Navy sailor killed answering unexpected knock in 2021, CA cops say. Now, a reward
Just after midnight April 24, 2021, Corneilius Brown answered an unexpected knock at his California apartment door.
When the 22-year-old Navy sailor opened the door, two men “wearing ski masks and black hooded sweatshirts” stood before him, witnesses told La Mesa detectives, police said in a Facebook post that same day.
One of the men “immediately opened fire,” hitting Brown multiple times, police said.
The two men ran from the area, according to police.
Now, nearly four years later with no answers in his killing, California Governor Gavin Newsom is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Brown’s slaying, according to an April 18 news release from the governor’s office.
“My son’s murder will never be behind me,” Brown’s mother, Addrienne Brown, told KNSD. “It’s forever in front of me.”
Shortly after midnight April 24, 2021, La Mesa police got multiple 911 calls about gunshots near a La Mesa apartment complex, police said.
Officers arrived at the apartment complex to find a man, later identified as Brown, unresponsive with gunshot wounds, police said.
Paramedics took Brown to a nearby hospital, where he died during surgery, police said.
Brown’s father told KNSD his son was a “well-liked young man.”
“It is just terribly hard to believe that someone would take his life,” Norman Brown told the TV Station.
At the time of his death, police said Brown, who hailed from South Carolina, was stationed at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego County.
Addrienne Brown told KSWB after getting news of her son’s death her “heart was shattered.”
“I didn’t want to live,” she told the news outlet. “I had no reason left to live.”
In January 2024, Brown’s family, San Diego Crime Stoppers and the Navy put together a joint $15,000 reward for information in Brown’s death, according to a San Diego Crime Stoppers news release
“Someone knows something, and hopefully we can encourage that person to come forward and share information that leads to an arrest,” Lt. Katy Lynch told the San Diego Tribune at the time, the newspaper reported. “We would love some information that points us in the right direction.”
Newsom’s reward comes after La Mesa police have “exhausted all investigative leads,” officials said.
The reward comforted Addrienne Brown, KNSD reported.
“Someone is thinking about my child,” Brown reportedly said. “They care about my child.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Royce Culp at 619-667-7533, or submit an anonymous tip to San Diego County Crime Stoppers.
La Mesa is about a 15-mile drive northeast from San Diego.
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Navy sailor killed answering unexpected knock in 2021, CA cops say. Now, a reward."
