Retired Navy Veteran Charged In Case Of Body Found Behind Charlotte Church
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CMPD says they have charged Eric Brown with the murder of 19-year-old Ashanti Billie.
Detectives say a warrant for murder was signed Wednesday. Brown is currently being held in Norfolk, VA.
Original Story
VIRGINIA BEACH, V.A. — A retired Navy veteran has been charged with kidnapping Ashanti Billie, 19, who was found dead behind a west Charlotte church.
Eric Brian Brown, 45, has been charged with Kidnapping Billie on September 18, 2017, as she arrived for work at Blimpie’s restaurant on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Norfolk, Virginia.
Eric Brian Brown
On September 29, 2017, Billie’s body was found behind Stonewall AME Zion Church off Griers Grove Road in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Eric Brown’s childhood home is located roughly 300 yards from Stonewall AME Zion Church and Brown attended Vacation Bible School at the church as a child.
Authorities say Brown, who spent 21 years in the Navy, was a homeless day laborer, and was part of the construction crew that built the Blimpie’s where Billie worked. According to Billie’s coworkers, Brown visited Blimpie’s frequently and was often seen in the neighboring buildings.
Witnesses also say Brown attempted to flirt with Billie on several occasions and was overheard making a crude sexual remark to Billie.
Surveillance cameras recorded Billie’s car entering the base at 4:58 a.m. on September 18, and circle the Blimpie’s at 5 a.m. The driver of the vehicle in both videos was wearing dark colored clothing, consistent with the clothing Billie was reportedly wearing.
Video cameras recorded a person in light colored clothing driving Billie’s car leave the base at 5:33 a.m. At approximately 5:44 a.m., residential video cameras recorded a person wearing light colored clothing driving a car consistent with Billie’s at a construction dumpster in Norfolk. A short time later construction workers found Billie’s cell phone in the dumpster.
Court documents reveal that Billie’s car was found in Norfolk on September 23. Inside the car, agents found Billie’s pants, which contained dirt and debris, indicating they had been removed while outside and on the ground. Underneath Billie’s car, dirt and vegetative debris was found, and investigators believe the vehicle was driven off-road.
Several witnesses described seeing a car like Billie’s during the week of September 18 at various locations in Charlotte neighborhoods close to where Billie’s body was found.
A review of Brown’s wireless internet usage shows that Brown used his mobile devices almost every day from September 1 to September 29, except for September 18, the day Billie vanished.
A further review of Brown’s wireless internet usage reveals that he was on base from September 14 until late in the evening of September 17 before all of his usage ceased until September 19. Surveillance footage did not show Brown leaving the base during this period but he was seen going back to the base on the afternoon of September 19.
Brown’s phone’s web history shows that on September 19, he made numerous searches of Norfolk news to include “police looking for man,” “Norfolk police looking for man in connection with homicide,” “amber alert Sept 2017,” “missing woman and baby,” and “missing woman and man.”
He also searched for information on Charlotte news websites on September 21, eight days before Billie’s body was recovered by authorities.
On September 22, Brown entered searches for “JEB Little Creek Blimpies” and a search regarding parents of a missing college student.
Brown told agents he was on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek on the night of September 17, and that he blacked out and did not remember what he did for several days after that. When asked specifically about the abduction and murder of Ashanti Billie, Brown said that he could not remember if he did anything to her.
Investigators say DNA profiles found on Billie’s clothing and body match DNA taken from Eric Brown’s cheek.
Brown faces life in prison if convicted.
