conclusion but all their attorney kept yelling about his fingerprint was there before. It was there before. He doesn't know anything about it. He was asleep.
Family Member
His attorney basically said that Renee was lying. Renee was the primary way we had to prove Jonas's involvement other than showing that they were associates because they never recovered the knife. He convinced the jury that Renee had lied about him being present. She was trying to push the blame outside the family.
Investigator
In the eyes of the law, Jodas is completely innocent of these crimes. Almost a year later, on June 18, 2002, 27 year old Connie Brown finally stands trial for murder.
Family Member
We wanted the jury to know that Connie was in on this from the beginning, that she helped plan it. She was the driving force behind it and that came from Renee.
Investigator
Her sister's testimony throughout the trial, Connie maintains her innocence.
Family Member
Connie Brown's defense tried to argue that she wouldn't have done this in her own home with her children there. But her argument was the plan at the beginning was that it was going to happen on the porch and the children were inside asleep. I don't think it was ever meant to come back into the house like it did. She opened the door and got Billy Ray to come to the door for the attack to take place. So she was part of the planning and part of the execution. Our theory of the case was that Connie just wanted to be rid of Billy Ray. It seems mostly this is a crime to get rid of an inconvenient husband.
Investigator
On September 19, 2002, the jury convenes. That same day they reach a verdict.
Witness
On September 2002 Connie Brown is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for her involvement in the deaths of her husband Billy Ray Brown and his friend Ronnie McDowell.
Expert
I think it's important for people to know that this family was not your typical family. They are extremely close knit. They truly thought that they could help Connie in this situation. They thought they were doing her a favor.
Investigator
Instead, they left a wave of destruction in their wake.
Family Member
It destroyed that family. There was a mother and a father and three children and the father was dead and the mother went off to prison.
Friend
Ronnie, poor fellow, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I never would have thought that Connie was capable, guiding them or even allowing that to happen to the magnitude that it did. It could have been prevented just by her leaving Billy.
Narrator
Melba Neely is currently serving 35 years at Leith Correctional Institution. She will be 77 years old by the time of her projected release. As a result of her cooperation, Renee Young was sentenced to 30 years and is serving out her sentence at Leith Correctional Institution. Andy Neely is serving life without parole at Kirkland Correctional Institution. Connie Brown is serving life without parole at Leith Correctional Institution.
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Snapped: Women Who Murder – Episode: Connie Brown
Release Date: June 1, 2025
Host/Author: Oxygen
In this gripping episode of Snapped: Women Who Murder, Oxygen delves into the harrowing case of Connie Brown, a woman whose actions led to the tragic deaths of her husband, Billy Ray Brown, and his friend, Ronnie McDowell. Set in the quiet community of Green Sea, South Carolina, this episode unravels the complexities of family loyalty, abuse, and the darkest aspects of human behavior.
Connie Brown, born on April 9, 1975, was the second of five children raised by Melba and Johnny Neely. Growing up in a tumultuous household marked by her parents' alcohol problems, Connie often found herself in the role of a caretaker for her younger siblings. This early responsibility fostered a sense of duty and resilience but also left deep emotional scars.
Quote:
Friend [08:16]: “Connie took it personally to a degree because she kind of felt like, why am I not good enough for mom and dad to not drink?”
Connie met Billy Ray Brown in 1991 through her father, Johnny Neely. Despite a significant 22-year age difference, their relationship blossomed, leading to marriage and the birth of three children: Billy Ray Jr., Tanner, and Matthew.
Quote:
Friend [09:18]: “As far as the family being protective of one another, it was solid as steel. You couldn't get through.”
On the night of June 21, 2000, around 11 PM, a cryptic 911 call alerted authorities to a violent incident at Connie Brown's residence. Responding officers arrived to find a gruesome scene: two men brutally murdered by a combination of stabbing and blunt force trauma.
Quote:
Witness [05:21]: “He was on the floor next to the bed. You could visibly see a lot of blood and trauma to his body.”
Billy Ray Brown and Ronnie McDowell were found dead, with significant evidence suggesting a planned and violent attack. The community, previously unaware of any such turmoil within the Brown-Neely family, was left in shock and fear.
As detectives delved deeper, inconsistencies in family members' statements began to surface. Connie's initial accounts raised suspicions, especially when physical evidence—such as blood on the children—didn't align with her narratives.
Quote:
Investigator [13:19]: “It was a little odd that both children were telling me information that their mother had told them.”
The investigation soon pointed towards Connie's brother, Andy Neely, as a potential suspect. Further interrogation revealed a tangled web of family loyalty and hidden motives.
Quote:
Witness [25:24]: “Melba advised that upon learning this information that Andy and Renee said that Billy Ray needed an ass whipping.”
Over the following weeks, Andy Neely, his mother Melba, and Connie's sister Renee were taken into custody. Initially, Alvin and his accomplices denied involvement, but mounting evidence and Renee's eventual cooperation began to shift the narrative.
Quote:
Witness [34:29]: “Renee advises that Connie was the reason that it happened, and she's the ones that asked him to do something about Billy Ray.”
Renee's testimony was pivotal, revealing that Connie had orchestrated the attack to eliminate an "inconvenient" husband. The discovery of the Neely power stick, a weapon linked to the crime, further solidified the case against the family members.
The courtroom became the battleground where the family's facade of unity began to crumble. Andy pled guilty, receiving a life sentence, while Melba was convicted and sentenced to 35 years. Jodas Washington, Melba's boyfriend, was acquitted despite evidence linking him to the crime scene.
Connie Brown faced her trial amidst emotional testimonies and strategic defense arguments. Her sister Renee, having turned state's witness, provided damning evidence against her.
Quote:
Family Member [43:30]: “Andy did not want to testify against his family. He wasn't willing to cooperate. He ultimately pled guilty and received his life sentence.”
In September 2002, Connie was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Brown-Neely family, once tightly knit, was irrevocably shattered by the murders and subsequent revelations. Connie Brown remains incarcerated, serving her life sentence, while Andy Neely and Melba Neely continue to face the long-term consequences of their actions.
Quote:
Friend [46:58]: “I never would have thought that Connie was capable, guiding them or even allowing that to happen to the magnitude that it did.”
The community of Green Sea, South Carolina, remains scarred by the events, serving as a grim reminder of how deep-seated family issues can escalate into tragedy.
Connie Brown's case is a profound exploration of familial bonds twisted by abuse and desperation. Snapped: Women Who Murder meticulously details the unraveling of a family's dark secrets, highlighting the complexities of loyalty, betrayal, and the lengths one might go to escape a life of torment.
Final Words:
Expert [46:25]: “I think it's important for people to know that this family was not your typical family. They are extremely close-knit. They truly thought that they could help Connie in this situation.”
This detailed account underscores the intricate layers of family dynamics and the devastating impact of unresolved abuse. Snapped: Women Who Murder continues to shed light on the darkest corners of human relationships, offering listeners a sobering look into the motives behind heinous crimes.