Overview

• Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson filed counts of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, second-degree arson and evidence tampering, and Brown is held on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
• Firefighters found a deceased man just before 1 a.m. on Sept. 19 in a second-floor unit near Kensington and Independence avenues, and the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt-force head trauma on Sept. 20.
• According to court documents, Brown told police she “snapped,” hit the victim as he slept, continued living in the apartment for days, then ignited the unit to conceal what she had done.
• Investigators documented arson indicators and links to Brown inside the unit, including disabled smoke detectors, an open bottle of lighter fluid, and mail and a medical ID bracelet bearing her name.
• Brown called police on Sept. 27 to turn herself in, saying she had known the victim, identified in records as Robert Hill, 44, for nearly two decades, as multiple agencies continue the investigation.