T-L Photo/ ROBERT A. DEFRANK ABOVE: Meredith Broome, step-daughter of murdered former Powhatan Point mayor and businessman Marvin Brown, appears with her attorney, Dennis McNamara during her first day of trial. Broome is charged with tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice in allegedly attempting to conceal her mother’s theft from the business.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The step-daughter of murdered former Powhatan Point mayor and businessman Marvin Brown saw the first day of her trial Tuesday, for allegedly attempting to cover her mother’s theft from the business.

Meredith Broome, also known as Meredith McLeod, 35, with an address in Rome, Georgia, is charged with tampering with evidence, a third degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a fifth degree felony, dating back to events which allegedly occurred in 2013.

Her mother, Deborah Doty Brown, who is Marvin Brown’s widow, was convicted and has served a three-year sentence, She has since been released from prison.

Jury selection was completed by noon. Belmont County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan and Broome’s attorney, Dennis McNamara, gave their opening arguments to the jury before Belmont County Common Pleas Judge John Vavra.

“This case is about a coverup. A coverup for a crime,” he said. “To understand the coverup, you must however first have knowledge of the crime.”

Flanagan reviewed the background of the case, saying Marvin Brown had owned the successful Powhatan Construction, while Deborah Doty Brown worked as the bookkeeper. He said after Marvin Brown’s death, his sons reviewed business records and found irregularities.

“They realized that the company was fleeced of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said, adding that during probate proceedings Deborah Doty Brown provided forged bank records. Flanagan added that prior to Marvin Brown’s death, he had begun exerting more control over the finances and intended to consult accountant Pat Felton.

Flanagan said Broome assisted her mother in attempting to prevent a meeting between Marvin Brown and Felton. He said Broome attempted to convince others to impersonate Felton’s secretary and leave a message on Brown’s answering machine, canceling the meeting.

“Ultimately, Deb Brown was prosecuted…for stealing over $150,000 from the company,” he said, adding that the money went for drugs for Broome and Deborah Doty Brown and Deborah Doty Brown’s gambling addiction.

Flanagan went on to say that the extent of Broome’s knowledge of her mother’s activities would be a point of debate during the trial.

McNamara argued that Deborah Doty Brown’s offenses had nothing to do with Broome. He said by December of 2014, Deborah Doty Brown was charged with theft, pleaded guilty in March of 2015 and was sentenced in May 2015.

“Her daughter Meredith was not charged, was not an accomplice, was not involved in the theft. Nobody claimed that she was,” he said.

McNamara acknowledged that Broome and her mother have struggled with substance abuse six years ago, but said Broome was now clean. He said Deborah Doty Brown asked Broome to have someone read a scripted message into Marvin Brown’s voicemail, canceling the appointment with Felton.

“Deb wrote it, gave it Meredith and said ‘would you ask somebody to do this,'” McNamara said, adding that Broome was dependent on her mother and unaware that this could constitute wrongdoing. He added that Broome apparently could find no one to place the planned call, which may not have even been made. He said tampering with evidence specifies that the offender know an official proceeding or investigation is in progress or may begin.

“This was actually 15 months before anybody knew. Remember the theft charge wasn’t filed until December of 2014,” he said, adding that one of the appointments with Felton was canceled the prior September. “It’s like she’s an accomplice before it happened, or covering it up before it occurred. Certainly at least before discovery.”

McNamara said the obstruction charge has similar requirements.

“It requires that Meredith know there’s a crime, know there’s been a crime, something she didn’t learn until 2015 (when her mother pleaded guilty),” he said. “I believe the evidence will show that Deb Brown was pretty dominant … with both her daughters. … Did she do a dumb thing in asking a friend or acquaintance to make this call? Yeah. But did she know what the purpose of the call was? Did we even now know what the purpose of the call was? Did she know that Deb was stealing money? The answer to all of that is ‘no.'”

The prosecution’s first witness was Chris Brown of Powhatan Point, one of Marvin Brown’s sons and a former employee at Powhatan Construction. He related how he and his brothers began to uncover his step-mother’s offenses.

“We retained a lawyer to … take control of the estate,” he said. “I asked for three months of bank statements. The last three months he was alive. We looked at them and we were flabbergasted. … Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars taken out of an ATM.”

Chris Brown said the records showed similar withdrawals as he looked back further.

On cross-examination by McNamara, Chris Brown confirmed that the account was a joint one between his father and step-mother, and that he could not know which bank transactions were done by Deborah Doty Brown alone. McNamara asked if Broome had ever made withdrawals. Chris Brown said Deborah Doty Brown wrote checks to her daughter for cleaning an office he said did not exist. Under McNamara’s questioning, Chris Brown said he could not know if Broome had any part in her mother’s activities with the accounts.

McNamara asked if Chris Brown and his wife also had substance abuse issues in the 2012 to 2013 range. Chris Brown denied it and said his employment at that time at Murray Energy had strict and frequent drug screening requirements.

The prosecution called Thomas Hubbard of Powhatan Point to the stand. He testified he had been a drug dealer who supplied Meredith Broome and Deborah Doty Brown with prescription pills.

“Deborah Brown bought more from me that anyone else come close to buying,” Hubbard said.

The prosecution also called Hattie Conner, of Powhatan Point, an associate of Broome’s who said she had also used drugs with her at the time, and who testified that Broome had attempted to convince Conner to make the phone call.

In late February, Steven Moore, 38, of 5495 Cove Road, Powhatan Point admitted to shooting and killing Marvin Brown during a home invasion Nov. 18, 2013. His sentencing is set for April 29.