Son of Suffolk woman found dead believes someone may have staged body by train tracks

UPDATE: The medical examiner has since ruled the death as a suicide.

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Suffolk police still consider the death of Jemel Brown’s mother “undetermined,” but he is determined to help them find the truth.

He believes his mother was killed and that someone staged her body to make someone think a train was the culprit.

“Something ain’t right, something ain’t right,” Jemel Brown, 37, of Charlotte, said Monday. “My mother was a sweet lady. She was young. This was not supposed to happen to her.”

The body of Olivia R. Brown, 52, of Suffolk, was found just after 6 a.m. July 4 in a ditch next to the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks near where North Capital Street crosses over them.

Three days earlier, a man died after being hit by a train in the same area. However, police have yet to confirm if Olivia Brown’s death involved a train.

Jemel Brown said from what he has heard from investigators, it appears that it did not.

He had heard that police were called to an altercation that involved Olivia Brown the day before.

“There was some type of confrontation. With some guy in that neighborhood,” Jemel Brown said. “I don’t know who he is or why my mother was involved.”

While Olivia Brown did have a history of drug and alcohol use, Jemel Brown thinks the incident the day before could be connected to his mother’s death.

He said that is all he knows at this point and is begging people from the neighborhood to come forward with more information.

“Please, I’m asking you, if there is anything you know about my mother Rose, can you tell somebody let somebody know,” Jemel Brown said, referring to his mother’s middle name.

A spokesperson for the police department said no new information has been made available.

Those with information should call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or submit a tip using the P3 Tips app on their Apple or Android device or at www.p3Tips.com.