CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One year almost to the day after Joseph Brown killed his wife of 20 years, he walked into a Mecklenburg County courtroom to face justice and to face her family.
Brown pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and will serve at least 15 years in prison as part of a plea deal.
Mamie Brown was found murdered in her north Charlotte home in September, 2012, and prosecutors said there was a pattern of abuse in the home.
"Police records show multiple domestic violence calls for service," prosecutor Max Diaz told the judge.
He said Mamie Brown had lived in fear of her husband for years before he finally strangled and beat her in their north Charlotte home. Police arrested Joseph Brown the next day in Charleston, S.C.
As she held a picture of her mother in the courtroom Glendolyn Sharpe could not stop the tears.
"We love her. Our family is devastated because of this. He just took everything away from us, everything," she said.
Sharpe said the family is trying to heal, and part of that healing is forgiving Brown, as difficult as that might be.
"I don't like what he did but have to forgive," she said.
The words and the tears may have reached Joseph Brown, and he turned to the family and offered an apology.
"I just ask for your forgiveness. Maybe in time, we'll be able to reconcile. But I'm sorry, I'm very sorry," he said.
WSOC
