Officials ask for help solving 54-year-old cold case
Nov 7, 2025, 5:00 PM | Updated: 5:43 pm
A witness shared that a black Chevrolet four-door sedan was seen with its engine running outside moments before the shooting that killed Carolyn Kingston and Michael Bown on Sept. 2, 1971, at Natters' Market in Salt Lake City. (Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office)
(Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office)
SALT LAKE CITY — On Sept. 2, 1971, 33-year-old Carolyn Kingston had just started her shift as a clerk at Natter’s Market in Salt Lake City when an armed man came into the store. At the same time, 23-year-old Michael Bown arrived to make a bread delivery.
Officials believe he interrupted a robbery and was fatally shot twice by the suspect. The intruder then took Kingston into a storage room and shot her in front of her 4-year-old son. Kingston died two years later as a result of her injuries in the shooting.
Now, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is calling for information that could lead to answers for the families.
“Fifty years is way too long. We need to get these families justice. If anyone has any information, we want to hear from you,” said Captain Dustin Fowler with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
A composite sketch of the suspect believed to have shot and killed Carolyn Kingston and Michael Bown on Sept. 2, 1971, at Natters’ Market in Salt Lake City. (Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office)
On Friday, the families of Kingston and Bown spoke out at a press conference. They still feel the pain of losing their loved ones.
“Fifty-four years, two months, and five days have passed since my family’s world was destroyed,” said Ron Bown, Michael’s brother. “I have relived that day countless times over the years. I just kept asking myself, ‘Why Mike, why him?’ Because he was so needed and so loved.”
Anyone with any information involving this case should contact Detective Ben Pender at (385) 468-9816.
A Timex watch was found at the scene of the shooting. (Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office)
“We are asking the public to come forward with any information, no matter how small it may seem,” said Sheriff Rosie Rivera with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
At the press conference, Rivera read a letter from Kingston’s family.
“Our mother was everything to us. We were so young when she was taken, but we’ve never stopped thinking about her or hoping that someone, somewhere, knows something that could help us find the man who did this,” said Jerry, son of Carolyn Kingston.
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