(Publisher’s Note: To make for vacations this (Publisher’s Note: A new chapter to this series of stories will publish in the near future so we believe in order to get new readers to discover the series, the best thing to do is to re-publish it beginning today and continue during this coming week. One of the main reasons why Gwen Wood, her daughters, and her friends and family agreed to tell this story was to raise more questions in hopes additional information about this accident would flow their way … and that has taken place thus far.)
(Publisher’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles that examine the passing of 19-year-old Colby Brown, a 2018 graduate of Cameron High School, who attended Marshall University in Huntington. Colby was pronounced dead on Aug. 26, 2019, once paramedics treated him in the middle of Interstate 64. This chapter includes the text of the report from the hired private investigator. The headings in parenthesis are not in the report but included to divide the many topics in the document.)
Introduction
It’s Case #19-4532.
First-day sophomore. Gym, two scheduled classes, Madden football, surrounded by friends passing a bowl of weed at Jon Crow’s house. Jovial yet competitive. Then suddenly silent? Then an abrupt departure after a bathroom visit?
A closed Interstate 64 eastbound at the 10-mile marker. Huntington. Marshall University. EMS, West Virginia State Police.
Found on a freeway. Fractured spine, pelvis, tibias, and femurs. Kaitlyn Arms. Prayers. His last breath. Aug. 26, 2019.
Colby Brown
“I really don’t know why that’s what I’ve run up against, but I just can’t seem to get any answers to the questions I’ve been asking,” said Gwen Wood, Colby’s mother. “I just don’t think they have really looked into anything other than what they think, and that is that Colby jumped off that bridge.
“But even though I’m not getting much cooperation from the law enforcement personnel that responded to the scene, there have been a couple of moms reach out to me trying to help. One of them drove around looking for cameras that may have had a better view than what we’ve seen,” she said. “I just hope the investigators know that I’m not going anywhere until my legitimate questions are answered. Those people are paid with tax dollars, and not only do I pay my taxes, but we’re talking about my son.”
Report of Investigation
Date of Report: October 23, 2019
Report by: John P. Casey, Investigator
In Re: Colby Brown – Date of Death August 26, 2019
Action Taken
On Sept. 11, 2019, the undersigned met with Gwen Wood and Amy Hill regarding the opening of the investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Wood’s son.
The facts known at this point are that Colby Brown, a 19-year-old Marshall University sophomore, fell to his death at approximately 7 p.m., Aug. 26, 2019, after leaving the residence of a friend, John Crow. The decedent fell approximately 90 plus feet from the McCoy Road Bridge, Huntington, W.Va., onto the eastbound lane of I-64.
Cpl. Whittington and Sgt. Joyce of the W.Va. State Police are reported to be the investigative agents assigned.
The manner of death has been stated currently as a suicide.
(Witnesses)
Certain individuals were identified as potential witnesses to events and communications leading up to the final episode. They are as follows:
- Avery Darrow – Ms. Darrow reportedly was in communication with the decedent in the days prior to and on the day of the event.
- Darby Brown – Ms. Brown is the decedent’s sister and was in communication with him on the day of the event.
- Jonathan Crow – Mr. Crow was a friend of the decedent and was reportedly with him on the date in question and witnessed his behavior shortly before the decedent left the residence.
- Kaitlyn Arms – Ms. Arms witnessed the decedent falling from the bridge; she was with him at the scene until EMS arrived.
- Ryan Clutter – Mr. Clutter was a close friend of the decedent and his roommate and had communication with him on the day of the event.
- Cole Clutter – Mr. Clutter is the twin brother of Ryan, a friend of the decedent and had contact with him on the day prior to the event.
- Parker D’Antonio – Mr. D’Antonio was a roommate of the decedent and lives in the house with the Clutters.
- Nolan Pierce – Mr. Pierce was a friend of the decedent and a frequent workout partner.
- Rhys Rodgers – Mr. Rodgers is a roommate of Jonathan Crow and was present at the Crow residence on the date in question.
- Aden Yates – Mr. Yates is a roommate of Crow and was present at the residence on the date in question.
- Corey Purdue – Mr. Purdue is Crow’s roommate and was present at the residence on the date in question.
- Tyler Roush – Mr. Roush was a friend of the decedent and allegedly was present at Crow’s residence on the date in question.
- John Gripe – Mr. Gripe is a friend of Tyler Roush and allegedly was present at Crow’s residence on the date of the event.
Discussed also at this meeting was the possibility of unlocking Brown’s phone and computer as well as examining the phones and social media devices of those certain identified individuals to determine their location as well as any possible relevant information.
Paul White, a cyber-security and computer specialist, was contacted to perform these tasks.
On 9/11/19, the undersigned, Paul White, and Romayne Casey met with Darby Brown at the undersigned’s office. White downloaded certain communications from her phone relative to this matter.
Ms. Brown also discussed her brother’s background in some detail; indicating that was generally happy, healthy and satisfied with his life, relationships, and educational pursuits. She also described him as a moderate user of marijuana and that he had discussed using hallucinogens such as “mushrooms.” She was unaware of any conflict he was having with anyone and was certain that he would never consider suicide for any reason. She knew of no enemies that he had.
(Wheeling Visit)
On 9/13/19 the undersigned, White, and Casey traveled to Wheeling, WV, and met Avery Darrow.
Ms. Darrow was interviewed and consented to the retrieval of certain communications from her telephone.
Ms. Darrow indicated that she had known Colby Brown from school but had not personally seen him for quite a while; she had recently begun communicating with him via Snapchat and was planning a visit to see him at Marshall University the weekend of the 26th, August. She denied that they had begun dating and said they were only communicating via phone.
She recalled the day in question, indicating that she had been on Snapchat with him and that he had ceased communication with her at approximately 5:00 p.m. She recalled seeing his picture (the top of his head) during the last communication; she felt that something strange was going on with him but did not know what it was. She attempted to continue her communication with him, but he did not answer. She did not know where he was during her last communique.
She recalled Brown expressed that he was “looking forward” to seeing her for the weekend. And that he seemed generally happy.
She recalled past conversations where he told her that he would like to try cocaine and mushrooms; she was aware that he smoked marijuana and drank but did not know how much he used.
(Camera Search)
On 9/14/19 the undersigned and Romayne Casey traveled to Huntington, WV, and met with Matthew Christus, Goldy Auto Dealership. By pre-arrangement, Christus had obtained and copied video camera footage from the lot security cameras; the videos were examined on the date in question: it revealed nothing in terms of observing activity on the McCoy Road Bridge; the bridge is within the view, but it is situated at too great a distance to observe any detail; the footage does establish a probable time of the fall, in that I-64 eastbound traffic is observed ceasing movement at approximately 6:59 p.m. A copy of this footage is made part of this report.
On this date, an extensive search was made for surveillance cameras of the residences along the path most likely taken by Brown on the date in question, and as well as the neighborhood around Crow’s residence. No cameras are found at all in proximity to Crow; there were numerous sightings of cameras along the route going up the mountain. All were confirmed to either be non-working or “decoy” cameras, and thus non-operational.
A visit to the Amazon facility near Goldy Auto revealed a security camera pointed in the general direction of the scene that was observed. A subsequent meeting with the security officer on duty led to the undersigned being able to observe the camera angle. It barely shows the bridge area, but not enough detail for probable determination of critical detail. The undersigned was advised to return when the facility supervisor was present to obtain the authority to copy any video from the date in question. (This was subsequently done. The undersigned was informed that only Law Enforcement was authorized to access their system – a message was passed to Sgt. Joyce WVSP – he agreed to look at the footage and obtain what of it was relevant. A subsequent conversation with Cpl. Whittington revealed that they had looked at the footage and that it did not reveal anything of relevant value.)
(Three Week Status Report)
On 9/16/19 the undersigned traveled to Huntington Detachment WV State Police and met with Sgt. John Joyce, and discussed the status of the investigation.
Sgt. Joyce freely discussed his file but was unable to release any portion of it until the final review process is complete. He was still awaiting the results of the ME (Medical Examiner) Toxicology study, as well as the forensic examination of Brown’s phone. He indicated that often those tests can take months to complete due to the backlog and priority of cases.
He very clearly indicated that the matter was not a homicide stating that there was no single bit of evidence to remotely suggest it. He also indicated that they had not ruled the matter a suicide either due to the extensive history developed about Brown’s life. They had found nothing to suggest even remotely that he was a suicide risk. They were heavily focusing on drug interaction and possible hallucinogenic drugs as an explanation. He indicated that the ME office had made the determination to be suicide.
He indicated that they had independently investigated and interviewed all witnessed who attended the gathering at John Crow’s house during the hours prior to Brown’s death and could find no element of deception that would conclude that any foul play was a part of the incident. They were able to conclude that all participants smoked a quantity of marijuana. They were also aware that Brown and Crow had used mushrooms a few days prior to the event.
The undersigned advised Sgt. Joyce, that John Crow had delivered a quantity of marijuana to Gwen Wood on the date of the funeral visitation, and that Ms. Wood had secured it in a house that she owned; and that she was uncertain about how to dispose of it. Crow had advised her that the marijuana belonged to Brown and that it was the same that they had been smoking on the day of the incident.
Sgt. Joyce arranged for a trooper at the Moundsville detachment to meet with Ms. Wood and take custody of the marijuana and submit it to the forensics lab for testing.
Joyce was advised about the Amazon camera; he indicated that he would visit them and attempt to obtain relevant footage.
(Last Breath)
Subsequent to this the undersigned met with Kaitlyn Arms and spoke with her about the incident. She described seeing Brown’s body fall as she traveled east on I-64. She immediately stopped and went to him. She recalled hearing him breathing for a brief time after she got to his side. She prayed with him until he stopped breathing. She recalled the time as being approximately 7:02 p.m. She stayed at the scene until after speaking with EMS and Police.
(Always Happy)
On 10/17/19 the undersigned traveled to Huntington, WV. An attempt was made to meet with Sgt. Joyce and Cpl. Whittington. Neither was working. Messages were left for them to contact me.
The undersigned contacted John Crow at his residence. Mr. Crow freely agreed to speak about the episode and his relationship with Brown.
Crow indicated that he and Brown were extremely close and spent a great deal of time together off-campus. He also admitted that they used drugs together on a frequent basis. He stated that they often smoked marijuana and had recently used mushrooms – the Thursday prior to the date in question.
Crow confirmed that Brown was extremely happy and popular with everyone who knew him. He never observed him in a depressed state, and he never mentioned any problems with Crow.
On the day in question, he recalled Brown coming to his house to play video games (Madden) and party. Brown was in good spirits when he arrived at approximately 4:45 to 5:00 p.m.; he recalled that Brown was at the house for approximately 2 hours and that he had smoked marijuana that Brown had brought with him.
Shortly before Brown left the house (Crow recalled that it was sometime around 6:45 or so), he recalled Brown seemed to be extremely disoriented and stated “that he did not feel like himself, and wasn’t feeling good”; he recalled that he was unsteady on his feet, and abruptly went downstairs to the bathroom, and was seen leaving by Aden Yates.
Crow recalled that Yates, Rhys Rogers, and Corey Purdue were all playing with them and that everyone was having an enjoyable time. He also recalled that Brown had been on Snapchat with Avery Darrow while he was at the house, and at one point turned his phone off so that he could party and play Madden with them.
No one knew where Brown was going, and that he left abruptly. He described his change in demeanor to be very strange, and certainly not the person that Brown was ordinarily.
(Abrupt Departure)
Yates had indicated that he had seen him leave, that he had come from the bathroom and was either sweating or had splashed water on his face, due to observing that his shirt had moisture around the collar area. They checked the bathroom to see if he had thrown up but did not observe anything.
He indicated that he then started calling friends to see if they had seen or heard from Brown because they were concerned that he may be ill.
At some point Rhys Rogers heard sirens and observed EMS vehicles going up 8th Street; initially no one connected this to Brown leaving.
Shortly afterward Crow and the rest got into vehicles and began to search the nearby vicinity to see if they could observe Brown or his vehicle; they also continued efforts to contact friends to inquire if anyone had heard from him.
At approximately 10 p.m., Crow and his group observed some Huntington Police Officers at the Speedway Gas Station on 8th Street. They stopped and asked the officers if they had seen Brown (showing them a photo of him); the officers replied that they had just left the scene of a fatal accident on the interstate and that the victim was Brown.
Rhys Rogers, Aden Yates, and Corey Purdue were also interviewed separately as well as jointly; they all stated the same information as Crow. There was no appearance of deception noted during any of these contacts, and that all information previously known was not in contradiction to what they had told the State Police or any others. All parties were extremely cooperative and freely answered without any hesitation.
(Crow Complaint)
Before leaving the undersigned spoke with Crow privately about the delivery of marijuana to Gwen Wood. He admitted doing it and explained that he was returning all of Brown’s property that was at his house, including the marijuana. He indicated that he had recently been contacted by Cpl. Whittington about the matter, and that he had fully disclosed the same to him.
Crow also showed some texts that he had received from one of the Browns family members, that he felt were offensive; consisting of repeated texts to him to tell the truth (implying that he was lying about the circumstances surrounding the event). He informed the state police of the nature of them, and indicated that he loved Brown, and was insulted at the prospect that he would ever hold back the truth from anyone. He stated that he was not feeling harassed for no reason.
Crow indicated a willingness to speak with the undersigned for any reason in the future.
Subsequent to this, the undersigned met with Ryan Clutter at his residence at 17th Street. No one else was at home.
Ryan Clutter confirmed that Brown was at all times cheerful and loved by all who knew him, and by all appearances was having a great time at college. Clutter indicated that he had known Brown from childhood, and that in addition to being an athlete, he was always the same, never depressed about anything. He stated they all got along well at the house and that there were never any disagreements.
He also confirmed that Brown frequently smoked marijuana and had heard that he even used mushrooms with Jon Crow on the days previous to his death.
Clutter indicated that he last saw Brown on the day in question at around 4:30 p.m. as he was leaving to go to Crow’s house. He said at the time, Brown appeared to be in a normal mood and not high.
He recalled later receiving calls about whether he knew where Brown was and subsequently joined others in searching for him throughout the evening. He recalled meeting with others at the service station later in the night and discovering from the police that Brown had been killed.
Clutter could posit no reason for what had occurred to Brown; he felt strongly that everyone was a friend to Brown and could not imagine that anyone would want to injure him. He had spoken with Crow multiple times about the matter; and about Crow’s recent experience of being told that he was “hiding” or not forthcoming with information: Clutter felt that this was unfair, that no one, including Crow, was holding any information back.
(The Boys)
On 10/20/19 and per client request the undersigned, Paul White, and Romayne Casey traveled to Huntington to meet with Crow, Rogers, Yates, Perdue, Ryan Clutter, Cole Clutter, Parker D’Antonio, and Nolan Pierce: White would be examining their phones with their permission and downloading any pertinent communications, while repeat interviews would be concluded.
Crow, Rogers, and Perdue easily complied with all requests for phone information and followed up with additional interviews. There was nothing new developed from this visit to change any aspect of what is currently known.
Yates was home but sent word he was unavailable. It is the opinion of the undersigned that Yates, and possibly others are growing weary of being interviewed. Especially considering the recent exposure of communications to Jon Crow, suggesting that he is not telling the truth.
(The Day)
The undersigned and company then met with Ryan Clutter, Cole Clutter, Parker D’Antonio and Nolan Pierce at Clutter’s residence on 17th Street.
Nolan Pierce confirmed that he had worked out with Brown at approximately 12 p.m. the day of the incident and that Brown appeared to be in usual form. He did not have any problems with his workout, was not complaining of not feeling well, and was looking forward to school. He recalled that they worked out for about an hour. He did not know where Brown was going after the workout and assumed that he was going to class. He also confirmed that Brown was a heavy marijuana user and liked to party with Jon Crow.
Ryan & Cole Clutter, along with Parker D’Antonio confirmed that Brown was over at Crow’s on a frequent basis and often stayed over there when he was too high to drive; they stated that he partied there because they had a “drug-free” residence and did not permit any drugs to be kept or used at the house on 17th Street. Brown respected the rule and kept his drug activity at Crow’s house. They recalled that he smoked marijuana on a nearly daily basis and had recently used mushrooms with Crow. They do not recall him having any difficulty or acting strangely as a result.
Ryan last saw Brown at approximately 4:30 p.m. as he left for Crow’s house.
Cole last saw Brown the night before and was up late talking with him until early morning, noting that there was nothing unusual about Brown.
Pierce last saw Brown at approximately 1 p.m. the day of the incident.
D’Antonio last saw Brown at approximately 11 a.m. before Brown left for his workout with Pierce. And recalled being at a fraternity meeting that night when he received a message asking if he had seen Brown.
Like the others, they were not informed about what had occurred until the meeting with police officers at the Speedway Service Station at approximately 10 p.m.
All phones were examined by White and pertinent information was collected; noting none of the information sheds any new light on the issue.
(October Status Report)
On 10/22/19 the undersigned spoke with Sgt. Joyce, he informed that the Toxicology Report was finished and was available, nothing that there was an extraordinary level of THC in Brown’s blood sample; also a brief discussion was had comparing information received from potential witnesses; there was a consensus that all information received by the undersigned was essentially the same as the state police received contemporaneously to the event.
Nothing has changed the direction of the investigation or their opinion that Brown accidentally fell from the bridge (not a suicide as listed by the ME), and that there was certainly no suggestion or evidence of foul play (no homicide).
10/23/19 the final Medical Examiner report was received by the undersigned; the toxicology report reveals an excessively high level of THC (3 types) in the sample; the injuries indicated are all consistent with a fall from a bridge onto black-top pavement from an approximate height of 95 feet. There are no photographs supplied; it is assumed that there were none taken of the final examination.
The Medical Examiner’s representative has informed the undersigned that an existing blood sample from Brown will be kept for a mandated one-year period. A sample exists for further independent blood testing should the family desire it.
Conclusions
Colby Brown’s telephone is still with the WV State Police Forensics Unit and will be available when they have concluded their examination. It is uncertain when that will be complete.
Paul White’s examinations of the various phones owned by those certain individuals permitting the examinations did not conclude with any information adverse to the current understanding of the facts in this matter. There did not appear to be any contradictions of statements previously made by any of the parties involved.
His forensic examination of Brown’s computer revealed a history of drug use, primarily marijuana, suggesting that Brown, as well as others, were more than just casual users of the drug. There was nothing developed during the examination that shed any greater light on the critical matter at hand. There was nothing found on this device that indicated there was any deceptive communication or practice pertaining to the immediate issue.
Concentrating on only the facts developed and known at this juncture, it is more than likely that Colby Brown experienced some type of psychotic event brought on by the ingestion of an excess of very strong marijuana; causing him enough confusion and possible hallucinations, so as to not be completely aware of his surroundings. There are multiple medical studies addressing this phenomenon; albeit previously noted to be uncommon, but now occurring more frequently since the advent of the development of stronger cannabis strains in recent years; along with the more liberal attitudes toward usage, causing greater and freer participating in use than past years. Today’s marijuana is quite often 10 times if not a hundred times more potent in THC than marijuana used prior to the ’70s and ’80s.
It is the opinion of the undersigned based upon the facts known at present, that Colby Brown’s death was accidental; there is no evidence of suicide; there is no evidence of anyone conspiring to do him harm or killing him certainly no homicide. There is not evidence of any person attempting to cover up any circumstances about his death.
John P. Casey, Investigator
Allegheny Highlands Group, LLC
Nothing New?
Although Casey concluded Colby did not take his own life, Gwen Wood feels cheated.
“The report from the private investigator is shameful and a complete waste of $5,500,” Gwen insisted. “Most of everything in what that PI gave us is the information we gave him, and there was nothing but the same repeated stories we’ve heard from his friends every single time. And we told him about that stuff, and that’s still what was brought back to us.
“There was nothing new and it just followed the same narrative of the state police report,” she said in frustration. “Like I said, a waste of $5,500.”
