Heather suspect guilty / Plea means Browne won't face death

Robert Charles Browne pried off a bedroom window screen and crept into a neighbor's house near Black Forest to steal items when 13- year-old Heather Dawn Church startled him.

So he killed her.

On Wednesday, that information was revealed when officials announced at a news conference that Browne, 42, had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Heather's death. During 30-minute court proceedings earlier Wednesday, Browne was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"The events today conclude four years of uncertainty for the Church family and the community as a whole," said 4th Judicial District Attorney John Suthers.

In exchange for Browne's plea, Suthers agreed not to seek the death penalty and dismissed sexual assault, arson, burglary, theft and cruelty-to-animal charges against Browne.

Heather's parents, Mike Church and Diane Wilson, as well as victims in the unrelated cases in which the charges were dropped, agreed to Browne's plea, Suthers said.

Although Browne pleaded guilty, many questions about the crime remain. Because Browne didn't give officials a detailed description of what happened that night, only a few clues and facts are known. Browne's attorney, public defender Ann Kaufman, was out of the office Wednesday afternoon and unavailable for comment. And officials could only speculate on why Browne - a three-time convicted felon who faced life in prison if convicted of any of the charges under the state's habitual criminal law - agreed to plead guilty.

Heather disappeared from her home on Eastonville Road sometime after 8:30 p.m. Sept. 17, 1991 - the time Heather talked with her mother, who had called her daughter from a meeting.

Heather was baby-sitting her younger brother while their mother and two older brothers were at Scout meetings. The trio returned about 10:15 p.m. to find Heather missing and her younger brother asleep in his bedroom. A nationwide search was launched for the missing teen.

Exactly two years later, Heather's skull and other bones were found eight miles west of Colorado Springs off Rampart Range Road.

She died as a result of being struck in the head with a blunt object, the El Paso County Coroner's office ruled.

On March 28, 1995, Browne was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Heather. Fingerprints found at Heather's house after she disappeared weren't identified until this year. The match came after investigators checked new computer files of criminal data.

But that is about all investigators know for sure.

There is no physical evidence to confirm that Heather was killed inside her home, but there is no evidence to dispute that claim either.

"We don't know what happened from an evidentiary position," Suthers said. "I'm sure lots of people want to know what happened. There is oftentimes a lot of unanswered questions."

On the night Heather disappeared, investigators found a window screen frame ajar - that's where they found Browne's fingerprints.

Also, a dining room chair was tilted against a table and a patio door in the dining room was unlocked, leaving investigators to theorize now that Browne went out through the door with Heather. A smooth river rock was found inside the Church home that was unfamiliar to Diane Wilson; several similar rocks were found inside Browne's home near his telephone, Suthers said.

It's possible that Heather was struck on the head with the rock, but it's not certain.

But all that was necessary for the judge to accept Browne's plea was for him to admit to the killing and for the judge to believe him.

Officials, too, were satisfied.

"We're comfortable with that," said El Paso County Sheriff John Anderson, adding the physical evidence found at the scene was consistent with Browne's statements.

And It was enough for Heather's parents and their friends.

Wiping tears, Heather's mom, Diane Wilson, struggled during and after the press conference.

"He stood up in court today and said he did it," said Diane Wilson, wiping away tears. "I saw it with my own eyes. This is a big relief. If he is willing to say he did it, I'm willing to let him sit in jail for the rest of his life."

Mike Church said he was glad he and his family would be spared a long court battle and detailed testimony about how his little girl died.

"I know that it doesn't bring back my daughter," Mike Church said. "But I'm ready for the final closure and getting on with my life with my wife and boys."

Church probably wouldn't have made it through a long trial.During the hearing at noon Wednesday, Browne pleaded guilty before Chief 4th Judicial District Judge Gilbert Martinez. As a few details of the crime came out when the judge quizzed Browne on his guilty plea, Mike Church stuffed his fingers in his ears.

"I didn't have to hear those parts," he said. "I didn't want to."

Mike Church said the recent acquittal of Eugene Baylis weighed heavily on his mind. A Pueblo jury found Baylis not guilty on April 27 of killing two people and wounding five others in a 1993 shooting spree in and around the former Jim & I's Star Bar. But Suthers said the Baylis acquittal had nothing to do with Browne's plea bargain.

"It was a totally different case," Suthers said. "We take each case on its own merits."

Heather's case had strong evidence, including the fingerprints, Suthers said. Also, Browne's wife told authorities that she would testify that her husband was gone that evening, Suthers said. And, one of Browne's friends agreed to testify that the pair had been doing target shooting on Rampart Range Road.

Because Heather's parents agreed to Browne's plea, Suthers said, his office was more than willing to accept it. "These people have been through a four-year ordeal," he said.

@CUTLINE: Mary Kelley/Gazette Telegraph - Diane Wilson, left, mother of Heather Dawn Church, and Wilson's sister Denise Carpenter are present at a news conference Wednesday where law enforcement officials announced that Robert Browne had pleaded guilty in Heather's slaying.

@CUTLINE: Heather: Teen was slain when she startled intruder.

@CUTLINE: Browne: Faces life in prison without chance of parole.

Copyright 1995
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