Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘Unsolved Mysteries: Park Bench Murders’ sheds light on the unexpected and mysterious double homicide of Carnell Sledge and Kate Brown in 2019 while they were sitting on a bench in a park in Fairview Park, Ohio. An extensive investigation was launched right after the murders, but unfortunately, the evidence and clues could not lead the police to the killer. However, given Kate Brown’s family’s perseverance, they also played their part in trying to find the perpetrator responsible for the crime.
Kate Brown’s Family Continues to Fight For Her Justice
On June 4, 2019, Katherine C. “Kate” Brown met her untimely demise at the Rocky River Reservation in Fairview Park, Ohio, during a meet-up with her longtime friend, Carnell E. “Nell” Sledge, who passed away too. Her family received this tragic news in the middle of the night, around 3 am, and they felt nothing but shock and grief. Kate’s parents, Tom and Kim Brown, and her sisters, Lauren Brown Rao and Alexandra Brown, were some of the most affected people in her family. It took about two months for them to give a statement regarding the murder and investigation.
Still trying to make sense of the brutal double homicide, Tom told Fox 8, “I wake up, the first thing I think of is my beautiful daughter, our daughter, their sister, shot in the head, laying face down in a polluted, muddy river and somebody just walks away.” Her sister, Lauren Rao, expressed how grave Kate’s loss was and how much she misses her. Kate’s other sister, Alexandra Zuban, initially suspected one of her former partners she met through a dating app. Meanwhile, her mother, Kim Brown, hoped to get some closure and justice for her daughter by capturing the killer/s. She said, “I would like for our family and Nell’s family to have closure, to at least know who did it and possibly by knowing who did it, why they did it.”
Months after the fateful day, Tom and Kim Brown took the initiative to place new signs along Valley Parkway, just a few steps away from the bench where the murder took place. In February 2020, the Brown family increased the reward money to $100,000 for any information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator, encouraging the public to actively take part in the search for justice. Kim elaborated on the same, “Someone out there knows something. Someone out there knows, maybe not exactly what happened, but knows who did it.”
Kate’s Sisters Are Moving Ahead in Life But Remain Committed to Solve Her Murder
Kate Brown’s elder sister, Lauren Brown Rao, is a family woman who never hesitates to care for her loved ones. Kate Brown has been married to Llewelyn J. “Llew” Rao since at least 2012. Since then, she has embraced the role of becoming a devoted wife and a doting mother by giving birth to three adorable children, including their first son, Lleyton Thomas Rao. A St. Louis University graduate, Llew is a senior clinical instructor for the St. Vincent Charity Medical Center/University Hospitals Case Medical Center. He primarily specializes in retinal detachment surgery, macular surgery, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal lasers.
As far as Lauren’s professional life is concerned, not much is known about it, as she likes to keep it private. What we do know is that she resides in Avon Lake, Ohio, and spends ample time with her loving family while continuing to raise awareness about Kate’s unsolved murder case with her other sister, Alexandra Brown. Kate’s younger sister, Alexandra, is currently based in Westlake, Ohio. She prefers to keep matters of her personal as well as professional life under wraps. However, what we can tell is that she sells themed cards for different occasions on Etsy under LoveYouByeCreations.
Read More: Kate Brown and Carnell Sledge: What Happened to Them? How Did They Die?
