MISSING PERSON
CASE #: 1982-4
Nicole Lynn Bryner
Also Known As:
Nikki or Nicki
Status:
Open
Date of Last Contact:
Date of Last Contact:
Jurisdiction:
Missing From:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Summary:
Nicole Bryner was reported missing on March 11th 1982 from the Giant Eagle Supermarket in the southside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her mother claimed she vanished when she turned away from the child for a moment. Despite extensive searches, Nicole was never found. Foul play is strongly suspected in the case.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance:
Nicole was last seen in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 11th 1982. Her mother, Melody Childs-Thomas, reported that Nicole disappeared from a shopping cart in the Giant Eagle Supermarket located at 23rd Street and Jane Street. Melody claimed that she left Nicole sitting in the bottom of the shopping cart as she looked at the meat counter. She said she turned around for a moment and when she looked back, Nicole was gone. Authorities initially believed that Nicole was abducted in a custody dispute. Her father and mother both ended their 4 year marriage and both wanted custody of Nicole. Nicole’s father, Michael Bryner, was in Texas at the time of her disappearance and flew to Pittsburg to assist in finding his daughter. Her relatives including her mother and her boyfriend, Timothy Widman, were all cleared of involvement in her case in the initial stages of her disappearance. Several days after Nicole vanished, her mother received a letter purportedly from Nicole’s abductors. The letter said that “Nikki was dead and buried”. Handwriting analysis suggested that Nicole’s mother, Melody Childs, wrote the letter herself. Extensive searching uncovered no signs of Nicole.
Additional Details:
Four years after her disappearance, Timothy Wayne Widman, Melody’s live in boyfriend at the time, confessed to killing Nicole in March of 1982. According to him, he was on a drug binge at the time and was sleeping when Nicole awoke him by biting his toe. He stated that he punched Nicole and then she hit her head on a radiator. He didn’t realize she was badly injured. Melody took Nicole to bed with her. The next morning they found that Nicole had died. They wrapped Nicole’s body in a plastic bag and buried in a wooded area along Brookline, Pennsylvania. Investigators searched the area that Widman indicated but Nicole’s body was not found. He stated that it was Melody’s idea to report the abduction to cover up her death. Widman was originally charged with Involuntary manslaughter and was due for trial. Melody was arrested in June of 1986 for federal charges of lying to authorities about Nicole’s disappearance. They had to bury the case because they could not find Nicole’s body and it was a law back then that a body must be found in order to prove murder or manslaughter. The law changed in 1988. In September of 2006, Widman was charged with criminal homicide in Nicole’s case. Since the law changed, they can charge him with Nicoles presumed death. He cooperated with authorities and in May of 2007, he admitted to Nicole’s murder again. He plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to two to four years in prison. He died at age 56 in 2011. He apologized to Nicole’s living relatives. Nicole’s mother died in 2001 at a Texas hospital after back surgery.
Case Last Updated:
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