Parole Denied in 2001 Murder

At a virtual hearing on November 1, 2022, TCDA prosecutors secured a 3-year denial of parole for Eddie Brown, age 60, in the 2001 murder of a Visalia woman. Brown is currently serving his life sentence at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.

Brown and the victim, 33-year-old Bridget Colmore, had been in a relationship for two years. After a breakup, Brown would call the victim frequently. Brown had a history of violence in relationships, sometimes terrorizing girlfriends when they tried to end a relationship. In the early evening of September 11, 2001, Brown called the victim while she was at home with her children. After talking to him, she told her children she would be right back and went to the victim’s apartment. She was not seen alive again. Visalia Police Department officers took a missing persons report the next day.

Through investigation, officers found blood stains in several rooms of Brown’s apartment. On September 29, 2001, Brown was arrested at a gas station in southern California. Relatives of Brown with whom he had been staying said that he brought newspaper clippings of the victim’s disappearance with him. On October 2, 2001, a body was found in a shallow grave outside of Tulare. The body was verified as the victim. An autopsy report revealed the cause of death as assault and strangulation.

In 2009, after numerous court delays at the behest of the defendant, a jury convicted Brown of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison.

This was Brown’s first parole denial under California’s elder parole statute. The Office of the District Attorney regularly attends life parole hearings and a senior deputy district attorney argued against his release.

Media inquiries can be directed to the Office of the District Attorney, County of Tulare Assistant District Attorney Dave Alavezos (559) 636-5494