Nicole Lynn Bryner, Missing, 1982 PA.

Nicole Lynn Bryner Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance # Missing Since: March 11, 1982 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania # Classification: Non-Family Abduction # Date Of Birth: February 20, 1979 # Age: 3 years old # Height and Weight: 2'6, 35 pounds # Distinguishing Characteristics: Brown hair, brown eyes. Some agencies may spell Bryner's middle name "Lynne." Details of Disappearance Bryner's mother, Melody Thomas Childs, told authorities that her daughter was abducted from a shopping cart on March 9, 1982. Childs claimed that Bryner was sitting inside a cart at a Giant Eagle supermarket store on the south side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She stated that when she turned around for a moment, Bryner disappeared. An extensive search yielded little evidence at the time and Bryner's case became cold. Childs's former boyfriend, Timothy W. Widman, confessed to Bryner's murder four years later in May 1986. He was imprisoned on burglary charges at the time of his claims. Widman said that he hit the child and she died as a result of her injuries in March 1982. He claimed that he and Childs buried her body in a wooded area along Timberland Road in Brookline, Pennsylvania. A search was conducted in the region for Bryner's remains, but nothing was located. Widman was charged with Bryner's homicide shortly after his confession, but the charges were dropped in 1987. Prosecutors stated that there was not enough evidence against Widman to support a murder charge. Childs, who moved to Garland, Texas and married after Bryner's disappearance, was arrested in June 1986 and charged with felony counts of hindering prosecution and providing false reports to the authorities in connection with her daughter's case. The charges were dropped after Widman refused to testify against her, however, and Childs was charged with two misdemeanor offenses instead. The missing child's report date is listed as March 11, 1982, although Childs claimed Bryner was abducted on March 9. Her case remains unsolved and continues to be listed as a Non-Family Abduction. Investigating Agency If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Pittsburgh Police Department 412-255-2888 http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/bryner_nicole.html

Pittsburgh man charged with killing 3-year-old girl in 1982 By DAN NEPHIN The Associated Press PITTSBURGH - A man was charged with homicide in the death of his girlfriend's daughter 24 years ago - his second arrest in the case. Timothy Wayne Widman had been arrested two decades ago in the death of 3-year-old Nicole Lynn Bryner, but prosecutors dropped an involuntary manslaughter charge in April 1987. Though Widman had allegedly confessed, state law requires corroborating evidence. Widman, 51, of Pittsburgh, was charged with homicide Wednesday, although the criminal complaint did not appear to detail any new developments. In March 1982, Bryner's mother, Melody Thomas, reported her daughter missing from a supermarket, but the child's body was never found. She was then known as Melody Thomas Childs. Four years later, Widman told police that on March 9, 1982, he slapped Bryner when he became angry after she bit his toe, according to the police criminal complaint. He said she fell backward and struck her head, police said. Widman told Thomas what happened and they put her to bed, according to police. They later realized she was dead, put her body in a plastic bag and Widman buried it in a wooded area, police said. Pittsburgh police and the county prosecutor's office did not immediately return messages for comment. It was not immediately clear if Widman has an attorney. http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-09272006-719139.html

Police make arrest in child killing 25 years ago Wednesday, September 27, 2006 By Moustafa Ayad, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Police last night charged a woman's once live-in boyfriend with the death of her child whom the woman had claimed was abducted almost a quarter century ago from a South Side supermarket. Timothy Wayne Widman, 51, was arraigned this morning on homicide and related charges in the 1982 killing of Nicole Lynn Bryner, then 3. The child's mother, Melody Thomas, had told police that her daughter disappeared from her while the two were shopping at the Giant Eagle on the South Side, according to an affidavit that supports Mr. Widman's arrest. City police confirmed that they arrested Mr. Widman last night. Police said Mr. Widman confessed in 1986 to punching the little girl in the head and caused her to fall back onto a radiator, killing her on impact. Mr. Widman then allegedly told police that he buried Nicole's body in a wooded area in Brookline. While he was charged in the case, prosecutors dropped the charges because of complications of prosecuting without a body. Mr. Widman pleaded guilty in 2003 to possessing a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. A family member, who did not want to be quoted last night, said police had not found Nicole's body. Family said they did not have closure in the case because the little girl was never found. Initially, police questioned the mother in connection with the girl's disappearance. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06270/725382-100.stm

New charges in '82 death of 3-year-old girl Suspect confessed to killing child in '86, but evidence was insufficient Thursday, September 28, 2006 By Jim McKinnon and Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Two decades after Allegheny County prosecutors dropped homicide charges against him for lack of corroborating evidence, a Penn Hills man has been charged with the murder of a 3-year-old girl. Timothy Widman confessed in 1986 to killing his girlfriend's daughter, Nicole Bryner, on March 9, 1982. With the child's mother, the late Melody Childs, he buried the body in a wooded lot in Brookline, he told police. Police searched unsuccessfully for the body, and without it prosecutors could not pursue the case. Mrs. Childs insisted from the day of Nicole's disappearance that her daughter had been abducted from a South Side supermarket. Mrs. Childs was charged with hindering apprehension and lying to police in 1986. Her charges also were dismissed. She died in June 2001 following back surgery in a Texas hospital, her family said. Until the day she died, Mrs. Childs maintained her daughter was abducted from the Giant Eagle, Mrs. Childs' family said. "I know in my heart my sister could not have hurt her child. If anything happened it was all because of ," Elana LaPaglia, 42, of McKees Rocks, a sister of Mrs. Childs, said yesterday. The new case against Mr. Widman, 51, appears to have been built not on new information, but rather on case law that has changed since Mr. Widman was originally arrested in 1986. At that time, prosecutors could not charge someone with murder unless a body was found. Timothy Widman in an undated police photo A 1988 Superior Court decision changed the law to say that someone could be presumed to be dead after being missing for seven years. The law meant police didn't have to produce Nicole's body to prosecute Mr. Widman based on essentially the same information they had 20 years ago. It was not clear yesterday why it took so long to apply the new law. The 1988 precedent means police could have begun Mr. Widman's prosecution starting in 1995, when the seven years were up. Mike Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney's office, said the question of the gap was "one for the police." Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki, head of the major crimes unit, said the delay might be because there was no cold-case unit during the mid-1990s. In addition, the case would have been marked as cleared in police files because there had been an arrest, even though the charges were later withdrawn. Cmdr. Stangrecki said the case was reopened this year when a new detective in the missing persons unit discussed it with cold-case Detectives Scott Evans and J.R. Smith. After reviewing the case with the district attorney's office, he said, detectives began tracking down investigators and witnesses from 20 years before. Detectives obtained a warrant for Mr. Widman on Monday and tracked him down at Blinky's Bar on Noblestown Road in Oakwood yesterday. Cmdr. Stangrecki said Mr. Widman has been cooperative, as he was two decades ago. At the time, police searched for Nicole's body based on the information he provided but couldn't find it. Police are prepared to look again. "If we get some information," he said, "we will search." A preliminary hearing for Mr. Widman is set for Oct. 6 in Municipal Court. According to police affidavits from 1982 and this week, Mr. Widman said he was sleeping on the couch when he was awakened by the little girl biting his foot. Startled, he said he backhanded the girl on the head, knocking her to the floor. He said he put the child in bed with her mother, went away from the apartment for a few hours, and returned to find Nicole dead. He said Mrs. Childs concocted the story about the abduction to cover up the killing, according to the affidavits. The newer information includes statements from witnesses who describe evidence of physical abuse that appeared on the child on numerous occasions. Mrs. Childs' relatives said they know Mr. Widman abused both mother and daughter regularly. They said she was terrified of Mr. Widman and he took advantage of her fears. "My sister was abused from the age of 5 ," Mrs. LaPaglia said. "She was an adult, but she was always a kid inside. She was always scared." Mrs. Childs grew up in Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhoods, the eldest of five children. "She used to protect me from ," Mrs. LaPaglia said. "She was my protector." At 18, when a Catholic priest refused to celebrate a wedding Mass for Melody and Michael Bryner, the couple went to a Methodist minister to tie the knot. The fruit of their union was 3-year-old Nicole. The marriage did not last and Mrs. Childs and Mr. Widman got together. Her mother and sister said that was the beginning of the end for Melody and Nicole. "Tim threatened Melody from day one. But she was so blind and in love with this guy she didn't see it," said her mother, Harriet Persinger, in a telephone interview yesterday from her home in Florida. "She was a young innocent who had the most horrible life that a child could have, and then she ended up with Tim Widman. It was just downhill from there for her," Mrs. Persinger added. After Nicole's disappearance, Melody Bryner remarried and moved to Texas with her new husband, Jeffrey Childs. Their only son is in his 20s today and living in Texas, Mrs. Persinger said. While in Texas, Mrs. Childs was arrested for conspiracy and lying to authorities here in connection with Nicole's disappearance. She also was charged with bigamy, having not divorced Mr. Bryner before marrying Mr. Childs. Mrs. Persinger said investigators in Pittsburgh unfairly targeted her daughter, ignoring what the mother believes was obvious duress caused by her daughter's abusive boyfriend. When the charges against Mr. Widman were dismissed, Mrs. Childs returned to Texas where, along with raising her son, she cared for her father, who was dying of cancer. Another sister told relatives that Mrs. Childs suffered a nervous breakdown from the stress. At one point, Mrs. Childs was seen in her yard talking on the telephone as though her daughter was listening on the other end of the line, Mrs. LaPaglia said. She also was seen in the yard digging up the turf with her hands and calling Nicole's name. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06271/725734-53.stm

Dog aids in search for girl's remains By Jill King Greenwood TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, October 5, 2006 A cadaver dog and his handler walked heavily wooded, rough terrain Wednesday afternoon in a search for the remains of Nicole Lynn Bryner, who was reported missing from a South Side supermarket in 1982 at age 3. City homicide detectives and the Allegheny County medical examiner's K-9, named "Saber," will return today to the two Brookline locations that were brought to investigators' attention this week through new information and tips. Timothy Widman, 51, of Norwich Avenue in Brookline, was arrested Sept. 26 and charged with homicide in connection with the March 11, 1982, slaying of Nicole. Widman lived with Nicole's mother, Melody Thomas, when the child was reported missing from a Giant Eagle supermarket on the South Side. He confessed to Nicole's death in June 1986 and was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Thomas, then living in Texas, was charged with giving false information to police and hindering apprehension. Prosecutors dropped the manslaughter charges a year later because they could not find the child's remains. At the time, case law dictated that a body was needed to prove homicide. A change in that law and new information from witnesses broke the case open last week, police said. Widman told investigators he smacked the child to the floor after she bit his foot while he was napping on the couch. He and Thomas put the girl to bed and awoke the next day to find her dead, police said. The couple buried the girl's naked body in a wooded area in Brookline, Widman told investigators. Thomas then reported her missing from the supermarket the next day. When Widman was arrested in 1986, he led police to a wooded area off Dunsten Avenue in Brookline where he said the child was buried. The area was searched extensively, but nothing was found. Police plan to search that area again. The first site searched yesterday is about 200 yards from the one Widman led investigators to 20 years ago and the other is about two miles away next to an abandoned strip mine off Whited Street. The second location was searched because a family whose back yard abuts the woods there told investigators they heard someone digging there the night before Nicole was reported missing. They were suspicious of the digging noises after they learned the child disappeared but didn't come forward with the information. Widman faces a preliminary hearing next Thursday in Pittsburgh Municipal Court and is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bond. Thomas died in Texas in 2001. Jill King Greenwood can be reached at jgreenwood@tribweb.com or 412-321-2160. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_473509.html

Man Faces Trial In 24-Year-Old Cold Case Girl's Remains Never Recovered POSTED: 4:01 pm EDT October 13, 2006 UPDATED: 7:07 pm EDT October 13, 2006 BROOKLINE, Pa. -- Police said a local man confessed to killing a 3-year-old girl two decades ago, but he had to be released. New laws on the books allowed police to arrest the suspect again, just last month. Now the judge is having his say in this 24-year-old murder mystery. The judge held Timothy Widman for trial on a criminal homicide charge in the case. Back in 1982, Widman confessed to police to killing Nicole Bryner, his girlfriend's daughter, at their South Side apartment. The chance for justice brings some sense of relief for the girl's father, who spoke through the prosecuting attorney. The only witness called to testify was then-homicide Detective James Ditkin, who said Widman admitted 24 years ago to being on speed for three days when he backhanded the girl so hard that she died three hours later. Widman also told police he panicked because of his criminal record, so he and Nicole's mother decided to bury the little girl, putting her in a green garbage bag in a 2-foot grave in a wooded area in Brookline. The mother, Melody Childs, then reported her missing. Recently, cadaver dogs and city police detectives searched areas off Timberland and Dunster streets but found nothing. Despite Widman's confession, the defense argued there is no proof of a crime. Widman will be back in court for his formal arraignment on Nov. 21. Nicole's mother has since passed away in Texas and was never charged in the case. http://www.wpxi.com/news/10072303/detail.html

Man Found Guilty of 3-Year-Old's 1982 Death Despite Confessing Nearly 20 Years Ago Friday, June 01, 2007 PITTSBURGH — A man who confessed two decades ago to killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter — only to have the case dropped — pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Timothy Wayne Widman, 52, of Pittsburgh, agreed to the plea deal Thursday and was sentenced to two to four years in prison. Widman had been accused of involuntary manslaughter two decades ago in the death of Nicole Lynn Bryner, but prosecutors dropped the charge in 1987 because state law then required a body to prove a homicide. Bryner's body has never been found. Prosecutors were able to file charges last year because of a change in the law that said a body was not needed. In March 1982, Nicole's mother, Melody Childs, reported her daughter missing from a supermarket. But four years later, Widman told police that on March 9, 1982, he slapped Nicole when she became angry after she bit his toe, according to court documents. He said she fell backward and hit her head, police said. Widman told the mother what happened and they put the girl to bed, according to police. They later realized she was dead and put her body in a plastic bag, and Widman buried it in a wooded area, police said. Childs was charged with hindering apprehension and giving false reports in 1986, but the charges were withdrawn in 1987, police said. She died in 2001. http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_154074629.html

Jun 3, 2007 8:05 am US/Eastern Family Upset With Deal In Missing Child Cold Case (KDKA) PITTSBURGH The man charged in the disappearance of a young girl more than 20 years ago has reached a plea bargain in the case. But little Nicole Bryner’s family says they are upset and angered over the deal. “If he killed your granddaughter, and got two to four years, that's ok?” says Bryner’s grandmother, Harriet Persinger. It was back in March of 1982 when Bryner, 3, was reported missing by her mother from a Giant Eagle in the South Side. Timothy Widman, the mother’s former boyfriend, confessed four years later to hitting the child, and burying her in the woods after he and the mother discovered she had died. Officials say more than once Widman led police through the wooded areas in Brookline in search of the little girl’s missing body, but investigators have never found anything. In the plea bargain reached last week, Widman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to two to four years in prison and is being given credit for the time he has already served. Persinger says for her and the rest of her family, there is still no peace or finality. “He needs to tell us where she is, what he did with her body,” she told KDKA. “We could have closure. We could have a memorial service for this baby, my beautiful granddaughter, who never got any kind of life, because of a druggie.” Bryner’s mother died in 2001. http://kdka.com/topstories/local_story_154074629.html

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