Kristen Brown Obituary, HOPKINS, Minn. — Kristen Brown, 41, the owner of Brown Bear Daycare, was killed alongside her 7-year-old daughter, Evie Brown, in a deadly incident at the family’s Hopkins home on Wednesday, August 12.
Hopkins, Minnesota — A Minnesota community is mourning after a deadly series of attacks left three members of a family dead, along with the husband and father authorities believe was responsible for the killings. The violence unfolded at a home daycare in Hopkins on Wednesday, August 12, where police say 41-year-old Nathan Brown fatally attacked his wife, 41-year-old Kristen Brown, and their 7-year-old daughter, Evie Brown.
According to a search warrant cited by authorities, a father arrived at Brown Bear Childcare to drop off his children and entered through the back door, as families routinely did. He heard children screaming before going into the basement, where he initially believed Nathan Brown was performing CPR. He soon realized that Nathan was attacking Kristen and Evie with a screwdriver.
The father immediately grabbed his own child and two other children and fled the residence before calling 911. Responding officers arrived and found Kristen and Evie dead from their injuries. Nathan was also found dead inside the home from what investigators believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Six other children who were inside the daycare were safely evacuated and were not physically injured.
Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson described the circumstances as an especially devastating situation for families who trusted the daycare to provide a safe environment for their children. Investigators have said the deaths are being treated as a suspected murder-suicide, although authorities have not publicly established a motive for the violence.
Investigators also believe Nathan Brown killed his 78-year-old mother, Alice Brown, at her home in Burnsville before going to the daycare. Alice was found dead from what police described as an apparent stabbing. Authorities believe the Burnsville and Hopkins deaths are connected, leaving four members of the same family dead in the chain of events.
Kristen Brown operated Brown Bear Daycare from the family’s home and had reportedly worked with children for much of her life. Information provided by families connected to the daycare described it as a close community and a place that had become a second home for many of the children. Kristen had also reportedly notified daycare families about plans to close the business approximately two weeks before the killings because of “relationship issues” with Nathan.
More than 200 friends, relatives and community members later gathered in Hopkins to remember Kristen, Evie and Alice. During the gathering, families connected to Brown Bear Daycare paid tribute to Kristen’s work caring for children and remembered Evie as an important part of the daycare community. The investigation remains active as authorities work to establish the full timeline and circumstances surrounding the deaths. The children who survived the incident were physically unharmed, while the community continues to mourn those who were killed and support the affected families.
