Who was Pauline Brown? Alabama woman killed by man set for execution on Thursday
Pauline Brown enjoyed the simple things in life: Spending time with her daughters and friends, unwinding from a long day at work by watching TV and when she really wanted to treat herself, eating red velvet cake.
But at just 41 years old, that simple life came to a violent end.
Brown was close with many of her coworkers at Bama Foods, a food manufacturer where she had worked as a cook for 18 years. So when Brown didn't show up for work on Nov. 27, 1991, they grew worried. And when she didn't pick up her boyfriend from work as usual or answer his calls, he really worried.
Brown's boyfriend went to her apartment and found her battered body inside. She had been robbed, raped and murdered.
Now 34 years later, the man convicted of killing her − Demetrius Frazier − is set to be executed by nitrogen gas on Thursday.
To honor her memory, Paste BN is looking back at Brown's life and her death as Frazier's execution approaches.
What happened to Pauline Brown?
Brown was attacked as she slept in her bedroom in the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 1991.
Frazier admitted to police that he broke into the apartment, stole some money from one of the bedrooms and then found Brown in another bedroom, according to court documents.
Armed with a .22-caliber pistol, Frazier woke Brown and demanded more money, Frazier told police. Brown gave him $80 from her purse.
Frazier told police that he then raped Brown at gunpoint and shot her in the head when she wouldn't stop begging for her life. He then left the apartment and threw the gun in a ditch, court records say.
Questions about Brown's killing would go unanswered for about four months, until Frazier was arrested for an unrelated attempted rape and murder in Detroit in March 1992. During an interrogation with Detroit police, Frazier admitted to killing Brown.
Pauline Brown: A beloved mother, friend and coworker
On the morning Brown's body was found, several relatives, friends and coworkers gathered outside the her apartment complex, including Mary Gaston, a close friend who worked with Brown at Bama Foods.
Speaking with the Birmingham Post-Herald, Gaston said that she, Brown and their fellow coworker and friend Maggie Williams were "always together.
Gardenia Merritt, Brown's sister-in-law, was also at the apartment complex that morning.
"She was a drug-free lady, a good worker − a workaholic who would come home and watch a little TV and then go to bed because she had to get up and go to work," Merritt told the Birmingham Post-Herald.
Phyllis Denise, Pauline's daughter, did not immediately respond to requests to speak about her late mother, but she has recognized Brown in several public Facebook posts over the years. In 2021, she wished her mom a happy 71st birthday.
"Happy heavenly birthday to my beautiful mommie Pauline Starks Brown," the Facebook post read. "Luv u mommie."
In 2019, Phyllis Denise changed her Facebook profile photo to one of Brown. The post garnered several comments sharing their love for Brown, who, according to commenters, had a weakness for the soul band Maze and eating red velvet cake.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at Paste BN. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.