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Suspect in Powhatan Mayor’s Murder To Return to Belmont County to Face Charges

Photo by Jessica Broverman Belmont County murder suspect Meredith Broome appears Thursday in Ohio County Circuit Court.

Meredith Broome, aka Meredith McLeod, was expected to be returned today to Belmont County to face charges in connection with the murder of her stepfather, former Powhatan Point Mayor Marvin Brown.

Broome, who was arrested in Ohio County on Monday, is accused of using money drawn from her stepfather’s bank accounts to pay another man to shoot him to death. Brown was fatally shot in the back on Nov. 18, 2013 at his home.

This morning, Broome appeared in Ohio County Circuit Court where she waived her right to an extradition hearing.

“The State of Ohio (and) County of Belmont have issued a warrant for your arrest where your charge is described as a murder, revised code,” said Circuit Judge James Mazzone who presided over the hearing.

A copy of Broome’s waiver of extradition was provided to the court by the state. Belmont County authorities were scheduled to pick up Broome this afternoon, although they have until noon Friday to transport her.

She was arrested Monday in West Virginia after a warrant was issued in Belmont County directing any law enforcement officer to arrest Broome “as an accomplice to murder” in connection with the death of former Powhatan Point Mayor Marvin Brown.

Brown, who was fatally shot in the back on Nov. 18, 2013, served as mayor of Powhatan Point from 1984-85. According to the criminal complaint filed against her in Ohio County, Broome , 35, was Brown’s stepdaughter and allegedly served as the instigator and facilitator of a financial transaction that resulted in an accomplice receiving cash for the murder of the victim.

The alleged accomplice in this case, who is not identified in court documents, reportedly revealed this information to the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department on Monday. In addition, those documents state the unidentified accomplice “implicated himself as the shooter” and revealed knowledge that was only available to those who were at the crime scene. The report states the accomplice described a gun Broome gave to him to use in the murder, and it appears to be the same make and model as a gun previously owned by Marvin Brown that has never been located.

“Law enforcement had recovered an empty box for a Highpoint 9-mm handgun but has never located the weapon. The (accomplice) describes cash payments totaling $12,000 made to him by Broome through her mother,” the complaint states.

Broome’s mother Deborah Doty Brown, the widow of the former mayor, was sentenced to serve one to three years in prison for theft and tampering with evidence in this case in May 2015.

Deborah Brown had access to accounts owned by the murder victim and/or his business, according to the complaint. Officers said cash withdrawals were made by Deborah Brown around the time of the murder from those accounts. Officers reviewed related bank statements after the murder, according to the reports.

Officers reported that Broome’s mother presented forged bank statements to the Belmont County Probate Court after the time of the victim’s death. Marvin Brown, in addition to being the Powhatan Point mayor for a time, owned and operated Powhatan Construction Co. and was a subcontractor for other local businesses.

The former Powhatan mayor had three sons, Michael, Thomas and Christopher.

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