Tiana Browne, just another teenage murderer

Tiana Browne, just another teenage murderer

What a horrible trend – teenage killers.  Kids that should be enjoying a carefree and stress feel life are killing each other.

Teenagers like Toni Fratto, who killed her love rival in Nevada or Kayla Henriques who killed her best friend.  Joining those ranks is Tiana Browne, just another teenage murderer.  That’s all she will remembered for.

Tiana Browne, by most accounts, was troubled.  Some have said that she was a moderately OK child until she found something out that changed her.  The man she knew as her step-grandfather, was, in actuality, her father.

Her mother was allegedly raped, yet her grandmother, for whatever reasons, chose to stay with the man who raped her own daughter.

Although that revelation, undoubtedly, shook Brown to her core, there were other issues.  She likely grew up in a very dysfunctional home filled with lies and omissions and had already run away from home twice in just over a year.  There were also claims that she was raped in the past, possibly even gang raped.

She was only 15-years-old and already battered and bruised by the life experiences she went though at such a young age.

Her life was in stark contrast to the life of her 16-year-old cousin, Shannon Braithwaite.

Shannon was happy and had a youthful sparkle.  She was a great dancer and enjoyed working with children. Her mother, Marva Braithwaite, worked toward serving as a good role model for her daughter and was laying down the foundation for Shannon to have every opportunity at having a really great life.

Marva Braithwaite, thought she was doing the right thing by taking in her troubled cousin when her daughter asked her to.

Tiana Browne moved in with the Braithwaites’ on Sunday, September, 28, 2008.

Two days later on Tuesday, September 30, 2008, Shannon Braithwaite was dead.  Stabbed over and over and over again.

When Marva Braithwaite found her daughter lying in a pool of blood dead, Tiana Browne was nowhere to be found.

After stabbing Shannon and taking her birthday presents, she committed one final grotesque and callous act.  She removed Shannon’s shoes from her feet and took them. The sneakers she was so jealous of.

Tiana Browne was apparently very motivated by her intense jealousy over her cousin’s sneakers, electronic gadgets, her success in school and overall, her life.

Jealousy seem to be a common denominator that teen killers share, especially female teens that kill.

She did call 911 and say that someone broke in.  The name she gave, was later found on one of the magnets on the Braithwaite’s refrigerator, leading investigators to believe she made it up.

She also reportedly used Shannon’s camera to take pictures of herself and her boyfriend in the park, just having a grand old time.

When she was arrested, she was quite calm. according to the NY Daily News.

She was also carrying a cell phone, camera and MP3 player belonging to Shannon.

The first trial to convict Browne ended in a mistrial. Why? Because it was revealed that Marva Braithwaite did not disclose she was once convicted of assault and that meant that the defense did not have a chance to question her about it.

Seem ridiculous, however justice was later served.

A second trial in July, 2011 ended with a quick guilty verdict.

Tiana Browne was ultimately sentenced to 15 years to life, for second degree murder, and Shannon’s mothers had a message for her. She said,

You rewarded me by leaving me childless, ripping out my very being.  When you sit behind bars, you can never say you weren’t loved,” “Shannon loved you. I loved you.”.

For the past three years I have experienced more than the human mind can imagine.

But there is no anger or bitterness in my heart.

Marva Braithwaite even urged Browne to turn her life around behind bars and told her cousin,

I also want you to know that I forgive you for killing my daughter

Tiana Browne, just another teenage murderer, who will have an opportunity to get out jail when she is in her early thirties. Shannon Braithwaite did not even see her 17th birthday.

What will become of Tiana Browne? Will she beat the odds and overcome the many obstacles against her being a  minority, incarcerated, and uneducated?

Will she work toward overcoming the odds, turn her life around and become a productive member of society, as Marva Braithwaite so eloquently urged her to do?

Or will Tiana Browne come out even worse than she went in. and be loose on the streets?

Come back in 15 years to find out.

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• Update: Shannon Braithwaite murder *Cousin, Tiana Browne, convicted of her murder, sentenced to 15-years to life in prison*