Here is a recent photo of Kathy Brown from 2001
at the time of the murder her nickname was 'Dusty'
My Personal Notes on Kathy Charlene Brown
by Traciy Curry-Reyes
Update: January 16, 2009
Well, Dusty is on the run again. She was definitely living in Little Rock, Arkansas as recently as 2007. She has since stopped reporting to her parole officer, and there is an active warrant out for her arrest. It is believed that she has left the state.
Kathy Charlene Jackson was born to Charles "Chuck" Jackson and Katherine Jackson on May 24, 1957 in Corpus Christi, Nueces, Texas. It seems that her first marriage was to Wayne Forrest. They had a child together, and that child's name is Jeanie Forrest. I do not know how long she was married to Wayne, or when she was married to him since I cannot locate any record, But, at some point, she met Chris in North Carolina in 1979 while visiting her sister Edwina, who just so happened to be stationed there in the military.
Here is a small timeline, according to Edwina.
While visiting her sister Edwina, who was in the military at the time, Kathy met Chris, who was also stationed there temporarily. The two began dating, and they later married on July 31, 1979. They left North Carolina, and they stopped in Alabama to meet Chris' parents. From there, the pair went to Oklahoma to meet Kathy's family. It was during this visit that Kathy managed to abduct her first child, Jeanie, during a visitation set up by the father, Wayne Forrest. The three left for Hawaii. On September 26, 1980
(conflicting info about the birthdate. The prison records all have Nov 6, 1980, the family website says Oct 26, 1980.) Terrah Christine Brown was born. Chris and Kathy started having marital problems. There was screaming, fighting, threatening and the like. Charlene told her sisters that Chris was abusive and jealous, so she moved out. She shared an apartment with two girls named Nancy and Stacy. It was during this time that she began seeing Ralph Jackson also known as "Rocky." Chris found about Rocky, and he grew even more angry. (end)
Chris was murdered Sept 2, 1982. At the time of the murder, Kathy was 25 and Chris was only 22 and Ralph 'rocky' Jackson was only 20 years old. They were not able to get Dusty the first go around, but Chris Brown's mother kept at it until she finally got temporary custody of the baby, Christy. At some point during this time, I am told by a family member of Dusty Brown, that Dusty and her sister Diane went to Alabama to get the child, which had to be in 1983. It was during this time that a warrant and a bulletin were issued for Kathy Charlene Brown as a fugitive of justice. After 5 months, the child was located in a shelter in Illinois. After 3 trials and almost 3 years Dusty Brown was finally convicted of Conspiracy to Murder and given 7 years, although she only served 4 years, and she was released from Federal prison on September 13, 1989. During her stint in prison, she became pregnant with at least one and possibly two children in prison.
(One of her sisters states that this is completely false. But, the prison was a coed prison at the time.) No one ever saw the son. I don't believe Dusty did either, but a California couple adopted the son. The family member told me that Dusty does not have contact with any of her children, and she has very little contact with her siblings. Although, she did attend a few family get-togethers, but, I am told that she did not attend her mother's funeral. The family was not able to locate her to tell her of her mother's death.
Since that time, Dusty has been in and out of prison for petty crimes, mostly writing bad checks, forgery, and DUI's. She was released from an Oklahoma prison in 1999 after serving 5 years for writing bad checks, and as recently as 2001 was rearrested for forgery and concealing stolen property.
On Her Marriages and Petty Crimes
This is a little bit confusing, and I am still working out the details through court records. It appears that she actually has had a few marriages. The first to Wayne Forrest, then Chris Brown in 1979, and then again at some point to a Cecil M. Schroeder, a man 20 years her senior. She wrote "hot checks" on Cecil while having an affair with a man named Johnny Dean Hood. Cecil M. Shroeder and Kathy filed for divorce on July 31, 2000, and it appears that she married Johnny Dean Hood (the father not his notorious son) of the same year. In 2001, Cecil M. Schroeder was then convicted of Rec/Poss/Conc Stolen Property and sentenced to five years.
At some point, Kathy Brown moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. She was arrested and convicted of theft on December 11, 2001. She served until January 8, 2004. She was arrested again and sent back to prison in August of the same year, and she was released on parole on March 2, 2007. In October of 2007 she stopped reporting to her parole officer. There is an active warrant out for her arrest. It is believed that she has left the state.
Her Family
I thought it was interesting to note that the family member stated that through everything, the family still loves Dusty very much. Wow. No matter how bad a person is, or what mistakes they have made, they come from somewhere...they have a family who loves them. Her sister Edwina has not seen Dusty in 9 years. Every few years, or so, Dusty will get in touch with her by phone. The last time they spoke was in 2004.
My interview with the older family member who remembers it all has taken down his website. There was a lot of info there. I did save hard copies of most of the family info.
Dusty as a child
Dusty's Names
Birth Name: Kathy Charlene Jackson
Nickname: Dusty
Other names: Kathy Forrest, Charlene Jackson, Kathy Brown, Kathy Hood, Kathy Shorten and Debrah Burns (I think these are the fraud cases). Who knows what she is using now.
Extra Tidbit: I learned on last night that the name Dusty was not a name given to her by her family. This could have been a pet name that her husband Chris gave to her. Rocky also uses the name Dusty. Her family calls her Charlene.
Copyright 1997-2008
