Karen Brown

Unsolved Murders

Age: 17

Sex: female

Date: 23 Apr 1984

Place: Audleigh House, Bell Barn Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Karen Brown fell from the eighth floor balcony of a block of flats at Edgaston, Birmingham.

She had lived at Audleigh House, Bell Barn Road in Edgaston.

An open verdict was returned at her inquest.

It was heard that a man that she had been seeing for three days had been at her flat when she fell from the balcony.

The man said that he had gone to see her late on the night of 21 April 1984 and that he had begun to tease her about his relationships with other women. He said:

I really started rubbing it in saying nasty crude things. I said some wicked things and I could see she was getting upset. I started telling her about the other girls I had been with. She said she loved me and I meant everything to her. She said, 'What would you do if I killed myself'. I said, 'Go ahead', in a bored voice. She ran towards the balcony and jumped over it. I couldn't believe it.

However, it was noted that he failed to answer a summons to attend the inquest, and instead his statement to the police was read out.

A doctor said:

Some men have a certain arrogance about their relationships with other women. This man, in a statement talks about how he boasted of his relationships with other women and teased Karen. As a result of what he said and how he teased her, she impulsively went to the balcony. It may be that she ran to the balcony and pretended to jump over but with the moment of running she actually fell over. It may have been accidental or she may have intended to take her own life.

She survived the fall and was taken to Birmingham accident hospital where she died on 23 April 1984.

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Belfast News-Letter - Saturday 23 June 1984

see Coventry Evening Telegraph - Saturday 23 June 1984