When Cherelle Baldwin met Jeffrey Brown, the pair grew close and eventually fell in love. What neither of them knew at the time is that they would not both survive the relationship.
Police were called to the home that the pair shared on May 18, 2013. When first responders arrived at the scene, they found Brown pinned between the family’s car and the exterior wall of a neighbor’s garage. Brown, who was still clutching a leather belt in one hand was dead. Baldwin was lying on the ground near the car, which was still running, suffering from a broken leg.
According to Baldwin, the two had been arguing following a string of harassment and threats against her physical safety, made by Brown. Brown had allegedly taken the couple’s young son from the home and attempted to flee with the boy before Baldwin entered the car.
Her’s where things get murky.
When police arrived at the scene, the Pontiac sedan was still running and had slammed into Brown with such immense force that it forced him 10 inches into the garage wall. Baldwin claimed that she had tried to prevent Brown from leaving with their son. She claimed uncertainty as to how Brown got between the car and the wall, but claimed that her leg had been broken after being ran over by the car.
Police found the couple’s son inside of the house.
Baldwin, along with her family, claim that Brown had been stalking and threatening her just before the incident and that she was merely acting in self defense.
The original trial was declared a mistrial and Baldwin faces a second trial – along with a new judge. Pretrial proceedings for the case began in March 2015.