Carolyn at age 9, 1954
Carolyn with her 2 daughters (Kim & Elke) and Ray Bryant, Kashmere Garden Church of Christ, Houston, TX
Not sure when this photo was taken, but Carolyn and Ray Bryant were married in 1970 and divorced in 1974. A year later, she was killed.
The murder of my Aunt Estella (Chapple) Thomas wasn’t the only shooting tragedy my mother experienced in her family. My aunt’s oldest daughter, Carolyn (Bingham) Bryant, was murdered at age 29 on 10 April 1975. I was 15 years old walking home from school when my mom pulled alongside me and told me to get in the car. As soon as I got in, she immediately told me that daddy heard on the mid-day news that a, Carolyn Bryant, of the 2500 block of Pierce Street, died early that morning. He wasn’t sure, but he thought it was mom’s niece. Therefore, we were in route for Carolyn’s house to find out for sure. It was her! Carolyn was a shy soft-spoken woman who kept to herself. Who would want to kill her?
A woman says her pistol fell out of her bra today and discharged when she tried to catch it killing a woman with whom she was arguing.
Carolyn Bryant, 24, of the 2500 block of Pierce, died about 1:30 a.m. today in Ben Taub Hospital, less than an hour after she was shot on a lounge parking lot in the 2600 block of Gray.
The other woman, Cynthia Freeman, 23, of 2614 Gray surrendered to police.
~*~
By the time we arrived at Carolyn’s house, the brother, of the man who called himself Carolyn’s father, and his girlfriend were the ones at her home. They pretty much took over the care of her children (2 daughters), all her personal belongings, and made all of the funeral arrangements. There was nothing my mother (who Carolyn pretty much stayed in contact with), or any of Carolyn’s mother’s side of the family could do.
Just as I don’t believe my aunt Estella’s shooting was an accident, I don’t believe my cousin’s shooting was an accident either!
I did do a quick search at the Harris County District Clerk’s office for more information and this is what I learned:
File Date
5/14/1975
Case (Cause) Status
Complete
Offense
MURDER
Last Instrument Filed
Felony Indictment
Case Disposition
DISP-022376
Case Completion Date
02/23/1976
Defendant Status
DISPOSED
Bond Amount
$0.00
Next/Last Setting Date
Race/Sex
BLACK
DOB
02/12/1952
In Custody — N
Address
3345 ELGIN 3 HOUSTON TX
Court
176th
Address
1201 Franklin (Floor:19)
Houston, TX 77002
Phone: 7137556328
Judge Name
Shawna L Reagin
Court Type
Criminal
Date
PROBATION START DATE
02/23/76
PROBATION END DATE
02/23/86
03/12/1980 JUDGMENT
PROBATION TERMINATED
03/12/1980 RECORDED
VOLUME 0048 PAGE 0149 APP MINUTES JM
02/23/1976 JUDGMENT
CONVICTION
02/23/1976 JUDGMENT
LESSER OFF. GUILTY PLEA – NO JURY
02/23/1976 PENALTY
PROBATION – TDC AMT 10 YEARS
02/23/1976 RECORDED
VOLUME 0048 PAGE 0149 APP MINUTES JM
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Source Citation:
“Pistol Fell Out Of Bra, Woman Says of Slaying” HOUSTON POST, Houston, Texas, 10 April 1975.
The State of Texas vs. Freeman, Cynthia Yvonne. 022801901010-3. 176th Harris County Criminal Court. 1975. OFFICE OF HARRIS COUNTY CLERK. Web. 24 Jun 2012.
Claiming Kin Genealogy 