Carolyn Lee Owens Brady: 1970, Kendallville, Indiana

    

  Carolyn Lee Owens Brady was almost 34 in September of 1970. She lived at 430 Dori Lynn Lane in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was divorced and the mother of three children, John Alan Fracaro, Natalie (now Herron) and Steven Charles Brady.  On Monday September 20th, 1970 Carolyn was reported missing from Kendallville, Indiana. 

   Carolyn Lee Owens was born on September 23, 1937 in Kendallville, Indiana to Virginia Easterday Owens and George Owens. Kendallville is northwest of Ft. Wayne. I haven’t been able to find the dates of her two marriages. But we do know that she had been married to Richard John Fracaro and divorced. We know she had been married to Charles Brady of Kendallville and that they were in the process of divorcing. 

   We know that she was living in Joliet, Illinois in 1957 when her son John Alan Fracaro was born. But, there isn’t much in the news about Carolyn’s life until September 23rd, 1970. 

 

   Carolyn was found on the Monon Railroad tracks near Indiana Dunes Park about a mile north of Westville, Indiana on September 23rd, 1970. She was spotted there on the tracks in the early morning by a school bus driver. Concerned for the situation; the bus driver removed her body from the tracks before going to a phone and calling the police. 

  Carolyn’s body was transported to the hospital on E Street in LaPorte, Indiana. She was described as 5’4” and 110 lbs. So, she was petite. One relatively strong man could have placed her on the tracks without needing an accomplice. 

   Indiana Dunes is a National Park now but it was just a state park in 1970. If it had been a national park in 1970; the FBI would have been involved in her death investigation. 

   Carolyn Brady had been beaten and shot in the left side of the head with a .38 caliber weapon. (The Kendallville News Sun reported that it was a .32) Her head had been wrapped in a blanket which was soaked with her blood. It had rained in the night and she was still wet. Her body had been placed on the tracks with her head positioned on the rail. Both of her eyes were blackened. She was wearing a brown turtleneck sweater and red pants. She had on what appeared to be an engagement ring. Her gold wrist watch was found nearby. Police theorized her killer had tried to cover up the murder; hoping for a train to come along to make her death look accidental. But, her head might have been placed there by a killer who wished to utterly destroy her head and face out of anger and spite. There are many ways to dispose of a body. Burial, rivers, streams, burning, and the ever present Lake Michigan were options. But Carolyn’s killer chose this method. I think that shows a high level of anger and vindictive behavior. 

   The wrapping of her head with a blanket seems to indicate that the killer knew her and did not want to view her face. The killer could have been concerned about containing the blood and potential mess. Perhaps Carolyn had already been beaten unconscious and her killer decided to wrap the blanket around her head before shooting her. The level of violence also seems to indicate to me that the killer was very close to the victim. 

   The fact that her jewelry was not taken would seem to rule out robbery as a motive. (It also makes me think that the new fiancee might not be responsible. I feel like an angry fiancée might take back the ring he had given her.) 

   

   After her discovery on Wednesday the 23rd, she went unidentified until a police officer from the Indiana Dunes area happened to have traveled to Ft. Wayne and heard on the radio about Carolyn Brady being a missing person. He contacted police in Ft. Wayne who were able to reach Carolyn’s sister, Rose Harley.  Rose then traveled to Westville and identified her sister’s body. 

    Her death certificate estimated that she had been killed on Tuesday, September 22, 1970. Not much is reported about the investigation. Was her ex-husband, Charles Brady, questioned? Was she dating anyone? We don’t know. After her obituary; I couldn’t find any other mention of her name in the newspapers. 

   At the time of her murder she was in the process of divorcing Charles Brady, the owner of Chuck’s Tavern in Kendallville, Indiana. The engagement ring that she wore was apparently a new one from a new fiancee. Who was that new fellow?

   It was reported by the Kendallville News Sun that Carolyn had recently been living alone in a small apartment. Her daughter Natalie was staying with Carolyn’s mother at 411 ½ State Street. 

   Who killed Carolyn? Who was questioned? Was evidence preserved in her case? Can anything still be tested today? 

   Charles R. Brady died in October of 1989 at the age of 75. He would have been 57 in 1970 at the time of Carolyn’s murder and their impending divorce. 

   Carol Lee Owens Brady should have had a long life. She should have been around to see her children grow up. She should have at least gotten some Justice. We can at least remember her. We can only hope that she rests in peace.