The murder of Jack Brown hasn't been discussed on this board, so I thought I'd bring it up. Jack Brown was a real estate agent from Ypsilanti, Michigan. On Jan. 11, 1984, an unknown person came into his office and shot him dead, but none of the other people in the office were injured. Everyone was mystified as to why this happened, but Jack's wife said that shortly before his murder, he had mentioned writing down on a piece of paper names of important powerful people that were doing illegal activity, and putting this piece of paper in a safe deposit box. She never found out what or who these people were, but the police think that these people were involved with Jack's murder. Jack's wife went searching for a key that would belong to a safe deposit box but found nothing. Also, the night before Jack Brown was murdered, his brother witnessed Jack becoming upset after talking on phone with an unknown person.

Does anyone know if this case was ever solved? I doubt there is anything on the internet about it because it happened so long ago, 25 years to be exact. I wonder if his family is still pursuing this case.

I remember this case. For some reason, it doesn't come up much as a topic of discussion. My gut feeling always was and still is that his murder was obviously a contract hit. He was probably involved in some shady activities that his family was not privy to and had no knowledge of. The segment was pretty vague in that regard, so it's hard to guess what those activities may have been.

Yep, lots of unanswered questions with this one.

Even if the wife was unable to find a key to a safe deposit box to get the names supposedly stashed there, the cops would be able to find out what bank he held the box at and have it searched.

And, if the cops didn't do that, a bill would eventually come for the box rental. It would probably be sent to the business, if he was keeping the safe deposit box a secret from his wife. Or, it would be debited from a bank account, which could also be tracked down, if he had been keeping a secret bank account.

I'm of the opinion that Jack Brown was probably in some dirty dealing with whomever stormed in the office and shot him as well (or was at least associated with the party they worked for). If the segment is true to reality, it makes a lot of sense. It would've been more likely that Brown uttered "We have trouble here" when he saw men he absolutely knew were dangerous barge into his office, rather than a couple of unknown strangers. (Those composites were a little scary, btw--especially the one of the older suspect.)

In a way, I think it's a little like the Stanley Gryziec case. There's no obvious motive for the murder, but there's evidence to suggest something was going on (the deposit box "thing" in Brown's case and the conversation between Stanley and his dying brother in Gryziec's), both appear connected to business dealings, and both seem to involve "hit" teams--suggesting of course that they're professional.

I really wish there was more information available on this case. I always found it intriguing. I really enjoy the discussion on these older, more obscure segments.

MegtheEgg, your theory is right on and I also believe that's what exactly happened. I also like bringing up and discussing cases that don't get enough attention. UM made so many segments over the years so there are always cases to discuss.

Didn't the gunman say to Brown "You think you're pretty smart" and Brown said "Well, maybe" just before the shots were fired? What did that mean?

Didn't the gunman say to Brown "You think you're pretty smart" and Brown said "Well, maybe" just before the shots were fired? What did that mean?

This is really, really speculating, but, assuming Brown was involved in shady business, that exchange makes sense in a number of contexts:

1. Brown was about to turn his associates in to the authorities and they caught wind of his intentions,

2. Brown had attempted to cheat or otherwise dupe one or more of his partners,

3. Brown had broken some preestablished operating "rule" of his criminal group (much in the vein of the mafia) and was being avenged for his deed,

or, as Carrhotic would say, any one of a number of different things. :) That's what so tough about this segment--so many vague aspects and unanswered questions.

Does anyone know if this is another one of those "no photo" segments-- in which no pictures are shown of the victim whatsoever? I can't immediately recall Jack Brown in my mind.

Does anyone know if this is another one of those "no photo" segments-- in which no pictures are shown of the victim whatsoever? I can't immediately recall Jack Brown in my mind.

I think I remember a picture. Will have to go back and check though.

Here's the page at the UM site:

http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/mur_jack_brown.htm

Oh, yes. Remember it now. Thanks justin and Tracy. Does he kind of favor a young Elton John in that photo, or is it just me? :p

A little OT, but why does it seem a substantial number of suspects profiled on the show apparently resemble that particular Identi-Kit combination (give or take a couple of features) when one is used?

148592


Also, is the composite of "Carol's" assailant also an Identi-Kit picture? And if so, is this also one of "those" composites, simply a color version?

148593


That mouth reminds me a little bit of the one on the CRVSK composite, the one created using Jane Boroski's description. Anyone know if that one was also an Identi-Kit composite?

EDIT: That should be Identi-Kit as opposed to some other program such as FACES or CompuSketch. What's the top name in that business nowadays, anyway?

I just thought I'd throw out there that UM calls Ypsilanti a suburb of Detroit, but in reality, it's more like a suburb/extension of Ann Arbor.

I was about 16/17 years old in 1984, so I don't remember much about the demographics of Ypsi back then, but nowadays, it's a good, medium sized town, small city of about 20,000+ residents, (same amount of residents as in the 80s, according to citi-data).

IMO, I'd have to say that when Jack Brown's murder was investigated, chances are that it was done fairly well, since this wasn't a little podunk town that wasn't used to crime.

It's not now, and hasn't been in my lifetime, a well off city. It's blue collar, working class, for the most part, and 25% of the residents live below the poverty level.

Also according to city-data, over the last 10 years, the murder rate is about 1 - 5 per year. However other crimes make it a fairly high crime area. The national average for crime is 320.9 on the city-data scale. Ypsi ranks much higher at nearly 700, with burglaries, robberies, thefts, and assaults making up the bulk of the crimes.

Here are some photos of the city along with much more info on the city than I condensed here in this post.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Ypsilanti-Michigan.html

I just thought I'd throw out there that UM calls Ypsilanti a suburb of Detroit, but in reality, it's more like a suburb/extension of Ann Arbor.

I was wondering why that was when I watched the segment again recently. My husband is working in Northwest Ohio and we've driven to Detroit (I'm a big Wings fan :) ) and Ann Arbor a few times--Ypsilanti is definitely a suburb of Ann Arbor. Thanks for the additional info!

I was wondering why that was when I watched the segment again recently. My husband is working in Northwest Ohio and we've driven to Detroit (I'm a big Wings fan :) ) and Ann Arbor a few times--Ypsilanti is definitely a suburb of Ann Arbor. Thanks for the additional info!

Holy cow! A wings fan in TN!

Well, I'm sure you know what my house has been like with the wings in the playoffs. Lots of loud screaming, stomping, and cheering, people over till all hours, and everyone's schedule arranged around the game time.

I was at a wings game back in january. They were playing against the dallas stars and lost shamefully. It's the first and last time I went to a wings game in person. I'm a jinx on the players, so I'm not allowed to go anymore! lol

DH and DS have been to one of the playoff games, but we've watched all the rest from home. DH even has his weird little rituals that he has to do to ensure a wings victory.

So far, every time he does the superstitious stuff, the wings win. Whenever they lose a game, you'll know that DH didn't set his boots just right by the TV or that the pre-game goalie warm up between our dogs jumping in mid-air to catch treats (fat dog is Osgood, skinny dog is the opposing goalie) was neglected that day. :crazy:

Yeah a weird case for sure. That was a contract hit, no doubt. Jack Brown knew something. Or he was involved in something. That's about as far as I can go with this. Even his wife questioned in the segment that "maybe he did something I don't want to know about" so you never know, Brown could have gotten mixed up with the wrong people.

Yeah, I was always interested in this case too, beings it was another one I saw early on. I can grasp more of it now than I could as a kid circa '93/94 (no joke, I used to audiotape some of the shows if I ran out of blank VHS tapes lol, so I can remember the dialogue better than the visuals). ;)

Back then I was sure he was innocent (just because he looked like a respectable, nice middle aged guy), now I'm kinda torn and think it could go either way.

If Jack was involved in the mafia or something (as one of the investigators alluded to), I wonder what prompted him to do it in the first place. I'm assuming he was at least kinda well off, being a real estate guy - then again anyone can get greedy.

They said he was 47 back in 1984, so chances are he'd been doing it for awhile (if it's true). I wonder how he was able to keep it from his wife. From what I can recall, this was one of those short segments where they didn't go into too much detail about relationships or anything. I think they only talked with his wife and his brother, and neither of them seemed to suspect anything about him.

P.S. If it happened as the segment portrayed, I wonder why he didn't try to call 911 or run, when he saw the guys coming into the office.

...P.S. If it happened as the segment portrayed, I wonder why he didn't try to call 911 or run, when he saw the guys coming into the office.

He might not have had time to react, maybe they totally caught him by surprise. Does anyone know when 911 first came out? Did it exist in 1984?

He might not have had time to react, maybe they totally caught him by surprise. Does anyone know when 911 first came out? Did it exist in 1984?

Yes, we had the 911 system in the detroit area in 1984. It would have been available to him or his staff. But.. they may have had to dialed "9" to get an outside line on an interoffice phone system, and then wait for the dial tone, and then finally dial 911... That's an eternity when armed guys are barrelling through your office and shooting people.

Also, I'm kinda thinking that Jack recognized these guys or at least knew who sent them. When they said "do you think you're smart?" and he answered "well, maybe"... That makes me wonder if he thought the "bad guy" that he knew sent these guys to intimidate him for whatever reason, but he didn't expect to be killed. He probably expected to be threatened.

^ Yeah, I think he was probably worried (like that he'd have to pay someone back, or at most get hurt), but not necesarilly for his life. Heck, he might not have even shown up to work that day if he thought his life was gonna be in danger.

I actually just watched the segment again (I have a more recent Lifetime rerun), and there's a scene where his brother shows up at his office the evening before, where Jack was on the phone and seemed pretty irritated. The brother said he felt it had to do with his murder, and I agree.... he might've even been talking to the same guys!

I also wonder if the Christmas party he and his wife went to (just a couple weeks before probably), had anything to do with it. When they were driving home in the car, that's when he mentioned the safe deposit box to her.

Also, I'm kinda thinking that Jack recognized these guys or at least knew who sent them. When they said "do you think you're smart?" and he answered "well, maybe"... That makes me wonder if he thought the "bad guy" that he knew sent these guys to intimidate him for whatever reason, but he didn't expect to be killed. He probably expected to be threatened.

Agreed. He seemed like he thought these guys were just trying to intimidate him to act. I believe Jack did know his shooter.

I drive to Ypsilanti every day to take some classes and I've passed Jack Brown's real estate office several times. I've often wondered if there were ever any updates on this case but I haven't found anything online.

This case hits close to home for me given the location. Although I was only 4 years old in 1984 so I don't have any memories of media coverage at the time like I did with the Dennis DePue case in 1990.

This was interesting! I stumbled on this site. Jack Brown was my ex-husband, and our children, now all grown, would love to have an answer to this death. I can tell you that when Jack died, he had $18 in his bank account. He was not rich and had taken over that business from my fahter who had taken it over from his father. He was the kind of realtor who turned down listings from older people if he thought it was not in their best interest to sell their home. He had his faults. He was a "player" with women, and he drank too much, but otherwise a good guy. THe "conspiracy" at Eastern Michigan theory always struck me as the most probably answer, but I'm not sure we will ever know. From talking to the witnesses in the office at the time, I don't think he knew the shooters, but I do think he knew why they were there. As I uderstood what he had told his current wife after the Christmas party, it was "If you knew something about someone important and people wouldn't believe you, what would you do with the information? I think that is how the safety deposit box came up. There was a theory that he knew something crooked about the new business building that Eastern was about to build downtown Ypsilanti and some kickbacks, and the same names keep coming up. Who knows. At one point, a year later, we offered $100,000 reward with no real takers. Now we all know if it was something simple, information would have come out then. That's all. I just felt that I had to say something about the kind of person that he was.

This was interesting! I stumbled on this site. Jack Brown was my ex-husband, and our children, now all grown, would love to have an answer to this death. I can tell you that when Jack died, he had $18 in his bank account. He was not rich and had taken over that business from my fahter who had taken it over from his father. He was the kind of realtor who turned down listings from older people if he thought it was not in their best interest to sell their home. He had his faults. He was a "player" with women, and he drank too much, but otherwise a good guy. THe "conspiracy" at Eastern Michigan theory always struck me as the most probably answer, but I'm not sure we will ever know. From talking to the witnesses in the office at the time, I don't think he knew the shooters, but I do think he knew why they were there. As I uderstood what he had told his current wife after the Christmas party, it was "If you knew something about someone important and people wouldn't believe you, what would you do with the information? I think that is how the safety deposit box came up. There was a theory that he knew something crooked about the new business building that Eastern was about to build downtown Ypsilanti and some kickbacks, and the same names keep coming up. Who knows. At one point, a year later, we offered $100,000 reward with no real takers. Now we all know if it was something simple, information would have come out then. That's all. I just felt that I had to say something about the kind of person that he was.

Wow! Welcome to the board and thanks so much for posting. Please let us know if you remember anything else.

This was interesting! I stumbled on this site. Jack Brown was my ex-husband, and our children, now all grown, would love to have an answer to this death. I can tell you that when Jack died, he had $18 in his bank account. He was not rich and had taken over that business from my fahter who had taken it over from his father. He was the kind of realtor who turned down listings from older people if he thought it was not in their best interest to sell their home. He had his faults. He was a "player" with women, and he drank too much, but otherwise a good guy. THe "conspiracy" at Eastern Michigan theory always struck me as the most probably answer, but I'm not sure we will ever know. From talking to the witnesses in the office at the time, I don't think he knew the shooters, but I do think he knew why they were there. As I uderstood what he had told his current wife after the Christmas party, it was "If you knew something about someone important and people wouldn't believe you, what would you do with the information? I think that is how the safety deposit box came up. There was a theory that he knew something crooked about the new business building that Eastern was about to build downtown Ypsilanti and some kickbacks, and the same names keep coming up. Who knows. At one point, a year later, we offered $100,000 reward with no real takers. Now we all know if it was something simple, information would have come out then. That's all. I just felt that I had to say something about the kind of person that he was.

That's interesting, thanks for posting. What do you mean by "The "conspiracy at Eastern Michigan theory"? That kind of threw me off.

You can google EMU open letter 2009 Jack Brown. I think you will find the letter interesting.

I drive to Ypsilanti every day to take some classes and I've passed Jack Brown's real estate office several times. I've often wondered if there were ever any updates on this case but I haven't found anything online.

This case hits close to home for me given the location. Although I was only 4 years old in 1984 so I don't have any memories of media coverage at the time like I did with the Dennis DePue case in 1990.

Oh cool, you're from the area. I love looking things up on Google Earth and street view (usually just goes back to the early 90s, and that's in B&W). Is his real estate office actually still there, though I'm sure things have been updated?


BTW, it's so interesting to hear from someone who knew Jack personally. From the segment as well as hearing what his ex-wife had to say about him, he seemed like a nice guy and a good realtor who just made a few mistakes. Makes his murder that much more senseless. I'll have to look up EMU, it's interesting that UM didn't even go into that angle at all!

I wonder sometimes about reenactments like this and if those were the exact words as heard by witnesses. Who was on the phone with Jack when he was murdered? I would think the normal response would be, "Oh my God they're here, call the police..." But then again, why was he in the office in the first place if he was afraid?

The way they set up the story, Jack Brown comes off as cocky, having a leisurely chat when the hit men arrive, telling the person, "We got trouble" instead of "I need help" and then not begging for his life, or saying, "I wasn't going to say anything" or putting his hands up. He's presented as sassy, "You think you're smart?" "Maybe...." almost like the killer shoots him because he's smug and not taking a robbery seriously. If this is the dialogue that took place, I think that's an important clue, because it says a lot about how much danger Jack felt he was in. It's strange to me that he was knew he was in trouble, and yet had an attitude. Maybe he didn't believe they would actually kill him.

Baffling case, and where is that list? Maybe he didn't write it. I think Jack found out or was invited to be part of a money laundering scheme, something involving illegal drugs, maybe prostitution and organized crime. (Ypsilanti isn't far from Detroit.) I feel that Jack may have been cocky, got in over his head and underestimated who he was dealing with. I think he wanted to back out, but by the time he decided that, he knew too much, and he'd been warned about that - he listened to the information before he made up his mind which is not the way it works.

Then there was the fact that I think someone knew (like the scene with his wife) that when he drank too much, (which might have been often, as his wife seems to be have been tired of it enough to be irritated with him - usually not the case when it happens once or twice) that he might talk, like he did to her and they couldn't take that chance. Maybe he asked someone else that question at the party about "what would you do if you knew important people were involved in something wrong" or something like that and someone else overheard. The minute the idea came up that he might name names because there were important people making money too, that was it. I'm just shocked he didn't seem more surprised when they arrived at the office. Maybe he was that naive.

You can google EMU open letter 2009 Jack Brown. I think you will find the letter interesting.

Jack Brown was a great man. My grandfather used to play pool with him. No one besides my grandmother ever knew about there friendship. But myself and my family know he was a great guy, a loving spirit! He wanted what was best for the community.

If it wasn't for the love I have towards him for doing everything he has done for my family, I would expose the hell out of lies you have been told!

You know who you are. I know your secrets, and I know everything about what you do, and what you can do. I know you come back to visit what you would call a good peice of work because your sick like that. And let me tell you somthin....you better start praying now.

My family comes from old money. And would never even think about discrasing there ancestors by shedding blood for new money. What your doing to the community, is blood shed.

^what?


Anyway I had never seen this thread. Just wondered if there were updates. I guess not. I did think this was one of the better reenactments. The Xmas party car ride home looked legit. Too bad he didn't give more details.

It appears that his first wife (above poster, jvbro) died in 2014.

I think that he had recently remarried is an interesting piece of information. I know the "powerful people" was pursued heavily, but I wonder how far the police investigated his wife.

Yes, very weird case. I see now that his wife and two sons have all have died now.

I tried finding anything recent about this case from a local news source, and the only thing I could find was a brief mention of Jack's murder in the obituary for his friend and witness to the murder, Dutch Jordan (https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2015/03/darwin_dutch_jordan_82_was_a_ma.html). Then I re-read this thread and saw the post from someone claiming to be Jack's first wife, which said to google "EMU open letter 2009 Jack Brown", which lead me to this (https://emutalkarchive.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/an-open-letter-regarding-the-emu-chief-government-relations-search/) website. Several of the comments hint that there was (and still is) corruption at EMU and that it's almost mafia-like. One of the comments mentioned Jack Brown's real estate office and "Eagle Brief", so I googled that and came across this (http://markmaynard.com/2012/03/the-unsolved-mystery-of-jack-browns-1984-murder-in-ypsilanti/) website. There were several interesting comments that centered around two vastly different theories:

-Theory #1:
Apparently, the "Eagle Brief" may have been a reference to the Eagle Crest Resort (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Crest_Resort_%28Ypsilanti,_Michigan%29), which was built in 1989. Apparently EMU had acquired the land and brought in Marriott to house a hotel on the property. The shadiness of EMU (as hinted at by several comments on the various websites) and the apparent land deal (of which perhaps Jack Brown was privy to something illegal that had transpired prior to the resort's construction) is what could have led to Jack's murder.

-Theory #2:
Mistaken hit intended for Jack's son. Three different comments say that they were local to the area and heard that the hit was intended for one of Jack's sons, who was into drugs and had operated a construction company.

I don't know how long land deals generally take, but it would seem that 5 years to build a resort would be a long time. Jack was murdered in 1984 and the Eagle Crest Resort opened in 1989. Also, I don't know why or how Jack would be involved with bigwigs at EMU or have any reason to deal with or upset them. So I discount theory 1. Theory 2, however, is very intriguing to me. For one, both Dutch Jordan and the police could not conceive of any reason for any person to want Jack dead. Nothing shady was discovered about his personal life. The closest thing we got was from Jack's wife and brother, who said that he made a weird comment about keeping a list of "politically powerful people doing something really wrong" in a safety deposit box and getting a phone call that made him agitated the day before his murder. But what if it was just the musings of a drunk guy leaving a party, and what if the phone call was simply work related that irritated Jack? Knowing UM's propensity to hype up seemingly mundane details and red herrings, these two points could be totally meaningless and just something the family was trying to look back on to find anything that might help them develop a motive as to why someone would want Jack dead.

Remember that the UM segment mentioned a major drug bust "occurred in the area" on the same day of Jack's murder, and was reported by an "anonymous informant". I doubt Jack Brown was the informant. But if what those comments about his son were true, what if the informant was his son? It wasn't mentioned on UM, but he was on the phone with one of his sons when the killers arrived. I cannot find anything to verify if this is the same son rumored to have been involved with drugs, but he was talking to his son (who was in the hospital at the time) when they arrived. The exchange between the killer - "you think you're so smart?", and Jack - "well...well, maybe", has always bothered me and has, IMO, implied that Jack had no idea who this guy was which is why he answered "maybe", described by Dutch Jordan as "halting". It just doesn't make sense to answer that question that way with a guy pointing a gun at you. But in the context of a mistaken hit intended for his son? It makes perfect sense.

Interesting, thanks for that info. I wonder how his son died now, at an early age of 34. If that was the son who was into drugs. His name was also Jack

Interesting, thanks for that info. I wonder how his son died now, at an early age of 34. If that was the son who was into drugs. His name was also Jack

Do you have a link to the obituary? The son he was talking to on the phone when the killers entered was Jackie.

I tried finding anything recent about this case from a local news source, and the only thing I could find was a brief mention of Jack's murder in the obituary for his friend and witness to the murder, Dutch Jordan (https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2015/03/darwin_dutch_jordan_82_was_a_ma.html). Then I re-read this thread and saw the post from someone claiming to be Jack's first wife, which said to google "EMU open letter 2009 Jack Brown", which lead me to this (https://emutalkarchive.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/an-open-letter-regarding-the-emu-chief-government-relations-search/) website. Several of the comments hint that there was (and still is) corruption at EMU and that it's almost mafia-like. One of the comments mentioned Jack Brown's real estate office and "Eagle Brief", so I googled that and came across this (http://markmaynard.com/2012/03/the-unsolved-mystery-of-jack-browns-1984-murder-in-ypsilanti/) website. There were several interesting comments that centered around two vastly different theories:

-Theory #1:
Apparently, the "Eagle Brief" may have been a reference to the Eagle Crest Resort (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Crest_Resort_%28Ypsilanti,_Michigan%29), which was built in 1989. Apparently EMU had acquired the land and brought in Marriott to house a hotel on the property. The shadiness of EMU (as hinted at by several comments on the various websites) and the apparent land deal (of which perhaps Jack Brown was privy to something illegal that had transpired prior to the resort's construction) is what could have led to Jack's murder.

-Theory #2:
Mistaken hit intended for Jack's son. Three different comments say that they were local to the area and heard that the hit was intended for one of Jack's sons, who was into drugs and had operated a construction company.

I don't know how long land deals generally take, but it would seem that 5 years to build a resort would be a long time. Jack was murdered in 1984 and the Eagle Crest Resort opened in 1989. Also, I don't know why or how Jack would be involved with bigwigs at EMU or have any reason to deal with or upset them. So I discount theory 1. Theory 2, however, is very intriguing to me. For one, both Dutch Jordan and the police could not conceive of any reason for any person to want Jack dead. Nothing shady was discovered about his personal life. The closest thing we got was from Jack's wife and brother, who said that he made a weird comment about keeping a list of "politically powerful people doing something really wrong" in a safety deposit box and getting a phone call that made him agitated the day before his murder. But what if it was just the musings of a drunk guy leaving a party, and what if the phone call was simply work related that irritated Jack? Knowing UM's propensity to hype up seemingly mundane details and red herrings, these two points could be totally meaningless and just something the family was trying to look back on to find anything that might help them develop a motive as to why someone would want Jack dead.

Remember that the UM segment mentioned a major drug bust "occurred in the area" on the same day of Jack's murder, and was reported by an "anonymous informant". I doubt Jack Brown was the informant. But if what those comments about his son were true, what if the informant was his son? It wasn't mentioned on UM, but he was on the phone with one of his sons when the killers arrived. I cannot find anything to verify if this is the same son rumored to have been involved with drugs, but he was talking to his son (who was in the hospital at the time) when they arrived. The exchange between the killer - "you think you're so smart?", and Jack - "well...well, maybe", has always bothered me and has, IMO, implied that Jack had no idea who this guy was which is why he answered "maybe", described by Dutch Jordan as "halting". It just doesn't make sense to answer that question that way with a guy pointing a gun at you. But in the context of a mistaken hit intended for his son? It makes perfect sense.

If that's true, then I imagine a Stanley Gryziec type scenario at play - one of Jack's sons gets in over his head with drugs - either informing on a drug ring/dealer and then subsequently getting fingered as the leak, or perhaps racking up a big drug debt or maybe ripping off a dealer or something.

The phone call that got Jack so upset a night or two before he got shot was probably with this son. Either Jack found out about what he was doing/had gotten into and was trying to get him out of it, or the son had called asking for specific help from him (which could explain why Jack became so anxious).

I can't see this as a pure, out-and-out mistaken hit though. If it was Jack's brother who was in trouble and they were around the same age, then yeah, maybe. But mistaking a father for a son, especially in a smaller community at that time?? I don't buy it (on account of the age difference).

The line "You think you're pretty smart, don't you?" could imply a 'guilt by association' type scenario, whereby whoever was pulling the strings/calling the shots assumed the Jack was involved in whatever mess his son had gotten into and simply decided to hit him instead of the son (figuring Jack would be an easier target)

I just thought I'd throw out there that UM calls Ypsilanti a suburb of Detroit, but in reality, it's more like a suburb/extension of Ann Arbor.

I was about 16/17 years old in 1984, so I don't remember much about the demographics of Ypsi back then, but nowadays, it's a good, medium sized town, small city of about 20,000+ residents, (same amount of residents as in the 80s, according to citi-data).

IMO, I'd have to say that when Jack Brown's murder was investigated, chances are that it was done fairly well, since this wasn't a little podunk town that wasn't used to crime.

It's not now, and hasn't been in my lifetime, a well off city. It's blue collar, working class, for the most part, and 25% of the residents live below the poverty level.

Also according to city-data, over the last 10 years, the murder rate is about 1 - 5 per year. However other crimes make it a fairly high crime area. The national average for crime is 320.9 on the city-data scale. Ypsi ranks much higher at nearly 700, with burglaries, robberies, thefts, and assaults making up the bulk of the crimes.

Here are some photos of the city along with much more info on the city than I condensed here in this post.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Ypsilanti-Michigan.html

I spent a few years when I was a kid living w/ my grandparents in Union Lake and Pontiac. I've never understood when folks said Ypsi was part of Detroit. It sits next to Ann Arbor and even has EMU.

Do you have a link to the obituary? The son he was talking to on the phone when the killers entered was Jackie.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152889682/jack-melvin-brown

Couldn’t find obituary, but I looked at his find a grave website and looked at his children

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152889682/jack-melvin-brown

Couldn’t find obituary, but I looked at his find a grave website and looked at his children

So his son, Jackie, would have been 24 in 1984 when his father was murdered.

I was living in Ypsi at the time of Jack Brown's murder. Over the years, a lot of theories have been floating around about what happened to him. I personally don't put much stock in all the EMU theories. Of them all, there are two that I personally lean towards; 1.) That Brown was somehow involved in the sale of a million-dollar farm in SE Michigan. For whatever reason, the principles in this deal got angry and targeted Jack. The buyer and seller in this deal were the men who killed Brown at his office; they were also the same men who Brown was observed talking to on the phone the night before his murder.
2.) This one has been mentioned before, but I have indeed heard it in local scuttlebutt, that one of Brown's sons had got mixed up in drugs and somehow got Jack involved. In this version, Jack is squeaky clean, but may have been trying to mediate between the two groups. And was killed as a result.
Either way, the fact that the killers did not wear masks indicates to me that they weren't from Ypsi, and weren't worried about anyone recognizing them. That said, it doesn't necessarily mean they were pros; they could have been from anywhere in SE Michigan. If it was a small conspiracy (as I think it was), no one would know. My own opinion were that these guys weren't pro killers. Getting a guy in broad daylight in front of witnesses? Very risky, especially in a town like Ypsi |(which is more of a sister city to Ann Arbor, rather than a 'Detroit suburb') And shooting him once in the neck? (No hitman worth his sand AIMS for the neck and walks away without making sure the job is finished). The mechanics of the murder indicate to me something of a personal undercurrent (You think you're smart, don't ya!??). Added note, the UM reenactment was filmed right at the old Ypsi office where the murder happened. The opening shot shows the car cruising past Abe's Coney Island (which sadly has closed).

And shooting him once in the neck? (No hitman worth his sand AIMS for the neck and walks away without making sure the job is finished). The mechanics of the murder indicate to me something of a personal undercurrent (You think you're smart, don't ya!??).

Welcome to the board and thank you for that post. This is an excellent point. And it aligns with the theory that his murder was connected with the "major drug bust" that had happened in the area on the same day.

Just the fact that the killers made no attempt to hide their faces has always confused me. They shot Jack within feet of multiple staff workers, did NOT kill them even though they might be able to identify them to police and calmly walked away during a time of day where any witnesses at the surrounding businesses could have seen them leaving. Just makes me feel the killing was personal but the killers probably weren’t professional.

I’ve driven past that building on Michigan Avenue several times. (It’s just two blocks from Eastern’s campus.) Still surreal to see it in person knowing what happened there.

I was living in Ypsi at the time of Jack Brown's murder. Over the years, a lot of theories have been floating around about what happened to him. I personally don't put much stock in all the EMU theories. Of them all, there are two that I personally lean towards; 1.) That Brown was somehow involved in the sale of a million-dollar farm in SE Michigan. For whatever reason, the principles in this deal got angry and targeted Jack. The buyer and seller in this deal were the men who killed Brown at his office; they were also the same men who Brown was observed talking to on the phone the night before his murder.
2.) This one has been mentioned before, but I have indeed heard it in local scuttlebutt, that one of Brown's sons had got mixed up in drugs and somehow got Jack involved. In this version, Jack is squeaky clean, but may have been trying to mediate between the two groups. And was killed as a result.
Either way, the fact that the killers did not wear masks indicates to me that they weren't from Ypsi, and weren't worried about anyone recognizing them. That said, it doesn't necessarily mean they were pros; they could have been from anywhere in SE Michigan. If it was a small conspiracy (as I think it was), no one would know. My own opinion were that these guys weren't pro killers. Getting a guy in broad daylight in front of witnesses? Very risky, especially in a town like Ypsi |(which is more of a sister city to Ann Arbor, rather than a 'Detroit suburb') And shooting him once in the neck? (No hitman worth his sand AIMS for the neck and walks away without making sure the job is finished). The mechanics of the murder indicate to me something of a personal undercurrent (You think you're smart, don't ya!??). Added note, the UM reenactment was filmed right at the old Ypsi office where the murder happened. The opening shot shows the car cruising past Abe's Coney Island (which sadly has closed).

Welcome to the boards! We're excited to have your input! :wave:

Thank you everyone for your kind words. I'm a longtime lurker (I actually feel like I know some of you after reading your posts for years) and UM fanatic since the 80s, and I thought I'd give my two cents on Jack Brown's murder. I now live in Detroit but I still get to Ypsi when I can. Some additional notes that may be of interest; Jack Brown was born in Clay County, Arkansas in October 1936 but his family moved north to Ypsi in the early 1950s. Jack's second son Jackie died young (age 36) of unknown causes in Florida in 1994. Jackie (who was just shy of 24 at the time of the January 1984 murder) was most probably the one that all the murder theories were centered around. Jackie was in the hospital for an unspecified injury at the time of the murder, and it was he who was on the phone with Jack, "We've got trouble here", when the killers arrived at the office. There also seems to have been some friction between Jack's first wife (Jo) and his second wife (Ann - who appeared in the UM segment). Jo claimed to the papers that Jack and Ann were having problems, but Ann herself remained dedicated to finding the killers for a number of years (my own impression is that whatever issues were going on were between Jo and Ann, not necessarily involving Jack himself). Jo has since passed away, and I am not sure of Ann's current whereabouts. I had the privilege of briefly meeting Ann in the late 80s. A truly nice, dignified woman who was a nurse at U of M (I personally think Jack hit the jackpot with her). In the brief time I spoke with her I didn't bring up what happened, of course, but I'm really sorry that she has not seen some semblance of justice. At this point, almost 39 years later, odds are that the men that did this are gone. The older guy in the skullcap/coverall is probably dead by now, and the blonde haired shooter is probably in his mid-to-late seventies if he is still alive. My own impression is that Jackie got himself in some serious trouble with some bad people, and Jack lost his life while trying to mediate on behalf of his son.

My own impression is that Jackie got himself in some serious trouble with some bad people, and Jack lost his life while trying to mediate on behalf of his son.

This is how I feel too.

So.. I have a question, not directly related to this case.. But, to do with details of this case.

What all is involved in renting a safe deposit box?

I figure you go to the bank and fill out the paperwork on it.. You're renting it, so.. You pay for it somehow.. Is it usually paid on a yearly basis? At some point, the rent becomes due and I'd think they'd start sending letters out.

What happens when they can't identify an 'heir' to claim a possibly unknown box? Say I rent a box, don't tell my family, I die.. No one pays the rent on the box.. What's the process?

Obviously, this being 25 years ago.. The odds are.. There was no mystery box, but..

I read an article about the town and several people that live there (and some that knew him) claim it was a mafia/drug hit, with the possibility of mistaken identity. This seems to be the most believed theory.

I saw a weird comment on the Jack Brown {UM YT video} this morning. The person claimed that the 2 men who came into the office and murdered Jack Brown were the buyer AND seller of an expensive million dollar farm land. But they were the bogus seller and bogus buyer. And Jack Brown saw the fraud in the process.

I doubt these were hitmen. Sometimes in murder cases its a local guy who is pissed off and seeks revenge (even during the broad daylight in front of many witnesses! WTH?!) I never saw these 2 as hired hitmen. A hired hitman is not going to ask "So you think you are smart, huh?!" The hitman is not going to be angry, but someone involved in a crime (or an on-going crime) will be the one to ask such questions... Apparently 5 years after his murder a big hotel or resort was built on the land. I would say the buyer and the seller worked together and there was 1 guy in charge = making it 3 guys. The one in charge was a powerful politician - probably the local mayor who would reap some benefits of a big hotel or new resort coming to his county.

Everything about this case is really bizarre. According to this article:

https://websleuths.com/attachments/brown-jpg.131751/

The killer fired two shots, one of which hit the ceiling. The police department was literally around the corner from his office building. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. Everything I can find about this case has everyone saying how well liked and ethical of a businessman Jack was, which the whole he was killed by professionals for something he knew theory has never sat right with me. A professional would make sure Jack was dead before leaving...he died 12 hours after being shot.

Everything about this case is really bizarre. According to this article:

https://websleuths.com/attachments/brown-jpg.131751/

The killer fired two shots, one of which hit the ceiling. The police department was literally around the corner from his office building. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. Everything I can find about this case has everyone saying how well liked and ethical of a businessman Jack was, which the whole he was killed by professionals for something he knew theory has never sat right with me. A professional would make sure Jack was dead before leaving...he died 12 hours after being shot.

Interesting.

Through years of watching true crime stuff I know that everybody loves to depict the victim as a saint. UM knowingly did this a lot (see Angelo Desideri). The “he was killed because he knew too much” angle was also overused in the series. But in this specific case, there are witnesses to the comment Jack made when he saw the murderers. Definitely a chance he at least knew who they were.

But I completely agree with you about this not being a professional hit. The murderers didn’t get in and get out. If Jack’s office was that close to a police station, it was risky to pick that place and time to shoot him. The shooter obviously couldn’t aim and wasted extra shots. The murderers wasted time herding the other employees around. And of course as you said, they didn’t leave Jack dead. No part of this murder screams “professional hit.”

But it’s sad that it hasn’t been solved. Even with all the mistakes the murderers made it’s still not known who they are. There has to be more to it than this. This happened in a small town, I can’t believe nobody in Ypsilanti recognized the composites. Did the police not investigate Jack’s business connections? I wonder if perhaps this is a case of “everybody in town knows who it is but there is not enough evidence to charge.” It would be nice to see cases like Jack Brown’s reinvestigated.

I wonder if perhaps this is a case of “everybody in town knows who it is but there is not enough evidence to charge.” It would be nice to see cases like Jack Brown’s reinvestigated.

I tend to think this is probably accurate.

I also think Jack's family was trying to come up with anything they could help find someone who would want to do him harm which is why they thought maybe he found out something shady going on, although it's never really explained how a real estate agent would have uncovered something nefarious. The killer saying, "you think you're smart, don't you", makes me think this was more personal than professional. And IMO, the context where this makes the most sense is someone who told Jack to stay away from someone, but Jack didn't and was killed for it.