The Worst Thing You’ve Heard Today
While this story doesn’t exactly fit with PYSIH.com’s theme, we figured it was worth a mention and maybe a moment of silence, or brief hug for your own children.
On the 7th of January, 2008, after being contacted by apartment managers, police found 43-year-old single mother Janelle Browning and her 21-month-old son, Ezekiel Berry, dead inside Janelle’s apartment.
Apparently Janelle Browning quietly died of natural causes, which left her toddler son to fend for himself for as long as he could. There was evidence that the boy had foraged for food throughout the apartment.
Police believe Janelle Browning died before Christmas because of the fact that unopened presents were still under the Christmas tree.
Apartment managers called police when someone realized that Janelle Browning hadn’t been seen for a few weeks. Based on the date the police were called, it’s likely that the only reason the situation came to anyone’s attention is because Janelle Browning hadn’t paid her rent.
24 Comments »
That one kind of gives me the chills. Bad. It kinda makes me sad. Like not mad like most stories on here, but sad and all warm and yucky inside.
Wow. That is the saddest thing I’ve heard in a long time. I just feel so sad for the little boy. That poor little boy. I remember when my own daughter was 21 months old. Shoot. Now I’m crying.
unopened gifts under the tree, that’s just heartbreaking :(
She was a recovering meth-head.
I hope that didn’t play a part in their deaths.
RIP ZEKE & J
this is truly heartbreaking… especially the part that the baby went looking for food on his own- poor thing… :****(
oh….sad. that poor baby was probably like….mummy…mummy? :( rip janelle and bubby
what a beautiful little boy and what a heartbreaking story :-(
I cried reading this. I never cry. This does make me mad though. I’m practically a hermit, but SOMEBODY would notice I was gone after a few days. Not three weeks.
I can relate to the last message. Nothing really gets me upset until I came across this a couple of days ago and cannot get it out of my head. Had to even take sleeping pills. I almost wish I never read the story. The thoughts of the little blonde toddler with the overalls foraging for food got me in the pit of my stomach. I could not live with myself if I was a neighbor who heard the cries and the outcome of this tragic story.
Hard to believe that no one cared about her enough to notice she was gone for three weeks. She must have been a lonely woman, which is sad.
It had nothing to do with rent………
I am Janelles older brother and after reading all of your comments, you must know that we too as a family are racked with pain and grief over this. We did not abandon Janelle, she chose to distance herself while she worked out some life issues.
I have answers to many of the questions that have been asked and I would like to share.
No one heard Zeke cry for many reasons.
I recently learned that Zeke was deaf in one ear and did not cry or speak loudly,except when he was mad at his mom. My wife and I visited the apartment last week for the first time. Being a renovated building, built around 1910, sound does not carry at all inside. There are 4 floors in the building with 2 apartments on each floor and Janelle was on floor 3. The closest neighbor was rarely home and the apartment below her was empty.
As far as why no one checked on them.
As I said, earlier, Janelle had distanced herself from family. She was in a housing program for battered women,(that’s why dad did not show up on the scene.) The very, very fine folks that run the program (which normally meets with all the mothers involved 3 times a week) had made the decision along with all the mothers to put the meetings on hold for the holidays. That is why THEY did not check on her.
The housing complex is gated with keyed entry, so even those who were close to her recently could not just “POP” in to see her. Many tried to call and all are distraught over this.
I am one of the few siblings that Janelle would keep in contact with (a couple times a year) and the last time I spoke to her was about 8-9 months ago. At that time she was still with Ezekiel’s dad.I tried to call her around the first of November and he told me that she had left him and had a restraining order against him. He knew not at that time how to get a hold of her.
I was deeply saddened to find a land line and cell phone in her apartment, knowing that she had not contacted me with either of these numbers. Not that there would have been a thing I could have done at to prevent this tragedy. I would simply have been another person calling that never got through.
The memorial service was Saturday, 1/12 and it was standing room only. We had mother and baby cremated together as we felt it fitting that the ashes be combined so they may remain together forever. A private burial will take place in the Spring.
We hurt right along side all of you and it seems that everyone except Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church feel that way.
Those freaks from Kansas that are normally protesting our fallen soldiers funerals showed to to protest our memorial as well. They were seen holding signs that read, “God hates your Children” and other off the wall comments.
They were only allowed to protest some 3-4 blocks away from the funeral home which was nice of our city to do, but it was weird knowing that they were there, regardless. After reading this if you still want to vent, do me a favor and take it out on Mr Phelps at godhatesamerica.com
Thanks for caring and God Bless You All
We are hurting too!
Mike Browning
I am truly sorry for your loses! It is hard to have family members that decide to distance themselves. My husbands family did that and he didnt find out for 4 years after the fact that his first wife (with whom he has a child) had passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family
Sorry to hear that Mike. Those whackos at the Westboro Baptist Church are perverts of the lowest denominator. They are called the most hated family in America, which the rightfully deserve. I put Fred Phelps at the same level with Charles Manson, Jim Jones, and Osama bin Laden. Phelps is no different from them.
I am terribly saddened by your loss. Best wishes for you and yours.
lol
Why in the world would the freaks from Kansas have any reason to protest a memorial?
And how do they know who god hates, anyways? I always got the impression that what god hates is mean, evil people. Pot, meet Kettle.
c
Oh jeez Glory, just look at their website and the photos. Fucking god hates just about everyone. I wanna know who he doesn’t hate.
Oh and apparently all of our soldiers are gay too. LOL
unopened presents, that’s so awful. and just imagining what that poor little boy went through, it’s so horrible. and the fact that any one cared to check on them was cuz rent wasn’t paid, my god. that’s just so so sad
That is really sad! That literally made me cry.
=0( Poor kid…. R.I.P
Awwww that is such a sad thing! … Heatbreaking!
So sad, poor sweet boy. He looks like a little cherub.
This is one of the most heartbreaking stories on this site. The deaths of two innocent people who deserved better in life. This poor lady who was doing her best to take care of her child when her life was so tragically cut short. My heart really breaks just thinking about this adorable little one trying to fend for himself that whole time while his mother laid deceased nearby. This poor baby probably kept wondering what was wrong with his mommy and why she wouldn’t wake up. Stories like this make me cry so hard that it hurts!
I think the most heartbreaking part is the little kid being left all alone in that apartment with his mother’s dead body, not really knowing about death and wanting his mommy to get up and play or feed him or whatever, wandering around alone and slowly dying alongside her.
It’s like, being trapped in a long dark chasm with no voice and no way of getting help. It’s terrible to think of that kind of shattering loneliness.
Ditto on that one AgJu, the poor little tyke…life just really sucks sometimes…