Lang
11/9/19
An Iowa City man accused of killing his wife plans to invoke multiple Constitutional Amendments in his defense.
Documents filed Thursday by defense attorney Leon Spies indicate 67-year-old Roy Browning Junior plans to assert his Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights in his upcoming murder case. Late last month Browning was charged with 1st Degree Murder in the death of his wife, 65-year-old JoEllen Browning. She was found stabbed to death in the couple’s Green Mountain Drive home on April 5th.
A probable cause affidavit alleges Roy Browning had taken out four high interest loans for $4,000 each and funneled the couple’s savings into a personal account, allegedly without his wife’s knowing. JoEllen Browning set up a meeting with the couple’s bank after learning of the discrepancies in their financial records. Police say that meeting would have revealed Roy Browning’s actions. JoEllen Browning was found dead an hour before that meeting was to have taken place.
Investigators say Roy Browning went to a paint supply store on the 4th of April and purchased rubber-palmed gloves, a package of 6 white towels and was given 8-10 latex gloves free of charge. Investigators have yet to locate those items despite several searches.
Browning faces life in prison, if convicted. A motion hearing is set for December 9th.